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The Status of Women and the Cultural Politics of 'Pakistan Studies' in Postcolonial Pakistan

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Title: The Status of Women and the Cultural Politics of 'Pakistan Studies' in Postcolonial Pakistan
Language: English
Authors: Sher Rahmat Khan (ORCID 0009-0008-7029-4207), Peter Kelly (ORCID 0000-0003-4030-8301), Seth Brown (ORCID 0000-0002-2750-2284)
Source: Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. 2026 47(1):153-165.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Grade 9
High Schools
Junior High Schools
Middle Schools
Secondary Education
Grade 10
Descriptors: Females, Textbooks, Textbook Content, Grade 9, Grade 10, Postcolonialism, Feminism, Power Structure, Sex Stereotypes, Cultural Influences, Politics of Education, Foreign Countries, Gender Bias
Geographic Terms: Pakistan
DOI: 10.1080/01596306.2025.2515021
ISSN: 0159-6306
1469-3739
Abstract: This paper investigates how the rights, roles and status of women are presented in Pakistan Studies textbooks (PSTs) for grades 9 and 10, published by Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB). Using a critical discourse analysis to identify and critique power relations embedded in educational discourses, we understand Pakistan Studies textbooks as politically contested and socially shaped and constituted. Drawing on postcolonial theories, postcolonial feminism and Foucault's work on power relations, we introduce Pakistan as a postcolonial nation-state and describe its history and context in order to problematise the 'cultural politics' that produce these textbooks. We argue that patriarchal understandings of gender-relations and stereotypes of women as 'weak', 'vulnerable' and in need of 'male protection and supervision' are normalised in Pakistan Studies textbooks. The paper illustrates how the cultural politics of Pakistan is dominated by an ideology-based national identity that plays a key role in shaping the content of education materials including the curriculum and textbooks.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1500903
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0191348740;54j01feb.26;2026Feb06.04:22;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0191348740-1">The status of women and the cultural politics of Pakistan Studies in postcolonial Pakistan </title> <p>This paper investigates how the rights, roles and status of women are presented in Pakistan Studies textbooks (PSTs) for grades 9 and 10, published by Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB). Using a critical discourse analysis to identify and critique power relations embedded in educational discourses, we understand Pakistan Studies textbooks as politically contested and socially shaped and constituted. Drawing on postcolonial theories, postcolonial feminism and Foucault's work on power relations, we introduce Pakistan as a postcolonial nation-state and describe its history and context in order to problematise the 'cultural politics' that produce these textbooks. We argue that patriarchal understandings of gender-relations and stereotypes of women as 'weak', 'vulnerable' and in need of 'male protection and supervision' are normalised in Pakistan Studies textbooks. The paper illustrates how the cultural politics of Pakistan is dominated by an ideology-based national identity that plays a key role in shaping the content of education materials including the curriculum and textbooks.</p> <p>Keywords: Pakistan; women's rights; education; discourse; cultural politics</p> <hd id="AN0191348740-2">Introduction: the 'problem' of the status of women in postcolonial Pakistan</hd> <p>In April 2021, as they have done and continue to do, large numbers of Pakistanis participated in the 'Aurat March' (women's march) in all major cities to promote awareness about the status of women in Pakistan and to advocate for women's rights (Mukhtar et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref1">41</reflink>]). These marches generated significant debate and some of this debate was meant to discredit this march and its organisers. For example, <emph>Ummat</emph>, an Urdu-language newspaper, wrote: 'Most of the sexual violence against women takes place in fourteen countries ... The prostitutes of the Aurat March cannot see these non-Muslim countries' (Ummat, [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref2">51</reflink>], p. 1, authors' translation). This newspaper is recognised for its fundamentalist outlook, including that it considers women's uncovered presence in a public space un-Islamic and abhorrent.</p> <p>There is ample evidence that these sentiments have the approval of large sections of Pakistani society. In 2019, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) provincial assembly passed a unanimous resolution against the organisers and participants of the Aurat March (Mukhtar et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref3">41</reflink>]). This resolution called the Aurat March 'immoral' and a 'conspiracy' against 'our' social and cultural values (Alam, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref4">7</reflink>]). In February 2022, Pakistan's minister of religious affairs asked the Prime Minister not to allow Aurat March participants to raise anti-Islamic slogans (Hussain, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref5">32</reflink>]). In a televised talk, a Pakistani cleric, Maulana Tariq Jameel, blamed women's 'immodesty' and 'vulgarity' for the COVID-19 pandemic (Dawn, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref6">18</reflink>]).