Gendered Divisions Analysis On....... Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

Gendered Divisions Analysis

On Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

Pakistan’s founding father, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, proclaimed in a speech given at a meeting of the Muslim University Union, in Aligarh, on March 10, 1944, the following: “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.”

 Six decades have gone by since the independence of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and despite the Quid-e-Azam’s words of empowerment and the initial achievements made towards diminishing gender inequalities, true equality -social, political and legal- between gender remains a mere dream for the majority of Pakistani Women. The road towards emancipation has proven to be long and hard for this developing nation. The progressive efforts advanced by both the Muslim Family Ordinance of 1961 and the later Constitution of 1973 (which were respectively meant to ensure women’s rights in divorce, inheritance, and polygamy, and prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex), were curtailed by the installation of the Ziad Regime in 1979 and the subsequent passing of the Shariat Bill. Many activists argued that this law “would undermine the principles of justice, democracy, and fundamental rights of citizens, and…would become identified solely with the conservative interpretation supported by Zia’s government.” .”(US Library)

An example of the degradation of women’s status during this period is found in the 1979 Enforcement of Hudood Ordinances, which failed to discriminate between adultery (zina) and rape (zina-bil-jabr). “A man could be convicted of zina only if he were actually observed committing the crime by other men, but a woman could be convicted simply because she became pregnant.”(US Library)  As many scholars have acknowledged, the discrimination faced by Pakistani women has no sanction in the Islamic scriptures, but rather is embedded in this historically patriarchal society’s customs, values and norms, and in the conservative reading of the Holy Quran.

As stated in the attached article on page 7, “Societal and religious misconceptions about women were used to reinforce the suppression of women’s rights.” (Ali) There was not one particular religion mentioned in the study, however it is clear that religion is a major factor in the oppression of women.  The article continues to say that religion says that the “woman is made for the man, that she doesn’t have the choice to say no.”  This is in part due the conservative outlook that is ever prevalent in Pakistan.

Gender inequality is a global phenomenon, also deeply rooted in many Asian societies, resulting in discrimination of women and and is linked to gender-based violence.  Women and young girls are expected to be subservient to their male counterparts. “Young girls may experience differential access to food and medical care during childhood and later dating violence or economically coerced sex during adolescence eventually followed by by intimate partner violence, marital rape, and dowry abuse at marital age.” (Ali) 

There is also a large burden on women to be the perfect wife.  Women are expected to chores, care for children, and sacrifice her dreams for the benefit of her husband, and the benefits of her family.  It was also noted that many women must ask their husbands for permission before they participate in any activity. This is disheartening to read and to learn.  The worst of it all, is that many of these women are not aware that they are being oppressed. They don’t the freedoms the women in the west have, therefore they don’t have anything to compare themselves to.

In the end, there was one major theme that stood out to me, and that was the ‘Reiteration of gender roles’.  This included the perceptions of traditional gender roles and how it preserved the subordination of women. This is shown clearly through the research in the article, and it is also seen in the media.  It is my hope that one day, these women have the rights that they deserve.

Works Cited

1)    US Library of Congress report "Pakistan - A Country Study". Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/pktoc.html

2)    Ali, Tazeen S. et al. “Gender Roles and Their Influence on Life Prospects for Women in Urban Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study .” Global Health Action 4 (2011): 10.3402/gha.v4i0.7448. PMC. Web. 9 Feb. 2016. Retrived from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3208374/

3)    Peterson, V. Spike, Anne Sisson Runyan, and V. Spike Peterson. Global Gender Issues In The New Millennium. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2010. Print.

Culture in Romeo & Juliet

The film Romeo + Juliet was directed by Baz Luhrmann and released in November of 1996. The film is based off of the Shakespearean play under the same name.  The film shows the tragic ending to the lives of Romeo and Juliet who are two young lovers from feuding families who hate one another. As only a few days pass from Romeo and Juliet's meeting they get married, get separated, and end up killing themselves because they don't want to live without the other person.

This film acts as a modern interpretation of the traditional love story. The film attempts to link the language of the original play with modern-day themes such as violence in society, love in dangerous situations and the cult of personality. Seeing as the film is set in the fictional city of Verona Beach, which is a sexy, violent world neither set in the future, nor the past. This opened the door for Luhrmann to explore some of the major themes in Romeo + Juliet in the modern day.

The violence and hostility between the privileged and wealthy Capulets and financially unstable Montagues is the main source of conflict in the film. The two families get into a gun fight early in the film, there is a strong resemblance to the gang violence that occurs everyday in urban areas. The two sides hate one another so much, that they are willing to kill others, or die themselves, to let out their anger and frustration. Luhrmann also makes a valiant effort to show the differences in culture between the Montagues and Capulets.

In the opening scene, we see the Montagues who represent the poorer, lowbrow society members. This is apparent by their attire of large, baggy clothes and over the top dyed hairstyles. We also see the Capulets who represent the wealthier, highbrow members of society. The Capulets have their hair slicked back and they are wearing professional attire. The Capulets also gave off the vibe that that they felt they were above the Montagues. It is a very interesting scene and it sets the tone for the rest of the film.

In his 1958 journal entry, Raymond Williams proclaims that “culture is ordinary”. This means that every human society has its on shape and form. According to Williams, a culture has two aspects, known meanings and observations, and new observations and meanings. Throughout the course of the film, the Capulets and the Montagues hate one another and they believe that they know everything there is to know about the opposite side. They just see each other as competition and they embrace the hatred that they have.

This view is changed when the two families that they have lost two loved ones to suicide. The two families are forced to coexist and come together to mourn the deaths of the young Romeo and Juliet. The two families were able to set their differences aside and change the views and opinions that they had built up over the years. There was new meaning to this rivalry and the Capulets and Montagues agreed that the fighting needed to stop. Romeo and Juliet are singlehandedly responsible for proving Raymond Williams to be correct.

 In "Shakespeare and the American People: A Study in Cultural Transformation" by Lawrence Levine, he discusses the cultural hierarchy that occurs every single day in society. In his journal, he discusses the concepts of highbrow and lowbrow.  Highbrow is synonymous with the intellectual while lowbrow is relating to, or suitable for a person with little taste or intellectual interest (Levine). Both of these cultures are represented in this film.

The highbrow culture is reflected well within the Capulet family. They are a very wealthy family and they act in such way that makes their high ranking social status easily recognizable.  The lowbrow culture is represented by the Montague family. This family is more carefree and enjoys living life. This carefree lifestyle is frowned upon by those in the upper class as it perpetuates laziness.

As we discussed in class to Dr. Larry Grossburg introduced four key concepts that define cultural studies, materialism, conjuncture, popular, power. The popularity of the two families is obvious. Their names are plastered all over Verona Beach on billboards and signs, and as shown in the opening sequence, their names are also in the newspapers and local television news cycles. They also have a lot of power. As referenced in the film, both the Capulets and the Montagues are fighting for power in the city. They both have political connections and they both have the money to control whomever they want within the city.

All in all, the film Romeo + Juliet (Luhrmann) covers a lot of the culture that we have been covering in class. Everything that we have done from Fiske to Grossberg has had a very important role. This film is a wonderful example of the many themes in society at work.

Bibliography

Levine, Lawrence. "Shakespeare And The American People". N.p., 1984. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.

Williams, Raymond. "Culture Is Ordinary". N.p., 1958. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.