The drama ‘Mayi-Ri’ attracted widespread controversy on social media after it depicted an underaged girl being forcibly married to her cousin, later giving birth to a baby girl. However the drama has ended now, with main leads Ainy (Aina Asif) and Fakhar (Samar Jafri) choosing to end their relationship as he decides to go abroad for studies.
Social media had mixed reactions to the ending. Many fans were happy to see a Pakistani drama deciding not to stigmatise divorce, showing Ainy empowered by her family to chase her dreams and complete her education on her own. In the last scene, Ainy gives a college graduation speech where she strongly advocates for the right of women to chase their dreams, revealing that she has set up a house with her mother called ‘Ayesha Home’ to help young children escape abuse.
As pop culture writer Sadaf Haider wrote: “Mxed feelings about #MayiRi ending Congratulations on understanding Divorce can be be a blessing Allah has allowed it for a reason Big thank you to The writer for allowing Aini & Fakhir to move on from a child marriage And women supporting each other.”
Mxed feelings about #MayiRi ending
— Sadaf Haider صدف حیدر (@tomtomatoe) October 7, 2023
Congratulations on understanding Divorce can be be a blessing Allah has allowed it for a reason
Big thank you to The writer for allowing Aini & Fakhir to move on from a child marriage
And women supporting each other
But fatherhood over the… pic.twitter.com/GUnZ31QDZ6
Social media users defended Ainy for divorcing Fakhir, working on her independence and following her own dreams. Users shared the clip of Ainy speaking at her college graduation ceremony, applauding the powerful stance the show took against child marriage.
The 10 minute speech of Annie >>>>>>
— Shanuzz (@Shanuzz14) October 7, 2023
Just goosebumps y'all
Can't believe the slow change in sameena,ayesha,fehmi, saika.❤️
And an educational support system started wid the name Ayesha. ✨️
No words🤍 this show deserves all love.#MayiRi
@AryDigi pic.twitter.com/memIPXpNSV
this was the deserved ending to the story. Glad fakhir and Annie decided to get divorced at the end https://t.co/8Gi9Ql8Mqy
— jenbear (@taestysjen) October 9, 2023
However, other social media users were disappointed at how Fakhir chose to run away from his responsibilities for wife and child to study abroad, calling this twist, “heartbreaking.”
#MayiRi ending was unexpected and left me in tears. The main characters getting divorced and Fakher running away from his responsibilities was a heartbreaking twist. However, I've learned that this is a common trait in Pakistani dramas, which often lack happy endings.🥺🥺 pic.twitter.com/v9ErpgnALS
— AbdulMoix (@AbdulMoix11) October 7, 2023
Fakhir isn't going abroad to ✨secure his daughter's future✨, rather he's using it as an excuse to escape from the marriage and other responsibilities. #Mayiri gave the most reasonable and close to reality ending. I judged the drama before, but glad they gave us a good ending. https://t.co/XGBfu8KcIL
— ❥ (@delulu_kiddd) October 6, 2023
But for us, the best part of the drama was how divorce was not treated as a taboo, but as an empowering a step towards a woman’s future. We’re incredibly happy with the direction the show took, and hope more writers and producers take a page from their book, to show that it’s better to live alone than to live in an abusive marriage.
