What a heartbreaking episode of Kafeel last night. Zeba represents all those girls who are never forgiven for a small mistake. Zeba’s father won hearts by taking the decision to get Zeba divorced and not letting her continue her life with Jami. Even though the drama is supposed to be set in the 90s, it reflects what is still happening in society today, which is why we can feel the pain so deeply.
Although we have all been losing our patience with Zeba’s mother, with her being delusional and focusing only on materialistic things in Jami’s family, completely ignoring why her daughter looks so disturbed after her marriage, it was still heartbreaking to see her discover Jami’s reality and then hear the truth from Zeba herself.
But it is Zeba’s father who really wins your heart. He knows about Jami’s reality now and is not hesitant to take a stand for his daughter. As the drama is set in the late 90s, taking a stand and asking for a divorce for your daughter was a big deal in society, so kudos to the father for his courage. What truly touches you is to witness the pain he is in while seeing Zeba’s pain. You cry when you see him crying. Needless to say, many girls would be wishing for a father like him in real life.
Zeba’s silence frustrates you, but maybe that’s what the drama is trying to do — playing with our emotions — so that when she finally says everything to her mother, the scene becomes an emotional trigger point, touching millions of hearts. It is difficult to see Zeba from a 2026 perspective, but then you have to keep reminding yourself that she is supposed to be in an era where divorce for girls was still a big no.
One also wonders whether Zeba is now punishing herself and her parents for what they did to her.
Zeba’s sister Aliya is love. The way she tells her about the other guy and then lovingly gives her the money, wiping away her tears and hugging Zeba, is truly touching.
When Zeba visits Shani’s house and learns of Jamal’s engagement, the sense of loss for Zeba, the air of quiet tragedy surrounding her and her inner sadness spoke volumes. Sanam Saeed captures the trauma of a young girl whose dreams came shattering down the moment she signed the nikah nama, and whose possibility of finding love in life seems to be lost forever. Zeba had to grow up very fast, from a young, carefree college-going girl to a silenced shadow of her past self, the character draws sympathy and her emotional outburst was as much a need of the hour for her as for the audience who needed her to speak up for all the young girls who see themselves in her.
Will Dadi allow the divorce to go through? She is old-fashioned and says it hasn’t happened in the past seven generations. Again, some of her sentences are so problematic, saying that the only problem with Jami is that he doesn’t work, but he still has a good character. Can merely having a good character overcome Jami’s lack of willingness to support his family?
Asma represents all those women who are selfish enough to ruin another woman’s marriage and do not realise that if Jami cannot change for her or can openly cheat on his present wife, how can he be the right guy for her?
Kafeel also took us down memory lane by reminding us of wedding albums and videos, which used to be such a beautiful thing in the past. Friends and family would gather together to watch the videos or go through the albums and relive those vibes.
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