Proceedings of the Global Conference on Gender Studies
Year: 2024
DOI:
[PDF]
Gender Construction and Women’s Empowerment in Pakistani Society
Fouzia Shahin
ABSTRACT:
The status of women and girls in Pakistan in the twenty-first century ranks the lowest in gender equality and human development indices when compared to other South Asian countries. The present study aims to analyze gender construction and women’s empowerment in Pakistani society by examining a selection of Khalid Aftab’s short stories from a gender perspective. Aftab, a male Pakistani author, has written about gender and feminism in his literary works, including ‘Jehan Ander Jehan’ (2014), ‘Bhedi’ (2018), and ‘Potli’ (2024). The thematic analysis was used to explore local patterns influencing perceptions of gender, sex, and women’s empowerment. The study explores the representation and portrayal of women and men, gender stereotypes, and cultural norms to gain insight into social and gender dynamics and women’s empowerment. The study’s major themes include perceptions of sex, gender, masculinity, femininity, marriage, intimate relations, virginity, veiling, violence against women and girls, and emerging challenges of women’s agency and empowerment in homes and society. It was found that gender roles are mainly shaped within the household, influenced by mothers and older women, and reinforced through social norms and expectations. Likewise, forced marriages, sexual abuse, and social exploitation pose severe threats to women’s agency and empowerment. Aftab highlights women’s self-efficacy, conscientization, struggle against patriarchy, confrontation with gender expectations, and capacity to challenge gender roles and oppression by amplifying women’s voices and agency. Hence, improving women’s access to education, economic opportunities, and mobility is crucial for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Pakistan, leading to social transformation.
keywords: femininity; masculinity; forced marriage; sexual exploitation; marital rape