</p> <p>This introduction to key dimensions of the cultural politics of gender relations in postcolonial Pakistan points to how patriarchal discourses shape this politics and highlight the multitudes of issues that Pakistani women face. The World Economic Forum (WEF, [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref7">55</reflink>]) claimed that Pakistan is ranked 145 out of 146 countries in terms of gender equality. By some measures, 80% of women are subjected to domestic violence (Hadi, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref8">29</reflink>]), and 90% of married women experience abuse and violence (Baig, Ali, & Tunio, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref9">11</reflink>]). Alarmingly, around 1000 Pakistani women are killed annually in so-called honour killings (Roth, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref10">46</reflink>]). In this context, the Thomson Reuters Foundation Poll has consistently ranked Pakistan as one of the most dangerous countries for women (Reuters, [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref11">45</reflink>]).</p> <p>Our interests in this article emerge from these concerns about the role and status of women, the institutionalised and cultural violence against women, and the many complexities that shape various responses to these concerns. In particular, we are interested in the roles that the cultural politics that produces educational curriculum that seeks to productively intervene into the processes that reproduce gender relations in postcolonial Pakistan. In the following sections, we describe and analyse the representations of women that are found in the Pakistan Studies (<emph>mutali'a-e-Pakistan</emph> in Urdu) textbook, a compulsory course of study in Pakistan's public schools in grades 9 and 10, and subsequent grades until graduation. As discussed below, we will develop a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the chapter on women's rights in Pakistan Studies textbooks (PSTs) for grades 9 and 10 published by the provincial Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB). Drawing on Foucault's ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref12">24</reflink>]) understandings of power, and aspects of postcolonial theory and postcolonial feminism, we will argue that these Pakistan Studies textbooks are a critical part of the education discourse that reproduces patriarchal values and discursive representations of gender-based violence (Sharabi, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref13">48</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0191348740-3">Postcolonial Pakistan and the cultural politics of education</hd> <p>Pakistan is a postcolonial nation-state of 24.5 million people, characterised by rich religious, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity and tribal affiliations (PBS-GoP, [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref14">44</reflink>]). Before it emerged as a postcolonial nation-state on 14 August 1947, Pakistan's regions were part of British colonial India. Over the last thousand years, Islam has significantly shaped aspects of South Asian cultures (Malik, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref15">38</reflink>]). In colonial India, and as part of widespread movements to establish independence from the British, Muslim League leaders appealed to the Indian Muslims' religious identity to articulate claims for establishing a separate nation-state for Muslims (Durrani, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref16">20</reflink>]). Postcolonial Pakistan, an ethnically, linguistically and economically diverse country, has explicitly deployed Islam as a basis of national identity (Durrani, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref17">19</reflink>]). The state's references to Islam in its constitution and its increased emphasis on the Islamisation of Pakistani's social, cultural, economic and political life constitute attempts to forge some form of national unity and downplay the many regional and ethnolinguistic identities within the postcolonial nation-state (Durrani, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref18">20</reflink>]).</p> <p>Postcolonial Pakistan is characterised by a hybrid legacy shaped by the intersections between and appropriation of colonial institutions, systems of governance and bureaucracy, elites, and a 'traditional' feudal system. These colonial legacies continue to transform and play a significant role in Pakistan. In its postcolonial history, Pakistan has also developed a dependency relationship with the West that is maintained through aid, loans and alliance. In the context of this dependency, the role of local and global NGOs in Pakistan's development and educational policy and practice is important (Bano, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref19">12</reflink>]). These NGOs, such as USAID and various United Nations agencies, work in social development and often focus on education and gender reforms.