KARACHI: Pakistani actor Hajra Yamin, currently starring in the television serial “Dr. Bahu,” says meaningful change in Pakistan’s entertainment industry will only come when women gain greater control over the stories being told, not just the characters appearing on screen.
Yamin, whose career spans theater, television and film, said actors often have limited influence over scripts and storytelling despite bringing emotionally complex female characters to life in some of Pakistan’s most-watched dramas.
“Actors don’t have a lot of power when it comes to scripts and storytelling,” the actor told Arab News in an interview this month. “It’s in the hands of the producers and the people calling the shots on the top.”
“Sadly, you don’t see a lot of women there,” she added. “I would see real empowerment when I see women in power positions. When it comes to content, when it comes to deciding which project to put their money on.”
Yamin also said representation alone was not enough if the broader industry structure remained unchanged.
The actor acknowledged there were women in senior positions within Pakistan’s television industry, though she said they remained “small in number” and sometimes made “very misogynistic choices when it comes to scripts.”
Pakistani television dramas command large audiences both domestically and across the South Asian diaspora, with women-centered family serials dominating primetime ratings for years. Many revolve around recurring themes such as troubled marriages, family control, infidelity, sacrifice and tensions between daughters-in-law and extended households, subjects that often generate intense debate online among viewers.
Yamin’s latest role in “Dr. Bahu” sits squarely within that landscape. Bahu is the Urdu word for daughter-in-law.
In the serial, she plays Mina, a qualified doctor navigating workplace frustrations, family expectations and a strained marriage inside a traditional household. The character works as a dermatologist at her father-in-law’s hospital despite being trained as a gynecologist, while also confronting her husband’s infidelity.
Yamin said she initially hesitated to accept the role after recently portraying another emotionally restrained woman in the hit drama “Noor Jahan,” but later realized Mina’s story explored a different psychological journey.
“A lot of women have been writing and reviewing it,” she said, referring to audience reactions to the infidelity storyline. “I didn’t know cheating was so big of an issue.”
“LAYERED CHARACTER”
Born in Multan and raised partly in Saudi Arabia, Yamin began her career in theater before moving into television after relocating to Karachi. Over the past decade, she has alternated between leading and supporting roles, a strategy she says has helped her avoid being boxed into short-lived stardom.
“I’ve usually seen that people who are only going for leading characters, they have a very limited span,” she said. “You don’t see them for a long time. I am here for the long haul. And this is why I want a little bit of both.”
Yamin also spoke candidly about the competitiveness of Pakistan’s entertainment industry, particularly for actors who openly express opinions.
“Not a lot of people are your fans [if you are vocal in the industry],” she said.
“There are such women and men who consciously make an effort to take away an opportunity from you, who consciously make an effort to make sure you don’t land on the cover with them.”
Despite that, Yamin said her career has depended more on performance than industry networking.
“I have a lot of social anxiety and networking didn’t do anything for me,” she said. “Because even if I would land at an event or a party, I’d just be awkward. I was always noticed because of my craft and my manager.”
Asked about future projects, Yamin said she would next appear in the upcoming drama “Aik Mohabbat Aur,” in which she will play what she described as a layered character.
“I haven’t done something like this before,” she said.
