“Power dynamics and control in Pakistan Drama Baaghi”

Abstract

Victimized by society-power-control and influenced by contemporary Pakistani society, the Pakistani television drama Baaghi (2017), with references to real life story of Qandeel Baloch, is a story of a young girl who attempts to strike a balance between her traditional and modern social life. In this article, the researcher will be examining how the drama presents all the types of systemic oppression familial, marital, institutional, and societal through the prism of its main character, Fauzia Batool. As the story starts with her fight against the patriarchal dominance of a village, the quest of transforming to a new territory of exploitation develops in the city the dimension of the media, fame, and limelight lead her to. The play shows the way in which power is exercised but not just explicitly like honor killing but also culturally and gendered expectations including moral policing. Nevertheless, with its crushing suppression devices in place, Baaghi shows Fauzia as a woman of defiance and free will, of making important choices and expressing herself. In this paper, I will argue that this movie serves as a critique of the patriarchal system as well as a cultural text posing critical questions on gender and autonomy and the price of going against social construct.