The very first episode of Aik Aur Pakeezah darkly conveys the depth of trauma experienced by the titular character. Her bizarre imitation of cricket commentary is now a haunting reminder of a violent incident. The Pakistani show Directed by Kashif Nisar and written by Bee Gul, the film has 27 episodes and is available on YouTube.
Faraz (Nameer Khan) and Pakeezah (Sehar Khan) in a scene from Aik Aur Pakeezah. Image source: Kashf Foundation
The series focuses on the character Pakeezah (Sehar Khan), who is in love with Faraz (Nameer Khan). While on a date, the couple is tracked down by Yaseen, a man whom Pakeezah had rejected. They are cornered in a hotel room, attacked and recorded. Yaseen then uploads the video online. However, the video, which is about to go viral, paints a completely different picture of the situation. The video is shot in such a way that viewers cannot tell that Pakeezah and Faraz were attacked; Instead, it misrepresents the situation of an unmarried couple caught in the act. This exposes the couple and their families to societal judgment and patriarchal stigma, and to protect their “honor,” Pakeezah is hastily married off to Faraz. But the nightmare has only just begun.
In the case of India, the issues highlighted in the show are extremely relevant: the National Crime Records Bureau’s recent Crime in India 2024 report shows a 17.9 percent increase in cybercrime and digital violence in the country.
Finally, Pakeezah decides to seek justice and pursue the matter in court. The show then traces her journey as she struggles to put the “shame” back where it belongs: with the abuser. Aik Aur Pakeezah reflects a reality common across the subcontinent. Similar issues such as victim blaming, gender-based violence, and honor violence plague the region and cross national borders. In the case of India, the issues highlighted in the show are extremely relevant as the National Crime Records Bureau’s recent ‘Crime in India 2024’ report shows a rise in cybercrime and digital violence in the country 17.9 percent.
Fragile male egos and patriarchal ideas of communal honor
Yaseen targets the couple because Pakeezah rejects him, and when he still continues to harass and harass her, she slaps him. The act of physical and digital violence allows him to take revenge and establish his “masculinity”. He sees violence against women as a way to heal his battered male ego.
However, patriarchal notions of “communal honor” allow him to claim moral superiority despite his role as a perpetrator. Pakeezah and Yaseen live in the same mohalla (place). These mohallas are often close-knit communities where men tend to exert patriarchal control over all female residents, even if they are not directly related.
However, patriarchal notions of “communal honor” allow him to claim moral superiority despite his role as a perpetrator. Pakeezah and Yaseen live in the same mohalla (place). These mohallas are often close-knit communities where men tend to exert patriarchal control over all female residents, even if they are not directly related. This control is often positioned as protection, but it leads to paternalism and surveillance. The underlying idea is not to “protect” the woman, but rather to maintain the patriarchal respectability of the mohalla through the control of its women.
Yaseen draws on these patriarchal ideas to justify his actions, positioning himself from a criminal to someone who provides protection to the community. He presents his violence as a justified response to the alleged moral failure of a woman from his mohalla. By this logic, he is not committing a crime but is punishing Pakeezah for committing one. And recording the violence and uploading it online serves as a punitive measure against a woman who attempted to resist such patriarchal control.
In patriarchal societies, honor becomes a woman’s burden
The show asks audiences to consider how a woman’s body as a site of honor deprives her of agency and shifts responsibility for violence from man to woman. Although Pakeezah is the victim, her elder brother Akbar sees the family’s honor as the real sacrifice. He has no sympathy for his sister and instead accuses her of bringing shame to the family. His frustration increases when Pakeezah decides to approach the court, which ultimately culminates in a failed murder attempt.
His obsession with family honor and increasing hostility towards Pakeezah – and women in general – make his attempt at honor killing hardly surprising. By tracing the story arc very clearly, the show sends a strong message: hostile attitudes and violent language towards women are not just rages, but a precursor to violent crimes against women.
If men in the subcontinent pride themselves on being willing to kill for honor, for women it means their bodies become mere vessels for that honor. In India in particular, honor killings of men and women must be seen in the context of caste-based violence and a shift towards right-wing conservative politics that vehemently opposes interreligious and caste alliances.
