Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies: Alam-e-Niswan

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF COVID-19 ON WOMEN HOME-BASED WORKERS IN RURAL PAKISTAN: THE NARRATIVES OF SURVIVAL

2022-12-26T05:16:27+00:00

Globally, a large number of people work in the informal economy under vulnerable conditions. This study examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women home-based workers (HBWs) in Sindh, Pakistan. A total of 45 women HBWs were interviewed to assess the effects of the pandemic on their livelihoods. The results show that both men and women in the family lost their work during the lockdown which created a severe economic crisis. Due to limited literacy and lack of training, women HBWs were unable to use online platforms for selling their products. Thus, many women remained without work for several months which affected their livelihoods. The study highlights the role of extended family and close kin ties during the economic crisis. Based on the findings, we suggest introducing a well-integrated social protection system and implementing Sindh Home-based Workers Act 2018 immediately so to ensure the welfare of workers, particularly during a catastrophe.

AN IMAGINARY WORLD: PERCEPTIONS OF UNDERGRADUATE FEMALE STUDENTS OF FEMALE CHARACTERS IN CHINESE AND TURKISH TV DRAMAS

2022-12-26T05:22:40+00:00

Television dramas are considered an important tool to construct and communicate a certain identity of a state or a group and this has been used by all states and groups irrespective of their geographical location and political, cultural, social, and religious affiliation. The use of TV content has proved an effective tool for all types of governance systems to construct and present states or a group’s narrative and perspective. The TV dramas made in Turkey and China are also constructing a certain notion of Turkish and Chinese societies. This study analyzed the data collected in focus group discussions from undergraduate students after they have watched the chosen Turkish and Chinese TV dramas, one Turkish and one Chinese drama focusing on how female characters were constructed and presented in the dramas. The discussion revealed that students found the portrayal of female characters very different from the real-world stories of women in Turkey and China but at the same time they also thought that these dramas could prove a turning point in changing the male-dominated perspective of these societies.

WOMEN COLONIZED: TRAFFICKING AND COMMODIFICATION OF WOMEN REVISITING SHAHID NADEEM’S DUKHINI

2022-12-26T05:23:49+00:00

Human trafficking for sexual exploitation and bonded labour are major problems in third-world countries, including South Asian countries. This paper addresses the situation of trafficked women who are dehumanized and treated as colonized subjects even after seventy-five years of the end of colonialism in South Asia. Dukhini a play of the Ajoka Theatre, Pakistan, represents the humiliation of trafficked women and lays bare the patriarchal structures manipulating women of the subaltern class into subjugation. This critical study of the text of Dukhini and its stage performance, argues that the experiences of women under male domination and of colonized subjects or slaves are analogous. Dukhini, thus, is the visual version of feminists’ textual objectification of women as bodies for their exploitation and validates that the objectification of women as bodies is the major cause of their oppression in patriarchal societies. Dukhini’s success crossed the borders of South Asia and made alliances with Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi audience appreciation. This success, however, has not put a stop to human trafficking; women are still bought and sold. This study, therefore, strongly recommends meaningful involvement in anti-trafficking interventions by community-based organisations, such as the Ajoka Theatre. Further, and more importantly, collaborative public efforts at all levels for awareness about the harms of trafficking, and strict enforcement of anti-trafficking policies, are some of the much-needed strategies for eradicating the trafficking of women.

THE PERVERSION OF DESIRE AND THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE IN THE SUBCONTINENT: A RE-READING OF HOMOEROTICISM IN THE QUILT BY ISMAT CHUGHTAI

2022-12-26T05:27:04+00:00

Homoeroticism or same-sex relationship though considered impious and abhorred publicly has existed in the Subcontinent of India in almost all sections and genders of society from the elite to the most downtrodden. Though male homosexuality has been a subject of both public discourse and academic writings, women’s same-sex relationship, however, is largely viewed as taboo and hence is discreetly referred to. This paper drawing upon Judith Butler’s criticism of normative gender with psychoanalytic commentary from Freudian sources investigates the queer characterizations and sexuality in the context of colonial India. Thus, this paper aims to explore and discuss the effects of the homoerotic practices of men and women, especially within the institution of marriage by employing textual analysis of Ismat Chughtai’s short story The Quilt. The story portrays a woman whose desire for her husband is thwarted because of his being homoerotic. This suppressed desire finds its way into her actual and attempted coerced sexual relationships with the other women around her. Homoeroticism, thus, results in gender oppression, economic exploitation, and worst of all paedophilia, all of which remain muffled and silenced because of their association with homoeroticism.

PREGNANT DOMESTIC WORKERS’ ANTENATAL HEALTH PROBLEMS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

2022-12-26T05:26:00+00:00

This paper explores the problems faced by pregnant domestic workers in Islamabad. Primary data for this qualitative study was obtained through in-depth interviews with twenty respondents selected by applying a convenient sampling method (pregnant domestic workers) from December 2020 to February 2021. Drawing upon a constructivist epistemological standpoint, fieldwork began with some general questions regarding antenatal care. The data analysis, in keeping with the grounded theory approach, took place simultaneously. This procedure led to the emergence of new themes and inferences which were included in the interview guide for further interviews. The findings of the present research revealed that pregnant domestic workers, in addition to their pregnancy-related health problems, face multidimensional problems, including financial instability, low wages, lack of social support from family, sexual harassment at the workplace, and general health issues due to the hard and excessive nature of their work.

