Srijana Chaudhary.
Zindagi Gulzar Hai, “ Life is Rose Garden”, is a Pakistani telefilm , written by Umera Ahmed , directed by Sultana Siddiqui, and produced by Momina Duraid , broadcast on Hum TV. It was first telecast from 30 November 2012 to May 2013 in Pakistan. With the small beautiful story this tele- film is success to touch every viewer’s heart by its serious and practical issues that happens in contemporary changing society. Umera Ahmed has drawn the differences between male and female in both lower class and upper class family. In Zindagi Gulzar Hai Umera focuses on men and women relationship, marriage and divorce, social, cultural and psychological issues .
Umera Ahmed has presented man and woman complaining to each other. Women in the story are strong, self dependent, self decisive who challenges the man values. Story opens with the lead female character of the film Kasaf Murtuza talking with her diary about her struggling and hard life. For her life is ‘big problem with no solution everyday with new problem’. She expresses her deep hatered to male whom she beli teves a ‘selfish’, ‘mean’, ‘irresponsible’.
In contrast to Kasaf, her co star, lead male character Zaroon Zunaid, writes in his diary about his life which he call a ‘ rose garden’, ‘ every day new’, ‘surprises’, ‘adventures’, ‘ friends’ , outings a beautiful package’. But he believes in this beautiful package woman as a “tension”. He quotes dialoge of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “filthy thy name woman” and they are “stupid, selfish, Hypocrisy.’
This story is focused in the life of these protagonist kasaf and Zaroon and with the person they are related. The story is very simple with the serious issues of the changing society where patriarchal values are challenged by woman but this very practice has created problem for man. So, the challenging woman has been complained on their values and practices in this very telefilm.
No matter how educated and the modern the society has become but still women in many way have been controlled by man due to the set of patriarchal values and norms. In every society and in every culture still women are under man chauvinism. So my focus is to show the women empowerment has became problem to men where men complains on women activities and their way of living in this telefilm Zindagi Gulzar Hai. Umaera has discussed the issue of women and men in a quite new light because she has linked their complaints regarding each other values and practices which they cannot appreciate. Especially male who keeps complaining and don’t appreciate female values.

Women we see Umera has presented are not the typical Muslim women who remains within the four wall limiting their duty on rearing and caring the family but she has presented a modern women , feminist who has challenges the stereotypical images of Muslims women. They are working women, self dependent, who are aware of their rights and challenges the males values continuously. She has presented changing Pakistan and subverting roles of Pakistani women.

Though the man and women are harmonizing to each other in their roles, still women are considered not as equal to male. Still our educated society is male dominated society where women are still suppressed and if they are not, they are complained on their practices just because they are women. Women empowerment is not challenging patriarchal values for men but comparatively complaining .Umera Ahmed’s portrays the today’s women who are aware of their rights who advocates equal rights are warned and complained by males what they practices but objected continuously.
Rafiya, a single woman was left alone by her husband with her three daughters because she was unable to give a birth to a son. She is a strong mother and a principle on a government school. she raised her three daughter alone. She has challenged the patriarchal values, educating her three daughters and making them self dependent. Despite of lots of force and complains made by her husband and brother in law she send her daughter to university. She rejected to the proposal of her brother in laws comes up with, for kasaf. She didn’t care the anger of her husband and relatives. Murtuza, Rafiya’s husband, Ahmed has represented a typical Islamic male who married second time leaving his first wife and three daughters for the son. Murtuza, who do not believe on giving university education to his daughters, shouts to Rafiya,wife that she is not teaching any good things to them. He complains Rafiya of sending her daughter to University instead of thinking of her marriage.
Similarly, Ghajala belong to higher class family living with her husband and two children is a strong, and a working woman. She doesn’t not like being a typical house wife limiting herself in the house on rearing and caring her family. She believes in her career. Advocates equality and liberty .She teaches her daughter the values as she practices. So, she supports her daughter to get divorce because she doesn’t believe begging sorry with her husband and compromising and scarifying. She argues with her husband Zunaid who suggest her to rethink about the decision of divorce she is supporting to her daughter. Zunaid, a rich business man who never shows problems on his wife kind of living but was unhappy on her values who complains sometimes. He complains on his wife Ghajala and unsatisfied what she does sometime.

Kasaf , who from very beginning has not faith upon a male who thinks all man are as her father, selfish, irresponsible and typical. She challenges patriarchy norms and is strong in her beliefs. She is self respected; self dependent socially, politically and economically established women. But despite of being stubborn on her beliefs she has to be a victim of patriarchal society. Her father warned her, the he will break his legs if she will not stop going university.” She is forced to marry by her family though she has not interested on marriage.
Sara, Zaroon’s sister also a liberal women. She believes in equality and freedom as a male. She doesn’t like to be typical women. She doesn’t believe on sacrificing and compromising being women. She argues with her brother Zaroon, who keeps complaining her way of living and on her way of thinking. Sara asked divorce with her husband because she felt she can’t live on his husband values compromising her’s. She doesn’t believe on begging excuses.
Asmara, friend of Zaroon also liberal women. Later she was engaged with Zaroon. Because of her way of living and thinking she was criticized by zaroon. She declare a breakup with him because she think she can’t stay with Zaroon’s kind of values.
Zaroon who is a liberal son of rich parents who hangs outs with his boys and girl friends have problems with the women who are his mother, sister, fiancé and wife. He dislikes and unsatisfied with the values these female characters practices. He expresses his anger on Asmara dresses. He seems unsatisfied with Asmara’s nature of being liberal, and on her level of frankness with boys friends. He is disappointed with Asmara. Zaroon shout to his wife kasaf when she went to welcome party leaving him. He said, “welcome party is more important than your husband, you should think of your husband than that party.”
“Women are controlled and complained on what they do and what they think”. Similarly every women has to face this problem every of characters has to listen complains on their decision, their way of thinking, their way of living and even the way they dressed. The same issues have been raised by Umera Ahmed in this telefilm.
The rivalry between man and woman never ends. Each of them have complain to each other on the activities and what they practices similarly, in the story Umera has presented, males who are typical muslims man and a man who are privileged not typical have complains and unsatisfied with women empowerment. They expect being on their values laws a typical and traditional.
Women who are conscious about their rights are initially challenging the patriarchal values. They defend the male they came to encounter with. They complain to male as “chauvinist, and typical”. So, Pakistani today women are represented not typical but male though not conservative and traditional, still have problems on women empowerment.
Male have their own complains no matter how much privileged and liberal they are. They still have problem on female liberation and if these women are related to them. They agree to give those rights and liberty but have problems if they practices or demand. They want to see their woman as they wish, to whom they call ideal.
Through this film we see, Still male prefer traditional and typical roles of females. They are not conservative but regarding the females they have a problem to accept it if women behaves as arrogant and as liberal as them.
South Asian culture, where, the duty and responsibility of man and women has been distinguished is still a male dominated society. In this very culture women have been reminded on their duty, of being women despite of getting empowerment. Our society still wishes women being typical And because of this cultural structure women by the name of family honor, are forced to listen their man. Similarly,in this telefilms men becomes success to make women realize on their values they are practicing is not good that affects the family. Again the same patriarchal values are ruling over women in the name of creating an ideal family contributing their time and themselves on their family rather than on their career. Kasaf by the end confess she got controlled by Zaroon . Ghajala seems realizing about her duty on family leaving her preference to her career. Sara later realizes that she need to compromise on her way of living and her values.