Jnam Journal: Includes my Views of specific shows or episodes

(To be continued)

So, if I was a writer writing a show in such conditions, how would I address the issue of female consent? Here is an attempt borrowing characters from a recent show, ManChahi. I would like the reader to note that this conversation is between cousins, a male Sakhawat who is from a lower-middle class, conservative household, and Momina, who is the heroine of the show and from a relatively liberal, upper-class family:

Sakhawat: "Momina, is it true what they are saying? That you are pregnant?"

Momina: "Yes, I am."

S: How could you do this to us, and more importantly to yourself?

At this point, Momina dissolves into tears. This conversation and the news of Momina's pregnancy has made it amply clear to the audience that she has indeed, had pre-marital sexual relations with her former lover. With more detailed viewing, it will also become clear that Momin's intentions were sincere as she was not interested in a mere dalliance, but a long-term, lifelong bonding with her former lover.

Clearly, the framework of most shows I have seen so far has been to employ an accidental pregnancy to reveal to the audience about the fact of sexual intercourse. But, what about the case when my character, Momina, did not end up pregnant (which is obviously, the fate of more than a handful of real-life cases of sexual activity)? In that situation, too, I can imagine the writer being able to successfully introduce this fact into a confessional conversation Momina might have with a friend, or even her male cousin, Sakhawat. So, why do writers shy away from this second scenario, when it is just as likely to occur, or maybe more so? Could it be because introducing the idea of sexual activity without pregnancy might be seen (by some extremely wily viewers and censors) as suggesting (howsoever indirectly) to the audience that females could "get away" with having sex before marriage (or, outside of it) because they might not always get pregnant?

I am not sure of the response to this question, so I will move on. After consensual intercourse comes the issue of non-consensual sexual activity. The easiest situation to be working with for a writer and an audience is the situation of rape by an outsider, that is when a man a woman has no real knowledge of or relationship with, has forced himself on her. Introducing this plot point is relatively straightforward, and may or may not require the crutch of an actual pregnancy. As the woman was violated by a stranger, she has the creators', audiences members', and the censors' sympathy, and the details of such a sordid act can be revealed to the audience without fear of offending the sensitive or sullying the worldview of the innocent.

The next situation is of non-consensual intercourse (aka rape) within a romantic relationship, especially marriage. This is, by far, the most challenging situation to address because within the framework most viewers, censors and creators operate within, sexual activity is justified, required, and desired within a marriage. What remains unaddressed is the issue of what individual partners might desire in one moment in time. Such cases are, of course, the knottiest to understand as well as introduce as a plot point. The issue of marital rape, and what exactly constitutes it can be hard to define even in the most sexually permissive of cultures. So, wrapping one's head around it in a more conservative world can be understandably, much more challenging. In such a situation, the easiest case to depict is when the partner is physically abusive as well. Case in point: the second husband of the lead character, Saba, in Mere Zaat Zara E Benishaan. Her second marriage was forced on her as a punishment, and a means of kicking her out of the family because of the shame she her supposed actions had brought on the family. The second husband mistreated Saba from the beginning of her marriage. In fact, in his warped worldview, he had taken on someone else's problem child in exchange for a sizeable amount of money. He could now, treat her as he sought fit. As a result, Saba is routinely beaten up by her husband, and it can be assumed that she is also forced to engage in non-consensual sexual activity. In other words, she is routinely raped by her brute of a husband. As the second husband's character was peripheral to the main narrative, the issue of martial rape and physical abuse was not addressed. But, had it been a focal point of the story, one can imagine it being easily addressed without the need for a pregnancy as a crutch.

Addressing marital rape becomes challenging when there is no other physical abuse evident in the relationship, and when the relationship has been otherwise loving. In other words, when the relationship begins on a happy note, and only slowly and occasionally devolves into abusive territory. Clearly, this type of a situation is too fraught with potential land mines that the viewers, or censors might trip on, and therefore, seem to have been largely avoided by makers. In my limited viewing of Urdu shows, I have not come across one that has brought up such a situation. While I understand the reasons behind this avoidance, it would be a welcome change were a writer or director decide to make a show around such a predicament.

I would now like to switch gears a bit and talk about shows that have recently attempted to address some such situations (in my viewing) and left me either impressed or in grave doubt.