Published 10 Feb, 2022 02:55pm

A Pakistani drama claimed women with curly hair are 'ugly' and Twitter users aren't having it

Pakistani dramas have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. From getting called out for glorifying violence to being slammed for perpetuating terrible stereotypes and crazy plots, it's been rough for Pakistani dramas on the internet. And now there's another drama to add to our list of shows to avoid — Main Aisi Kiun Hun, starring Noor Zafar Khan and Syed Jibran.

In the first episode of Main Aisi Kiun Hun, Syed Jibran starts off by hating on how his wife's natural hair looks. Clips from the episode have gone viral in which Jibran says, "We met quite a lot before we got married, probably 40 or 50 times to understand each other before taking a decision as huge as marriage. If you had showed up like you have right now in front of me in those 40 to 50 meetings, I wouldn't have married you. Your hair in its natural state makes you look ugly, and I never wanted to marry someone who is unattractive."

He then claimed to have been "cheated" and said Khan "trapped me by hiding your ugliness away from me". "I've been regretting it for the past six years and on top of that, it's my bad luck that my daughter also inherited this [curly hair] from you. I'm a husband to a woman with ugly hair and a father to a daughter with the same hair, have you thought how this hurts me? If I was able to take back any decision I ever made it would've been saying yes to you," says the actor in the drama.

The drama also features a scene with Khan straightening her daughter's curly hair in order to please her husband. Apart from the obvious emotional trauma of telling a child (or anyone!) that their natural hair isn't beautiful, using straighteners and other styling tools on children's hair isn't encouraged because it can ruin their hair.

People online are obviously not here for the curly hair shaming and have been calling the show out.

The first episode also shows how the man is embarrassed when he takes his family out for dinner as everyone, including the waiters, apparently thinks his wife and daughter's hair is something to laugh at. Rather than getting angry at these obviously idiotic people who are laughing at hair texture, the man takes it out on his wife.

The drama started a conversation on hair types. Many women shared pictures of their curly hair to show the show's creators that it definitely isn't something to be ashamed of.

Another Twitter user felt that the show creators "were out of ideas" when they came up with this plot device, and we agree whole-heartedly! What made them think this was a good idea?

Some users even called out the actors for choosing a script with problematic elements like this.

Some users believed this was just adding to the list of insecurities women face because of weird societal expectations.

One user called it "racist" and said "the sad part is this that it probably has happened in some sick twisted instance".

The issue of shaming people with curly hair isn't new and one user shared her experience.

The "curls hating villain" comes just after Aye Musht-e-Khaak's problematic character Mustejab and the Shiza and Fizza fiasco, and this user hasn't had time to recover yet.

We understand that dramas need villains but the biggest problem with most Pakistani shows is that these evil and insane lines are often said by the hero. It's 2022 and the world is moving towards self-love and acceptance, why then is the Pakistani drama industry giving us more things to feel insecure about? Why was curly hair — something normal and beautiful — have to become a plot device that makes a character unattractive?

Drama writers need to get over hair texture, skin tone, height and weight and write better scripts. Shaming someone for their hair texture is downright strange and needs to stop.

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