Representation of Women in Garam Hawā

At the heart of all the turmoil that has been portrayed in the film, there is a moving subplot regarding Salim’s daughter Amina .The post-Partition period plays havoc with her emotions. She never knows whom to trust. She falls in love with her cousin Kazim who also claims to love her too. She is finally disillusioned by Kazim’s love and expresses her acceptance of Shamshad. This acceptance culminates in the scene where Shamshad is narrating a story of the doves from the history of the Mughals when at the end Amina says “dūsrē kō nahīñ urnē dūngī”. This choice per se is very practical in nature and goes on to show that she is exercising agency of some sort. But this action of hers is constrained by the choices she has, choices that have been created not by her but by the society for her. Hence in someway she represents the subaltern and not only her but all the women in the film that we come across have little or no agency. The decisions taken by others affect their lives in ways which, to say the least, are moving. The way the Grandmother hides in the small room when the family is forced to leave the house, the house of her ancestors, is heart-rending. She considers it her religious duty to stay in the house till she dies when she says “qayāmat kē din kyā jawāb dūngī.”

Another thing which is very conspicious in the film is the fact that the women are mostly restricted to the space of the household. When asked about the financial condtion of the business of her husband, the wife of Salim Mirza remarks that “bhāi yē tō mardōñ kē kām hēñ, wahi jānēñ.”