</p> <p>Since the 1980s, religious-sectarian tensions in Pakistan have resulted in frequent and complex outbreaks of violence (Hussain, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref20">31</reflink>]). Several militant groups have engaged in armed struggle in support of their claims to implement their interpretations of Islam. Pakistan has suffered due to the US-led, so-called war on terror (Hussain, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref21">31</reflink>]; Syed et al., [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref22">49</reflink>]). Militancy in Pakistan has led to 65,000 deaths between 2004 and 2018 (Crawford, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref23">17</reflink>]); an economic loss of billions of rupees created challenges for stability and sustainable development and damaged Pakistan's international standing (FD-GoP, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref24">23</reflink>]).</p> <p>At the same time, in different ethnolinguistic groups, women have been the target of forms of revenge violence, and programmes of cultural reform and 'authenticity' that seek to position them as the custodians of culture, tradition and family <emph>honour</emph> (Hadi, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref25">29</reflink>]; Iqbal, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref26">33</reflink>]; Toor, [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref27">50</reflink>]). These indicators of the 'problem' of women's status in postcolonial Pakistan and the cultural politics that shapes this 'problem' remain significant even though Pakistan has made several international commitments to gender equality and women's human rights (UN Women, [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref28">52</reflink>]).</p> <p>In this context, we understand cultural politics as 'the tactics and strategies used by social groups to express and promote their view of the world and challenge alternative viewpoints' (Castree et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref29">16</reflink>], p. 85). Cultural politics consists of the 'ongoing negotiations of power structures that determine representation, access, privilege, and agency', and 'refers to the milieu in which negotiations of power, dominance, and subjection take place' (Duvall, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref30">22</reflink>], p. 49). As Apple ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref31">9</reflink>]) has suggested, this understanding of cultural politics is critical in thinking about state-regulated, funded and legitimated education, which aims to produce and reproduce certain value systems, knowledge forms, and forms of subjectivity for its young people, and to justify certain institutions and ways of living. In this sense, curriculum (as processes, systems, practices and text) needs to be understood as the 'knowledge and social practices that legitimate and produce particular forms of social life' at the cost of others (Giroux & Simon, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref32">27</reflink>], p. 226).</p> <p>The study of education curricula and textbooks is particularly relevant to analysing the cultural politics of education in postcolonial Pakistan. The government-produced textual materials play a key role in the practice and process of educational transmission in Pakistan (Khan, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref33">36</reflink>]: Anwar et al., [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref34">8</reflink>]). In many Pakistani public schools, the textbooks are the teachers' only resources. In the classroom, the teachers read the textbook content, explain or translate it into the local languages, and the students, ideally, memorise part of the content and reproduce it in examinations (Aziz, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref35">10</reflink>]).</p> <p>Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who ruled Pakistan from 1971 to 1977, introduced Pakistan Studies as part of his initiative to build a new Pakistan soon after the war that resulted in the separation of East Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh (Durrani & Halai, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref36">21</reflink>]). Educational discourses and materials, including Pakistan Studies, became key sites for the Pakistani government's efforts to vigorously articulate Pakistan's Muslim identity as a space of unity and cohesion (Khan, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref37">36</reflink>]).</p> <p>In the following sections, we develop an analysis of the ways in which the Pakistan Studies textbooks in Punjab province, which are largely representative of the PSTs in other provinces, represent the problem of violence against women, and the status of women in a patriarchal culture.[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref38">1</reflink>] A CDA focuses on the analysis of ideologies, power relations, inequalities, and structural disparities through discourse. CDA is '<emph>not interested in investigating a linguistic unit per se but in studying social phenomena which are necessarily complex and thus require a multidisciplinary and multi-methodical approach</emph>' (Wodak & Meyer, [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref39">56</reflink>], p. 2, original emphasis).