Sultana Siddiqui, the President of HUM Network Limited, which is one of Asia’s largest and most successful TV networks, also known as Sultana Apa out of respect in the Industry. In an interview with BBC urdu, she talks about the nature of dramas in pakistani industry and how she has tried to do something out of the box.She also talks about the challenges she faced while leading a business empire, as a WOMAN!
‘Being a woman is the biggest challenge for women in Pakistan. Your gender, the responsibility of taking care of children because a gender role says so, they all become major hindrances in the way of women’s success. Above all, the burden to prove ourselves becomes a tiring challenge. We have to prove ourselves a good mother and wife at home, we have to put double the efforts as compared to men at the workplace to prove that we are equally eligible for a job’, she says.
Answering to a question that why in the dramas produced on HUM TV women are not seen as independent as Sultana Siddiqui is herself, she responded that In the dramas that her channel has broadcasted, people always see the female protagonist strengthened and becoming independent as the drama progresses towards the end also seen in drama serial Kankar, zindagi gulzar hai and humsafar. So I have tried my best to let people see my shadow in the female lead as strong headed individuals. Unfortunately we cannot always portray women in strong characters in every drama serial but I have always aimed to leave a certain social message for my audience that could contribute towards the betterment of society.
Talking about the challenges women face while working in a corporate environment, she says that reputation is their key concern. ‘We have to think multiple times prior to saying anything so that it wouldn’t get misused to damage our reputation. In this society, anything can spark a controversy and women face serious character assassination in response’ she says.
She also said that when she started her venture of launching HUM TV, she was greatly discouraged by the people outside, but got immense support from her family, her sons and daughters-in-law. At that time, Indian dramas were losing their audience due to their below par content which was all about family conspiracies and nothing productive. So I decided that I will produce an entirely different content, it will be my own and would definitely prove to be a breeze of fresh air in Pakistani Drama industry.
When will our dramas be free of family politics, in answer to this she said that she tries to avoid that kind of content to be broadcasted on HUM TV, and even If it is portrayed in a drama, the notion is later corrected and we see what should ideally be done as seen in Humsafar. Dramas and their stories are depictions of a society, you see in drama what you see happening in an actual society, but condemnation of society’s evils in a drama is necessary.
Addressing young women, she advised, ‘Don’t pity yourself, work on yourself, grow out, bring perfection in your skills, be confident and enjoy whatever field you join. If you will be a perfect and independent entity in yourself, no one could dare exploit you’.
Watch her video here.
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