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The chillingly tense drama “Kaisa Hai Naseeban” extensively focuses on the issue of domestic mistreatment in our society. The story paints an unyielding picture of a middle-class girl who gets stuck in a toxic marriage (she is fraudulently taken to Malaysia after her marriage). Does she have a choice to escape? Clearly not…

Ahmad (Muneeb Butt), who is Maryam’s (Ramsha Khan) cousin and later her husband, is one of those men who see their wives as possessions; he lashes out at his wife if the rooms aren’t perfectly set, or the food is not cooked with utter precision. She is allowed no will of her own and is belittled by her husband every now and then.

Particularly disturbing is the fact that Ahmad is a shallow, self-centered human being who is downright two-faced; to the world, he is the husband that every woman wants, but to Maryam, he is a disrespectful man who cruelly strikes his wife. Also, Ahmad’s mother, beautifully played by Uzma Gillani, is shown to be the root of all evil. She tricked her brother (Maryam’s father – played by Waseem Abbas) into this marriage, and guess what? Now she has a dutiful servant, who is also, incidentally, called her “daughter-in-law”.

And the story doesn’t end here. It gets worse. While continually battering his wife, Ahmad, and his family, mentally ill-treats Maryam and pressurizes her into doing a job. Maryam submits, because, just like every other middle-class girl, she doesn’t have another choice.

The last few episodes of the drama were particularly attention-grabbing; these show a series of events where Maryam finally gets a chance to fly back to Pakistan (for her sister’s wedding). She sees this as her only chance at escaping this meaningless marriage – she is adamant about not going back. But does our society give that leverage to women, of speaking up for their rights?

And even if women get the rare opportunity to speak up, is there a single person who would hear them out, let alone act against all the injustice? And this is exactly what happens with Maryam; by the time she is able to explain herself to her parents, it’s too late. Ahmad uses one of his hypocrite ways to take her back to Malaysia. Now is she trapped again?

Will Maryam ever be able to break free? Will she ever get the justice she deserves? Will she be able to help all those women who submit themselves to societal pressures and injustices?