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Sonya Hussyn’s new drama Jinhey Rastey Mai Khabar Hoi tells the story of the harsh reality faced by women today who prioritise their careers over opting for an early marriage. It is a continual fight against expectations set by society in order to exercise their own potential and the actor called the depiction “heartbreaking”.

Hussyn spoke to Images about the show and revealed that her character, Noor ul Ain, is a strong-willed progressive girl who works hard and takes pride in supporting her family. “In this play, I’m getting the opportunity to depict another reality of our society — of failures and successes, a tug of war between expectations and aspirations,” she said.

The Azaadi actor described the plot saying it will prompt some hard-hitting questions in the viewer’s head, “The story is about a woman’s success and ambition not taken in good stride within our society. It will make you think — why is a woman exploring her potential in her professional life looked down upon? Why is a working woman the one rejected when considered for marriage? How long should young girls limit their true professional potential just to be accepted in marriage?”

She added that the story will make the viewer feel the heartbreak and pain that Noor will feel, which she will eventually use to her advantage and become stronger.

Hussyn compared the difference in expectations set for married men and women, and proposed a balanced approach to the matter. “Topics like these are rarely explored and that is what I found charming about [the script]. It’s very common for girls to be forced into getting married and told to pursue their careers after marriage. But after getting wed, circumstances for women change so drastically, it is not the same for men.”

She said that men continue to work as they did before getting married but there are many other responsibilities added for women which changes their lives. “They are expected to wake up early, do household chores, take care of the kids and oversee the house. After that, if they are capable of working alongside managing the entire house, they can which is not possible.”

Hussyn questioned, “If two people are in a relationship, why can’t the partners divide the responsibilities between themselves? This is what the serial’s story is based on. It is a very good topic, I think we should speak upon this [and ask], why does a woman have to choose between marriage and career? [They’re told] they would have to drop their careers if they want to get married. I mean, if a girl wants to take both side-by-side then why not? But she is not considered, because ‘oh, she’s so career oriented, she would not be able to handle the house and family’. Why is this imagined for the woman?”

The Moor actor believes the topic is a need of the time and dedicates it to all the girls who want to take their careers forward but face a lot of hurdles in life, even by their parents who encourage them to leave the house and become their husband’s responsibility. “These are things a lot of women get to hear, especially Asian women,” she added.

The drama is currently in the shooting phase and Hussyn’s experience has been smooth sailing except for a slight issue where some scenes were so emotionally charged, the performance became a little challenging. She talked about the content saying, “Noor ul Ain is a character who has to deal with rejection because she wants to have a stable income with a practical worldview in mind. It’s sad that our society still punishes women for wanting to pursue a career instead of getting married early. It’s an unfortunate reality that this mentality still exists in 2022.”

Directed by Ali Masud Saeed, Jinhey Rastey Mai Khabar Hoi is a Six Sigma Plus production and will be televised on ARY Digital.