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Member of the National Assembly Sharmila Faruqi praised drama serial Pamaal for shedding light on the “mental suffering” and “emotional abuse” many women endure in silence at the hands of controlling partners.

Pamaal is a thought-provoking drama in which we see Malika, played by Saba Qamar, defy the odds and choose love over tradition, leaving behind the comfort, safety, and security of her father’s house for the unfamiliar. What she finds at her husband’s house, however, isn’t a bed of roses or the typical fairytale happy ending she had bargained for.

Malika’s husband, Raza, played by Usman Mukhtar, is everything she ever wanted in a husband: stable, thoughtful and devoted. But their life together as husband and wife starts off on unsure footing, and constraints slowly begin to creep up and tighten their hold around Malika, crushing her free spirit.

Speaking about the drama’s themes, Faruqi said that “psychological manipulation” within marriages is a deeply rooted issue in our society — one that continues to be “dangerously overlooked”.

“While physical violence is recognised as abuse, what remains dangerously overlooked is psychological manipulation, where husbands and families slowly break a woman’s spirit through humiliation, intimidation, gaslighting, and constant surveillance,” she said. “This is coercive control, and it is one of the most pervasive forms of domestic abuse.”

Green Entertainment’s Pamaal, written by Zanjabeel Asim Shah and directed by Khizer Idrees, delves into those very silent struggles — the kind that don’t always leave bruises but leave lasting scars. The series attempts to start a conversation about the mental and emotional abuse many women face in marriages masked by “care,” “protection,” or love that slowly turns into control.

Commenting on the unjust expectations placed on women in the role of a wife, Faruqi added, “No woman should be expected to surrender her voice, identity, and dignity to satisfy a partner’s insecurity or superiority.

“Marriage must be a partnership, not a prison.”

A large number of women seems to have connected with Pamaal’s portrayal of self-worth and navigating the emotional toll of toxic marriages, labelling it as a “must-watch”. Its quiet yet powerful portrayal of control and manipulation has resonated deeply online, opening up a long-ignored conversation about the unseen forms of abuse that exist behind closed doors.