</p> <p>In this methodological approach the ways in which Foucault theorises power-relations provides a productive tool for analysing gender relations and forms of patriarchy in Pakistan. For Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref40">24</reflink>], pp. 790–791) the exercise of power is 'a way in which certain actions may structure the field of other possible actions. What, therefore, would be proper to a relationship of power is that it be a mode of action upon actions'. Through his articulations of sovereign, disciplinary and governmental forms of power, and by conceiving of the production of 'true' knowledge as being associated with the exercise of power relations in particular contexts, Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref41">24</reflink>]) theorises how individuals are constructed as particular 'subjects' – such as 'woman', 'man', 'husband', 'wife'.</p> <p>In this framework, governmentality consists of the techniques and processes whereby social and political institutions promote particular rationalities, and individuals are encouraged and incited to draw on knowledge forms and practices to develop the ability to govern themselves (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref42">26</reflink>], p. 81). Here, the subject of government can always act differently than desired by those programmes of government that seek to individualise and normalise particular forms of subjectivity (Walshaw, [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref43">54</reflink>]).</p> <p>Disciplinary power refers to all those mechanisms and techniques that are aimed at regulating human conduct, behaviour, and actions through programmes that seek to make subjects who are 'docile' (disciplined and skilled in particular ways) and productive. Disciplinary power socialises the individual – as a 'subject' – in a particular division of space, role, time, and activities (rituals). In doing so, it enables the individual to take responsibility for the self as a particular 'subject' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref44">25</reflink>]). Sovereign power is the power of a sovereign in the form of a king, ruler, state, and empire. This power is exercised through constitutional, legal, and institutional mechanisms in contemporary times. Sovereign power limits certain actions or behaviours, or makes certain behaviour compulsory in all or some circumstances through repression, coercion, or acts of domination and violence (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref45">24</reflink>]). We return to a number of these concepts in our concluding Discussion.</p> <hd id="AN0191348740-4">Protecting women: the discursive presentation of violence against women</hd> <p>Different forms of culturally 'normalised' violence against women inform social practices across many parts of Pakistan. To understand this phenomenon of violence against women and to develop a sense of gender relations in Pakistan, we will review and analyse the textual representation of violence against women in the PSTs published in 2019 and 2020 by the PCTB for years 9 and 10 in English and Urdu.</p> <p>Mirza et al. ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref46">5</reflink>]) has an 11-page chapter on gender titled 'Women Empowerment'.[<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref47">2</reflink>] This chapter also has a number of photographs of a few well-known Pakistani women. Mirza et al. ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref48">5</reflink>]) begins by discussing women's rights in Islam with reference to the Qur'an and Sunnah (tradition of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)). The textbook describes some of the prominent female figures of Muslim history, the Pakistan movement, and post-independence Pakistan. Mirza et al. ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref49">5</reflink>], p. 101) then briefly defines violence, mentions the different forms of violence against Pakistani women, and identifies the following as 'Common Ideas about Violence Against Women':</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Society has generally accepted it as a common practice.</item> <p></p> <item> Non enforcement of punishment against the culprits.</item> <p></p> <item> Inequality and disparity in society.</item> <p></p> <item> Furthermore, women are not aware of the rights given to them in Islam.</item> </ulist> <p>The chapter on women's rights in the <emph>PST-9 Punjab-English</emph> (Choudhary & Azam, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref50">3</reflink>]), <emph>Protection of Women's Rights,</emph> consists of 6 pages of text without any images. Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref51">3</reflink>], p. 136) suggests that violence against women in Pakistan is anchored in misconceptions and identifies these misconceptions as 'myths', followed by its refutation under the heading of 'fact'.</p> <p>In the first myth, Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref52">3</reflink>], p. 136) suggests that violence is not the victim's fault and has nothing to do with her lifestyle. This is important because the PSTs, at times, indulge in victim-blaming. The second myth, that 'Violence Against Women occurs because of their role in the public sphere', moves Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref53">3</reflink>]) to emphasise women's equal right to access the public space. It also argues that violence can occur anywhere, including inside family homes.