Lahore: Punjab Women Protection Authority Chairperson Hina Parvez Butt has discussed the portrayal of marriage and domestic conflict in television drama Aap Ki Izzat, saying the story carries lessons for husbands and mothers in law.
In a video shared on social media, Butt praised Ahsan Khan’s performance and focused on the drama’s depiction of relationships between spouses and their families.
She said mothers in law had a responsibility to make daughters in law feel part of the family rather than creating difficulties for them. She also said women who had faced mistreatment after marriage should not repeat the same behaviour with the next generation.
Addressing husbands, Butt questioned the different standards applied to infidelity within marriage. She asked men who would not accept an extra marital relationship by their wives to judge their own conduct by the same standard.
The issue is reflected in the relationship between Tabish, played by Ahsan Khan, and his wife Beena, played by Urwa Hocane. Their marriage deteriorates as Beena confronts neglect and mistreatment from her husband.
The drama also examines these expectations through Tabish’s mother, played by Sania Saeed. The character raised her son as a single mother but continues to operate within ideas shaped by a patriarchal family structure. Her treatment of Beena shows how women can also enforce expectations that place the burden of preserving a marriage on another woman.
This becomes part of the drama’s wider treatment of loyalty within marriage. Beena is expected to remain committed to her husband and family despite his conduct, while Tabish is not initially held to the same standard. The storyline raises the question of why responsibility for maintaining a marriage is often placed on the wife when loyalty expectations should apply to both spouses.
Butt said the Punjab Women Protection Authority mediates marital disputes and seeks reconciliation between couples where possible. She said the authority’s objective was to prevent families from breaking apart.
Aap Ki Izzat, written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Saife Hasan, concluded on Saturday. The series follows Beena as she begins to challenge the treatment she experiences within her marriage and family.
