KARACHI: A tired husband comes back home from a long day of sitting in the office chair, tolerating his boss. All this while, he did not get a chance to properly have a meal, and is entirely reliant on his wife to have food and tea waiting for him at home. This was the case for most Pakistani ads until recently Tapal Danedar changed the game with their latest TVC, starring Syra Yousuf and Ahmed Ali Akbar.
Pakistan has two major obsessions: Women who belong to the kitchen and like to ‘serve’, and chai itself. But this ad shows that perhaps Pakistani society is inching towards a different future for women, one where they are also deserving of a chance to be served by their partners.
For decades, working women have been thought to be the prime examples of what freedom should look like. However, working women actually have two jobs, one in the office, and the one waiting for them at home. They often come back to slave away in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning for their families and doing what they are ‘naturally’ expected to do.
While what the new Tapal ad shows is bare-minimum, it still pushes society towards a progressive step. The point is very simple: both husband and wife should be able to divide the workload, whether financially or in terms of household chores, or simply show common courtesy that does not hurt anybody. In the case of this ad, a husband makes a cup of tea for his working wife who has had a long day at work and that’s what marriages should be about. Compassion, empathy, and sharing the load.
‘Tum, mein, aur aik cup chai’ is a phrase that we have pretty much grown up listening to, but it is refreshing to be on the receiving end of that aik cup chai for a change.
Ladies here is to never settling for less when you look for a partner who hypes you up as you follow your dreams. Men, here is what a healthy relationship looks like. It is free of toxic masculinity and the insecurities that come with it, restricting you from loving your partner fully.