</p> <p>Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref54">3</reflink>]) discusses the history of women's rights in the following two paragraphs. It mentions the role of Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan, the wife of Pakistan's first Prime Minister, in founding the All Pakistan Women's Association in 1949. Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref55">3</reflink>]) then discusses the status and rights of women in Islam with reference to Qur'anic verses. Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref56">3</reflink>]) also gives examples of a number of prominent females in Muslim history. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the two legal acts of Punjab's Provincial Government regarding violence against women, which provide ways to outlaw child marriages and forced marriage and establish institutionalised mechanisms to provide safety to women affected by violence.</p> <p> <emph>PST-9 Punjab-Urdu</emph> (Mirza et al., [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref57">5</reflink>]) follows this by reproducing the content about facts and myths from Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref58">3</reflink>]), before discussing the two legal enactments of the Punjab government for the protection of women's rights.</p> <p>These textbooks refer to Islamic teachings and personalities in arguing against violence against women but do not highlight the diversity of interpretations within Islam. Our earlier reference to the Aurat March indicates that some Pakistanis deploy religious-cultural symbols in, often violent, attempts to curb women's access to public spaces and to oppose their demand for rights. The textbooks refer to global data about violence but do not mention data from Pakistan. Despite mentioning laws against violence, they do not acknowledge the role women's movements played in developing these laws.</p> <p>Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref59">3</reflink>], p. 135) definition of violence against women, attributed to the World Health Organisation (WHO), suggests that violence can encompass verbal violence and undue expectations that flow from: '[the] intentional use of physical force or power which either results in or may result in some injury, death, psychological harm or deprivations'. Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref60">3</reflink>], p. 135) further identifies that violence against women is:</p> <p>any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.</p> <p>Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref61">3</reflink>], p. 136) also identifies the different forms of violence against women, including: 'murder, molestation, acid attacks, domestic violence and dowry-related violence ... Violence occurs not just in physical form, but also in other forms like emotional and financial abuse'.</p> <p>In discussing honour killings, the PSTs do not mention the different violent customs in their local names. In Pakistan, some forms of violence against women have particular names, including, <emph>Karo Kari,</emph> for example<emph>,</emph> is a custom in Sindh, and its equivalents with other names exist in other provinces (Bhanbhro et al., [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref62">14</reflink>]). <emph>Karo –</emph> a racially charged term that means black man and <emph>Kari</emph> black woman – signifies those men and women who (allegedly) engage in pre/extra-marital sexual relations (Bhanbhro et al., [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref63">14</reflink>]). Such a relationship is regarded as a dishonour to the family, which the family attempts to restore by killing the accused woman and man (Bhanbhro et al., [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref64">14</reflink>]). The accused man <emph>(Karo)</emph> often purchases a pardon or flees, while, in most cases, the accused woman (<emph>Kari</emph>) remains the victim of this violence. <emph>Vanni is a</emph> custom in Punjab and Sindh in which a dispute between families and tribes is settled by a tribal court (<emph>jirga/ panchayat</emph>) by marrying the accused's younger daughter or sister to a much older man in the victim's family (Iqbal, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref65">33</reflink>]).</p> <p>Local nomenclature makes these violent practices part of the local culture by institutionalising these practices in customs and rites. In this sense, instead of a one-time act, they become customs to be repeated in similar situations. These rites are interconnected with broader social-cultural notions, for example, chastity, which is 'a powerful ideology linking family honour to female virtue' (Moghadam, [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref66">40</reflink>], p. 37).</p> <p>Choudhary and Azam ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref67">3</reflink>], p. 136) attributes violence against women to the absence of 'alternate ways of dispute resolution'. Here, the term 'dispute' is problematic because it assumes the pre-existence of a <emph>dispute</emph> as a cause of violence. As we have indicated, women are often used to settle disputes among men even though they are not part of these disputes. The phrase 'alternate ways of dispute resolution' is not precise. Often, 'alternate' refers to the different non-official and informal mediations through <emph>jirga</emph> and <emph>panchayat</emph>, which are illegal but continue to operate in Pakistan (Iqbal, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref68">33</reflink>]). For example, it was a <emph>jirga</emph> that facilitated the gang rape of a woman in a village in Punjab in 2002 whose brother allegedly had an affair with a woman of the other tribe (Iqbal, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref69">33</reflink>]). In this context, as Durrani ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref70">19</reflink>], p. 595) argues, the cultural politics that shape the discursive construction of the problem of violence against women in these texts is 'a means of maintaining, reproducing and reinforcing the gender hierarchies that characterise Pakistan'.