Morning Shows in Pakistan

This video quite literally sums up the entire "saas bahu" culture that is prevalent in the Pakistani media society. Morning shows, television dramas & even ads promote this culture to an unhealthy extent. They’re trying to tell the audience that a woman’s role is confined to household work and that everything else that she does, no matter how talented she may be, isn’t acknowledged in case she wants to be a good or a ‘sughar bahu’

This goes on to show how toxic this culture can end up and how many women can deeply get hurt by it when all a woman stand for is shattered because she’s not fond of doing housework. Firstly, inviting a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for the sole purpose of creating drama on national television is not only derogatory to the entire womanhood. It also fosters the concept that the very presence of a daughter in law threatens the authority of the mother, because both attempt to gain control over the son/husband. Men are highlighted as prized beings that women fight over because perhaps, they have nothing better to do with their lives. Secondly, women undergo massive scrutiny when it comes to marriage proposals; they are either too educated or too outgoing, and finding a balance is almost impossible. Highly qualified and talented women are confined to the walls of one house and denied the opportunity for professional growth. Such women are denied the right to live their life on their own accord and have little to no autonomy. This concept is materialized in medical schools in Pakistan, where a significant proportion of women enroll in colleges however barely any practice as doctors. Furthermore, this culture of morning shows is also very toxic. Inviting these people and having them express such opinions reinforces these beliefs.