THE INVISIBLE AND SILENCED IN MUSLIM WOMEN’S MEMOIRS: AN INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS

2022-12-26T05:31:40+00:00

This paper, drawing upon the theories of Saba Mahmood and Leila Abu Lughod, studies the portrayal of subjectivity and agency in two selected memoirs of Muslim women. The proliferation of Muslim women’s memoirs is deeply problematic; these are answering the demands of a vociferous audience who want to know the whole truth from an insider’s voice. In texts written under these pressures, instead of a more ambivalent representation, the writers are wont to repeat the same platitudinous portrayals that have a chance to sell in the market. This paper argues that a Muslim woman’s subjectivity is unique and nuanced which cannot be translated through paradigms rooted in non-Muslim cultures and thus is not doing justice to the multifarious and equivocal identity of Muslim women.

UPROOTINGS/REGROUNDINGS AND MESTIZA CONSCIOUSNESS IN BHARATI MUKHERJEE’S JASMINE

2022-12-26T05:33:53+00:00

By drawing a nexus between Sara Ahmed’s conception of uprootings/ regroundings, James Clifford’s notion of diasporic consciousness and Gloria Anzaldua’s conceptualization of mestiza consciousness, this paper aims to investigate how the protagonist in Mukherjee’s Jasmine regrounds herself in the diaspora after being uprooted. She shows the possibility of a new transnational paradigm for the construction of a home that leads her to mestiza consciousness and self-empowerment. This paper also investigates how the act of migration and diasporic consciousness permits the protagonist to discover alternate meanings of home. Mukherjee in Jasmine highlights the sufferings and challenges that her immigrant protagonist faces in the diaspora. She passes through different stages-nepantla, coatlicue, coyolxhauqui, and then reaches mestiza consciousness.

NON-PROVISION OF RIGHT TO DIVORCE UNDER CLAUSE 18 OF MARRIAGE CONTRACT: A CAUSE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

2022-12-26T05:35:29+00:00

Pakistani women face systemic gender-based violence both at home and workplace. This violence often magnifies after marriages, though for different reasons. Although women have the right to divorce under Islamic law it is hardly practised. Using the Integrative Feminist Model for women’s rights as a conceptual framework, this paper aims to focus on the restriction of the right to divorce as a cause of domestic violence (DV). Primary data for this study were generated from a population of 350 women in the age group of 18 to 60 years in urban Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from April 2022 to June 2022. Data reveals that most women suffer from domestic violence but could not use their legal right to divorce because of its non-provision, and also because of their lack of understanding of the provisions of the nikah form. In light of victim responses, this study suggests the introduction of peace education in all schools and in colleges to inculcate the merits of peace and discouragement of feuds and altercations. It is hoped that these lessons leant at school will help in resolving family disputes peacefully and ultimately protect women in general. For a better understanding of the official form of the marriage contract (nikahnama) in Urdu, this author presents a Pashto translation of this document.

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN INDIA: LITERATURE REVIEW

2022-12-26T05:36:59+00:00

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a globally prevalent human rights issue that involves social determinants like norms, values, power relations, socio-economic situations, etc. Key indicators include domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and harassment. This paper reviews the literature published in academic journals, government and NGO reports and mass media reports to understand the roots of GBV against women in India and the factors leading to its increased intensity during the COVID-19 pandemic. As GBV, with slight geographical variations, mostly remains unreported in India, the same pattern is reported by the available literature, thereby the total number of victims remains unrecorded. The COVID-19 preventive measures, such as quarantine and limited services, further enhanced the already persistent gender-based inequalities and also restricted possibilities for reporting. With limitations of the study, the paper is focused only on female-specific cases thereby leaving out the sections such as males, LGBTQ, and other categories outside of the scope of the study. Summing up, recommendations based on analysis are given for policy framing, legal advocacy, administrative accountability, and counselling purpose to ensure a holistic strategy and not a piecemeal approach with emphasis on making an attitudinal change to combat GBV. This paper concluding observation is that long-term structural changes in social attitudes and behaviours and treating women with equity are essential for eradicating gender-based violence. In all such endeavours, women’s active participation is essential. Finally, women’s active agency will ensure a positive and robust change in containing and eradicating gender-based violence.

AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL JUDGEMENT BASED ON THE VIEWS OF PAKISTANI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ABOUT FEMALES RIDING MOTORCYCLES

2022-12-26T05:38:10+00:00

This paper, using the Social Judgement theory (SJT) of Muzafer Sherif (1961), explores Pakistani University-going students' perceptions regarding females riding motorcycles. The paper focuses on three main aspects—the latitude of acceptance, non-commitment, and rejection. The sample comprised 50 university students, including 25 male and 25 female students from the University of Punjab (Law College) and Kinnaird College for Women. The responses are further analyzed based on the continuum of latitude proposed by the theorist in light of the statistics evaluated through a close-ended questionnaire using a Likert scale of 15 questions. The findings of this research show biased and negative attitudes toward females who ride or want to ride motorcycles.