</p> <hd id="AN0191348740-5">Subtle reproduction: normalising patriarchy through textbooks</hd> <p>In this section, we argue that the PSTs discursively produce and reproduce what has been called 'neo-patriarchal' gender relations (Sharabi, [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref71">48</reflink>]). They do this by reproducing and normalising patriarchal assumptions of men and women and by subjecting women's rights to patriarchal authority. In developing this discussion, we will demonstrate how the <emph>PST-10 Punjab-English</emph> (Dar, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref72">4</reflink>]), in a chapter on gender titled 'Protection of Women', reproduces women's rights and status as being subservient to patriarchal authority.</p> <p>Under the heading of <emph>gender sensitization and its awareness,</emph> Dar ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref73">4</reflink>]) introduces the concept of the social construction of gender. Dar ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref74">4</reflink>], p. 122) defines gender as 'the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that society considers appropriate for men and women'.</p> <p>Dar ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref75">4</reflink>]) then discusses the gendered basis of various economic, political, and sociocultural activities and claims that women play important socioeconomic and political roles. Dar ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref76">4</reflink>]) follows with a discussion of <emph>Islam and gender</emph> and introduces the concepts of <emph>Nikkah, Khula,</emph> and divorce. <emph>Nikkah</emph> is a Muslim marriage ceremony. <emph>Khula</emph> is a woman's right to divorce her husband (Khan & Shaikh, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref77">37</reflink>]). To challenge the prevailing state of gender relations Dar ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref78">4</reflink>], p. 122) advances the idea of men and women being <emph>equally</emph> capable of doing certain tasks, including 'cooking, cleaning, driving, etc.', and acknowledges that 'social groups allocate these activities'. Gender roles in Pakistan are constituted, as Hadi ([<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref79">29</reflink>]) claims, through norms and assumptions of men's superiority over women, and the listed tasks reinforce women's assumed <emph>responsibilities</emph> to be good wives, daughters and mothers.</p> <p>Research carried out by Anjum Halai ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref80">30</reflink>]) with teachers in Sindh indicates that it is not the question of capability but rather patriarchal relations that define gender roles. Halai ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref81">30</reflink>], p. 48) argues that most teachers acknowledge that both boys and girls have the same capabilities in learning mathematics. Despite this acknowledgment, these teachers consider mathematics more beneficial for boys because they saw girls' roles as being confined to the household (Halai, [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref82">30</reflink>]). In other words, being equally capable of doing something does not necessarily guarantee equality of opportunity or outcomes (Halai, [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref83">30</reflink>]). Bradley and Saigol ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref84">15</reflink>], p. 677) observe that girls' education in Pakistan is seen as a preparation 'for their religiously prescribed roles as wives and mothers, the nurturers of the next generation'. Despite a conscious attempt to promote awareness about gender rights, the textbooks, at various places and in various ways, reproduce the patriarchal assumptions of male superiority and endorse the patriarchal perceptions of a domesticated woman.</p> <p>Dar ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref85">4</reflink>], p. 124, emphasis added) acknowledges, 'In the 21st century, women have been <emph>given</emph> certain rights, but their condition remains less than satisfactory'. Consistently, the educational materials attempt to discursively subject women's rights to someone else's authority by arguing that women have been <emph>given</emph> rights. The idea of <emph>giving</emph> denies the inherent nature of these rights and discursively makes women subservient to someone else's authority, power and goodwill. In this way, the textbooks deny women an independent voice in choosing a role for themselves, and reinforce patriarchal notions about women being weak and vulnerable. This, in turn, reproduces male authority over women and the power to limit women's access to public space. Through these representations, the textbooks normalise the patriarchal values and 'institutionalized restrictive codes of behavior, gender segregation and the ideology which associates family honor to female virtue' (Hadi, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref86">29</reflink>], p. 297).