Ary’s Ruswai is one of the critically acclaimed television shows in Pakistan at the moment. The show is about family life and marital problems. But, more so it is about a very unnerving cultural aspect of our society that nobody criticizes enough. Such shows in the past have had a positive effect on the viewers, created awareness and improved our discourse on the issue under question. Baghi, Udari, and Mera Sultan are all examples f successful woke television shows created by Pakistan’s media in the recent years. Ruswai is also one of these woke shows.
The Theme of ARY’s Ruswai:
Ary Channel’s Show Ruwai is doing great these days. It is one of those television shows that tell us a story of our lives. We all understand these stories, we have heard them, we have seen them and we talk about them. These are around us and we can do nothing about it but condemn.
The show is about the problem of Watta Satta in our culture. This is s social phenomenon whereby the brother of the bride marries the sister of the groom and vice vera. This means that two of the siblings from a family are, married to two other siblings.
It is like an exchange of fo children in marriage. And it sounds and feels just as bad as you think. The issue that this leaves couples at an unparalleled footing and it creates a lot of pain, torture, and drama for the parties involved.
The Importance of this Discourse:
Men and women everywhere in the world face a lot of marital problems. In many tribes of Africa men and women are still forcefully married under the superstitions of tribesmen, the scare of witches and black magic. People in Afghanistan still marry their young, underage girls to 90-year-old tribesmen and leaders fo the tribes. The world is corrupt and it has defeated our cry for fair marriages and healthy lives beyond repair.
Yet a show like Ruswai begs the question of why women and men should be slated in the name of family ties, culture and societal debitage that makes no one happy anymore. We all need to see this show and see how it weaves the stories of these four characters and their in-laws in a sadly depressing way.
This is after all the reality of many men and women in Pakistan. Some married forcefully even if they liked someone else, others married willfully but separated from each other forcefully because the parents wanted to teach their daughter-in-law a lesson. Or something similar in nature.
Benefits of Watching A Show Like ARY’s Ruswai:
Whenever realize how critical these things are when they happen around us. When we watch the news we are desensitized to the pain of the victims of honor killings, Watta Satta related crimes, Dowry related crimes, Farmer suicides, etc. We rarely feel empathy towards these victims.
To us, they are just headlines. Whereas watch a drama serial episode by episode makes us attuned to the cries of these issues and helps us understand the ugly side of our society better.
Some parts of culture are great, others need to be ended and curtailed. Ruswai pitched its two cents in the awareness of the masses, here are two from us.
See Also: 10 reasons why Alif is important for our society. Good Morning Pakistan!