Aaliya (Nadia Afgan) in a scene from Aik Aur Pakeezah. Image source: Kashf Foundation
After Yaseen is put behind bars, it is revealed that Akbar can be released from prison if Pakeezah and Faraz forgive him. In Pakistan, crimes against women have historically been forgiven through the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance, which allows the victim’s family to forgive the perpetrator. This has worked in favor of the murderers in honor killings since the victim and perpetrator belong to the same family. However, in Aik Aur Pakeezah, Pakeezah’s mother stops her from forgiving Akbar as she believes he must be punished for trying to kill Pakeezah. The show’s message goes beyond legal action and questions the morality of families who forgive perpetrators of violence against their daughters.
Sisterhood and solidarity
Perhaps one of the most striking characters in the series is Pakeezah’s mother. On the eve of Pakeezah’s wedding with Faraz, she is seen aggressively scrubbing utensils. Her helplessness is obvious and shows that she is the only one in the house who cannot truly choose to accept her feelings. As the series progresses, we see the character evolve and stand alongside Pakeezah in her fight for justice. But to do this she must first learn to stand up for herself. To this end, she begins to assert her agency by wearing lipstick, using perfume, and cooking her favorite dishes. She stops worrying about the disapproval of the male family members.
However, Pakeezah’s biggest ally is Saman, a lawyer she knows through her father. Saman not only fights for her case but also always offers her professional advice. Pakeezah, a law graduate, takes on her first case under Saman’s mentorship. Most importantly, Pakeezah remains supportive and non-judgmental even when she makes decisions that don’t immediately make sense to Saman.
Saman (Amna Ilyas) and Pakeezah (Sehar Khan) in a scene from Aik Aur Pakeezah. Image source: Kashf Foundation
Even Yaseen’s wife, who secretly gives evidence to Pakeezah, chooses solidarity with her over loyalty to her husband. Finally, Saman’s mother (Hina Bayat) is a joy to watch. She smokes a hookah, wears colorful salwar kameez and her dialogues are full of wit. Although she has led a suffocating life, she warmly welcomes women who have been wronged by society into her home. Even though she couldn’t stand up for herself before, she now stands by the women who need her. In Aik Aur Pakeezah, solidarity is not simple or black and white; it is learned, negotiated and forged every day.
The gendered nature of patriarchal policing in the digital landscape
Punitive, non-consensual virality has emerged as a way to police women and reinforce patriarchal ideas of sexual purity. The digital landscape has become an arena in which male honor is enacted and reconfigured, particularly in smaller cities and towns in India, where this phenomenon has taken the form of a new panopticon. There are cases where young couples are secretly recorded in public places and blackmailed. While many incidents go unreported, there have been some fights involving private rooms such as Oyo rooms caught.
Non-consensual recordings have long been reported in women’s locker rooms, washrooms and dormitories. Footage of women is also likely to go viral quickly, considering there are male-only “locker room” groups on social media where such content is commonly shared. Another form of privacy invasion involves men secretly photographing women in public places such as subways and uploading these photos to social media platforms such as Instagram pages and Telegram groups. One such Instagram handle was recently suspended in Bengaluru. Such forms of digital violence make public and semi-public spaces even more inaccessible for women.
While digital violence may not necessarily be gender-based, a large proportion of these crimes are gender-based in nature and fall under technology-enabled gender-based violence (TFGBV). By refusing to draw a false equivalence between the impact of the incident on Faraz and Pakeezah, the show’s makers acknowledge this gender dimension.
While digital violence may not necessarily be gender-based, a large proportion of these crimes are gender-based in nature and fall under technology-enabled gender-based violence (TFGBV). By refusing to draw a false equivalence between the impact of the incident on Faraz and Pakeezah, the show’s makers acknowledge this gender dimension. At the same time, the impact on Faraz is neither trivialized nor ignored; Rather, the differences in their experiences remain. This allows the show to explore the gendered nature of such crimes in a nuanced way. Throughout the show, one can see how the female victim faces far greater and more vicious social stigma than the male. Aik Aur Pakeezah does an excellent job of tackling such sensitive topics in a nuanced way, carefully avoiding alienating the community and instead bringing them into the conversation.
Shimaila Mushtaq is a graduate of Political Science from Jamia Millia Islamia. She currently works as a social media consultant for The Book Review Journal.