</p> <hd id="AN0191348740-6">Discussion: gender relations and negotiating between tradition and modernity in a postcolonia...</hd> <p>To this point we have identified different elements of the cultural politics which shape the representation of women in PSTs. The discussions above indicate that particular interpretations of culture, norms, religious traditions and tribal and feudal practices provide structural and cultural bases for determining the role and status of both men and women. These also produce and reproduce a hierarchical vision of gender relations.</p> <p>In this section, we want to build on this exploration to argue that in postcolonial Pakistan patriarchy is the binding factor of the different elements of the cultural politics of education that shape discourses about gender relations, and which presents women as custodians of family honour, moral values, and men's identities. In this sense, violence against women in Pakistan, and the representations of women in textbooks, need to be more fully understood in the context of neo-patriarchal domination of women, often through various forms of violence, and how the cultural politics of education, and the manifestation of this in the PSTs, is shaped by these forces of neo-patriarchy (Hadi, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref87">29</reflink>], p. 299). Reproducing women as a symbol of cultural authenticity and family honour exposes them to forms of institutionalised subjugation, subordination and violence. We also argue that a critique of the cultural politics of education curriculum with regard to gender requires a critique of the discourses and power relations which normalise and reproduce patriarchal gender relations. In what follows, we will draw on recent scholarship on Islamic feminism and Foucault's work on power-relations to develop this critique.</p> <p>Valentine Moghadam ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref88">40</reflink>], p. 37) argues that forms of control over women's lives in many contemporary Muslim societies are 'considered necessary in part because women are regarded as the potential source of social <emph>fitna</emph>, that is, disorder or anarchy'. In Pakistan a powerful example of this patriarchal understanding is the ways in which women's bodies are associated with family honour in ways that position them as a commodity of exchange in tribal conflict settlement that is often facilitated by the practices of <emph>jirga</emph>. This also constructs the male figure as the guardian of family honour and thus a guardian of women (Toor, [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref89">50</reflink>]). Abdul Hadi ([<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref90">29</reflink>]) argues that violent acts against women are the execution, practice, and practical manifestations of the social-cultural roots of gender relations, gender normalisation and differentiation.</p> <p>In Pakistan, Islam, and its complex diversities play a significant role in this discursive construction and legitimation of gender relations. This is because Pakistan imagines itself, constitutionally, culturally, and politically, as an Islamic Republic, and aims to transform every aspect of citizen's lives in accordance with the official interpretations of a particular version of Sunni Islam (Durrani, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref91">20</reflink>]). In Pakistan and across the Muslim world, many theologians advocate for determining women's public role according to particular interpretations of Muslim traditions (Mustafa & Brown, [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref92">42</reflink>]). In the 1980s, the Islamisation programme of the military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq limited women's public role. This confinement of women, in a number of contexts, is consistent with tribal mores, but the militant groups justify these in reference to religious interpretations (Shaheed, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref93">47</reflink>]).</p> <p>Prominent, contemporary female Muslim intellectuals, Fatima Mernissi ([<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref94">39</reflink>]), Amina Wadud ([<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref95">53</reflink>]), and Asma Barlas ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref96">13</reflink>]), have argued, in advocating for a reinterpretation of religious injunctions, that it is male-only interpretations of the Islamic injunctions which legitimise aspects of patriarchy and reproduce the unacceptable conditions for women. These insights from Mernissi, Wadud and Barlas provide ways to explore the various elements of social-cultural and institutional discourses that deploy elements of culture, tradition and religion to reproduce patriarchal power relations.