Diya Jalaye Rakhna: Removing the stigma of a female child

Play highlights the importance of daughters

ISLAMABAD: The play staged on the sixth day of the Youth Drama Festival at Pakistan National Council of Arts on Saturday tried to remove the stigma attached with the birth of a female child.

The students of University of Gujrat, Islamabad Campus, staged the play, “Diya Jalaye Rakhna”, highlighting the blessings of daughters.

The story revolves around two families with bonds; one blessed with a daughter and the other blessed with a son, Sarfraz. Initially, Tayyab, the father blessed with a daughter curses himself and thinks his life is doomed but fast forward a few years, the play shows that his daughter turns out to be his support, gains quality higher education and secures a job to take care of him and his wife.

On the other hand, the couple that gave birth to a son and were very proud of that eventually fall sick and their son gets spoilt and ends up cursing them for not providing them a lavish lifestyle and wastes his time doing nothing.

As the story unfolds, the play shows that the son’s father regrets being proud and realises the blessings of a female child. The story ends on a beautiful note where the son also realises his mistake and gets ready to learn and get education from the girl so he can mend his life.

Compared to plays staged earlier at the festival, this one may have lacked glamour and humour but it did impart a much needed lesson.

While the play included a lot of characters, the two actors that impressed the audience the most and really managed to stand out were Tayyab played by Nimrah Mansoor and Sarfraz played by Zunaira Anwaar.

Speaking to The Express Tribune Zunaira Anwaar, a student of University of Gujrat said that the character was a challenge because the role is slightly negative initially in the play. “However, the experience of performing was so good because PNCA has been really supportive and has given us such a great backdrop and set up to perform. Moreover, our entire team was very strong and it was a great team effort so performing the play became a lot of fun too,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2016.