'Kuch Ankahi' wins hearts and minds for shedding light on divorce, custody clauses of the Nikahnama

Kuch Ankahi, the highly popular family drama directed by Nadeem Baig, highlighted the importance of divorce, custody and other relevant clauses in the nikahnama that are often deleted or crossed out from the marriage agreement during weddings.

The latest episode did not only emphasise on how Islam protects women’s autonomy and rights but also how in-laws often manipulate and pressurise the bride’s family to exclude the clauses in the name of “love and affection” they have for their bahu (daughter-in-law).

A clip went viral from the show that shows Samiya’s (Mira Sethi) aunt Sofia (Vaneeza Ahmed) stopping the moulvi (cleric) from cutting off certain clauses from the nikahnama. “Moulvi sahab, please don’t cut these clauses,” she tells the cleric, who justifies them as “meaningless” statements that the groom’s side gets removed anyway.

Zareena, the groom’s mother played by Asma Abbas, agrees with the moulvi and says, “He’s right. What will we do about them? These clauses are of no importance anyway. Besides, are you suspicious of our intentions? We’re taking the bride home with our willingness and love.”

Sofia, completely ignoring Zareena, begins to explain why the clauses should stay in the marriage agreement, regardless of what the groom or bride’s families want.

“Moulvi sahab, the right to divorce, kids’ custody and other clauses are supported by our religion to protect a women’s safety and security. Nobody has the right to cross them out. Please keep them.” Muhammed Ahmed and Bilal Abbas Khan, Agha Jaan and Salman in the show respectively, also encouraged Vaneeza’s plea for the bride’s rights.

Many fans lauded the attempt to reinforce divorce and custody laws as protective measures for a bride, and not something that the groom’s side should be ashamed of.

Sharing the clip on the micro-blogging site, a user wrote, “Most powerful thing to watch today. The maulvi was asked not to cut the right to divorce and child custody clauses in nikahnama in the episode. Kudos to Mira Sethi and the entire team!”

Another user lauded the team for highlighting the issue since it’s ignored largely in a patriarchal society. “Kudos to team Kuch Ankahi for such an excellent drama and for raising awareness for this issue in particular. The right to divorce is a clause in Nikah form that everyone including the girls’ family ignores. It protects a woman in marriage, especially in our patriarchal culture.”

Another thanked the writer for including this in the script in the most natural way. “This scene was very important. This issue really needed to be discussed in our dramas. Thank you Mohammad Ahmed Sahab for writing such an amazing script I'm really impressed,” read the tweet. A tweep even shared that this is the kind of content “Pakistani television was lacking for years.”

A tweep labelled the show as "subtly bold" for addressing the terms and conditions of nikahnama -- a relatable issue for married women. "It is subtly bold of Kuch Ankahi to address the terms and conditions of Nikahnama and how by default in Pakistani culture they are cancelled. This was a conversation I had about 19 years ago and how it infuriated the men to see women choosing to read the document and retain T&Cs."

Kuch Ankahi, a “breather” for fans amidst “mediocre TV”, also stars Sheheryar Munawar, Mira Sethi, Sajal Aly, Qudsia Ali, Babar Ali and Irsa Ghazal. The drama has subtly broken several stereotypes in its short run so far including the evil phupho, vicious mothers-in-law, and dependent bechari daughter stereotype to name a few.