Violence against women in politics
The case of Pakistani women’s activism
This paper explores the protest claims of Pakistani women against the everyday oppression of traditional gender
roles and the complex backlash they provoke as an instance of violence against women in politics. Taking the annual Aurat
March (Women’s March) as a focal point, I analyze the provocative placards and slogans that have gone viral in both
traditional and digital media and investigate the misogynistic counter attacks launched by conservatives, men’s rights advocates,
and anti-feminists. Contesting narrow definitions of the political in mainstream research, I argue that Aurat
March protesters and activists are women in politics and that counter-discourses, designed to
delegitimize the protest and the women’s issues it represents, constitute a mode of discursive violence that should be included in
scholarly and activist discussions of violence against women in politics.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Violence against Pakistani women and Pakistani women in politics
- 3.Multimodal critical discourse studies: Data and methods
- 4.Analysis and discussion
- 4.12018 Aurat March
- 4.22019 Aurat March
- 4.32020 Aurat March
- 5.Understanding violence against women’s activism in Pakistan
- Notes
-
References
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