It is with blurry eyes, that I watched the latest Shan Foods Advert.
My instant reaction? Why hadn’t anyone thought of this before? The simplicity of a message often takes you completely by surprise! It’s so simple that we wonder how or why we hadn’t addressed it earlier?
Young girls have always been blamed for taking over seats in medical colleges but no one has asked them why they don’t practice?
Do we really think that after going through sleepless nights, house jobs, and unrelenting working hours, a medical student would want to give that all up?
Shan Foods didn’t just pay lip service to the message but showed us the key to more female participation in the medical field lies in the hands of the mothers-in-law and our expectations from her. Thank you Shan Foods for writing a woke narrative where women are walking hand in hand, contributing to the health care system as they were always meant to.
The Bitter Truth
It is sad that in a country like Pakistan where men expect the women in their families to visit a female doctor only, they are not prepared to encourage their daughters to become those doctors.
The truth hit home hard at the onset when medical students (men & women) pledged to devote their lives to caring for the sick, but we know that at an alarming rate over 70 of every 100 female doctors never get to practice their profession.
It is also tragic to comprehend that medicine is not a glorified profession, it is, in fact, a challenging one. Especially with the past 3 years of living in a pandemic world – medicine has been about sacrificing our doctors’ lives to save ours. Doctors take an oath to serve humanity & any obstacle we throw their way, is, in effect an obstacle that breaks their pledge. Would you ask a soldier to leave the army to cook dinner at home? Yeah, that’s exactly what happens to the 77% of doctors who never see the inside of a clinic again.
Both Ushna Shah & Saba Faisal have done a magnificent job in a mere 1 min 20 second advert which moves us to tears by communicating a very simple message.
Do Mothers-In-Law Have The Power To Bring Change?
Mothers-in-law are the only ‘movers & shakers’ in a world where young, married girls want to follow a professional career. Yes, they have the power to either make careers or break them.
It is poignant to observe that medicine is about as committed as any profession can be, and if mothers-in-law realize they have the power, and use it positively, they can not only change lives but also save them.
Khana banana kisi ek ka kaam toh nahi is a subtle message to all families to shift their expectations. Your daughter-in-law’s profession should be as revered as your son’s. Respect her right to practice what she spent many tedious years to study & achieve a degree in. Her triumphs are, in essence, your triumphs.
The point at which the daughter-in-law leaves her baby to set out for work resonates with so many young women! Ushna’s expressions depicted fleeting emotions – a young mother leaving her child for the day is a sacrifice in itself (medicine demands no less) and that sense of pulling oneself together, knowing she is leaving her mother in law to take on a traditionally ‘daughter in law responsibility’ (cooking dinner) as she firmly squared her shoulders – you have to be in her shoes to know how she felt – that moment hit home for many young ‘Doctor bahus’ in Pakistan.
Shan Foods must be appreciated for communicating a simple message in a very concise, impactful manner.
Finally, a shout out to all those mothers-in-law and husbands who have happily supported their daughters-in-law in their careers. To them, we can be thankful for giving us the 33% female doctors who tend to our patients. Let’s try and up these numbers so that tomorrow, girls are not blamed for wasting precious medical seats in our colleges and trained doctors aren’t sitting at home, unable to save lives.
No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Are We Hoping That The Husbands Will Follow Suit?
It is, however, interesting to note that the advert had omitted the role of the husband in the Doctor Bahu narrative.
Was it intentional? Is the message covertly directed towards husbands but in playing the mother-in-law as the key game-changer, are we hoping that husbands will follow suit?
It is quite evident for anyone acquainted with the desi family set up that husbands & mothers-in-law work as a well-knit unit. And perhaps, the hope is to influence sons & future husbands by speaking to the mothers. Shan Foods had chosen a new way of looking at the equation, what do you think?
Let’s hope we truly shift the narrative and the doctor bahus taking an oath today for humanity can truly honor their pledge.
