Burka Avenger: Pakistan's Superhero for Girls

Look out Batman, there’s a new vigilante in town. Her name is Burka Avenger -- and she is awesome. 

Burka Avenger is an animated Pakistani children series about Jiya, a young school teacher whose alter ego, Burka Avenger, is a burka-clad heroine who defends girls' education in the fictional town of Halwapur. She's sort of like Clark Kent transformed into Superman. More accurately, she’s a Pakistani-Ninja-Wonder Woman.

The three seasons of this 3D-animated show contain 13 episodes each. Each features Burka Avenger defending girls schools from politicians and mercenaries who try to shut them down. She uses “Takht Kabaddi” a made-up martial art using books and pens. Her burka serves as a cape that allows her to fly Batman-style. Her mission is to protect “Justice, Peace, and Education for all.” 

So how did this happen?  The show was created and written by Aaron Haroon Rashid, a Pakistani rock star and social activist. It was produced in Islamabad by Unicorn Black Studios, as a movement against the Taliban’s mission to end girls' education. The show premiered in 2013, and is now currently airing on Pakistan Nickelodeon. Episodes are available on the website www.burkaavenger.com, in the original Urdu with English subtitles. And its big. In the last two years, Burka Avenger won a Rising Star Animation Award at the Canada International Film Festival, a Peabody Award, an International Gender Equity Prize at the Prix Jeunesse International, and has been nominated for an International Emmy Award.

This movement is more than just one man’s inspiration. Pakistan's pop media culture came together to work on this project to support girls’ education. Many Pakistani musicians and pop stars have written songs and made music videos to go with the TV show. For example, Pakistani rapper Adil Omar created a music video “Don’t Mess With The Lady In Black.” The producers Unicorn Black also created iPhone games and a music album. 

Even the West media are joining the Burka Avenger hype. The Huffington Post praised the show with this article: “6 Lessons Disney Could Learn From Pakistan's 'Burka Avenger.'” And the Washington Post made similar comments, noting that "Pakistan's new superhero makes the hoop-skirted Prince Charming-obsessed Disney princesses look downright antiquated."

I believe education through storytelling is powerful, and Jiya/Burka Avenger is a terrific role model for girls. I like the fact that the heroine has the Wonder Woman aspect of being strong without being macho or sexy. I like the fact that her “justice, peace, and education” values are expressed through the pop music soundtrack as well as the TV show. It’s great that the hero’s weapons echo the words of Pakistani women's rights activist Malala Yousafzai: “'Our books and our pens are the most powerful weapons.'”

I think it’s interesting that Jiya chooses to be empowered by the burka, instead of discarding it. But the best part is that the child sidekicks are boys. This makes it clear to young viewers that girls' education affects boys too. Even though the heroine is a woman defending the rights of girls, Burka Avenger is not just a “girly" show. Girls' education is not presented as a “feminist problem.” Including young boys frames education as something that is important to all children and to the wellbeing of the whole community. This show is one step closer to closing the gap between feminism and mainstream pop culture. And I love that.