</p> <p>The work of Foucault, as we suggested earlier, provides productive avenues for examining the ways social-cultural practices, traditions, norms and customs provide structural bases for shaping, reproducing and normalising patriarchal gender relations (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref97">24</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref98">25</reflink>]). In these patriarchal social-cultural practices and traditions, Pakistani women's bodies and minds are colonised through the subjugation of all experiences to particular, socio-culturally shaped, dominant discourses of masculinity. In Pakistan, these discourses and practices include such things as men deploying elements of patriarchal understanding of culture, values and traditions to confine women, and religious theologians deploying their particular sub-sectarian understandings of faith and history to shape women's subjectivities.</p> <p>These customs associated with family honour reproduce patriarchy and neo-patriarchal relations. For example, they reproduce the norms, practices, and institutions that provide the basis for injustices against women. Here, the customs of <emph>karo kari</emph>, the institutions of <emph>jirga</emph>, and the different notions that associate female bodies with family honour, indicate the patriarchal ability to regulate the 'visibility of women' (Graham-Brown, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref99">28</reflink>], p. 504), and in an act of sovereign power to take away life through the practice of 'honour killing' (Graham-Brown, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref100">28</reflink>], p. 504). Honour killing and violent practices and norms (embodied and enacted by individuals, groups, agencies and institutions) demonstrate the domination over women, an ability to protect honour, and construct, maintain, and reproduce hegemonic gender relations (Hadi, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref101">29</reflink>], p. 299).</p> <p>The different types of violence, violent customs, and the notion of honour which derives from these violent customs are understandable as disciplinary tactics and techniques. These tactics are employed to ensure conformity with patriarchy in the form of moral regulation and submission to an interpretation of culture and tradition. These disciplinary techniques constitute the woman as subject in relation to what the communities, through a masculine interpretation, see as morality and family honour by establishing a communal gaze (Bradley & Saigol, [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref102">15</reflink>]; Hadi, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref103">29</reflink>]). The communal gaze leaves limited scope for finding alternatives and may even compel families to enforce these violent rites (Hadi, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref104">29</reflink>]). The organisation of space, surveillance, and normalisation are aspects of disciplinary power (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref105">25</reflink>]). Protecting family honour through violence is aimed at organising a woman's moral, mental, and physical space: what she is allowed to think or do, how she needs to think and behave, and where she can go. A deviation from these injunctions can have significant implications for her. Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref106">24</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref107">25</reflink>]) also writes about processes of normalisation, of bringing people to accept what is normal and appropriate. These violent customs reproduce particular practices, norms, and values as normal and normalise violence as a corrective measure. The community gaze, male oversight, and patriarchal control continue to enforce these norms and customs (Naseem, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref108">43</reflink>]). These different customs are institutionalised and become techniques of governmentality that seek to shape both women's and men's conduct and define gendered 'fields of possibilities' (Kelly, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref109">34</reflink>]). In doing so, they normalise patriarchy and men's right to define women's role and status and work to reproduce neo-patriarchal power relations.</p> <p>This institutionalisation has normalised patriarchy in every aspect of women's life from home to community and national and international institutions. In this way every aspect of women's private and public life becomes subject to patriarchal control. This enables men to establish a hierarchical system that reproduces and normalises the mechanisms and structures that enable males to exercise power relations and institute practices and processes of gender segregation through a 'private' and 'public' binary (Moghadam, [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref110">40</reflink>], p. 36). In Pakistan, the public and private binary determines access to public spaces, and creates institutionalised gendered spaces characterised by punitive measures in the forms of customs, rites, and mechanisms to deal with any breach (Durrani, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref111">19</reflink>]).</p> <p>Our analysis of the PST's representations of violence against women, of the status of women, and of the contest over women rights indicates significant movements in the cultural politics that are re-shaping the multifaceted and complex array of challenges for Pakistani women. In this sense, the PSTs for Grades 9 and 10 highlight issues, challenge perceptions, and provide alternative perspectives. These movements in this cultural politics are not uni-directional, are often contradictory, and do not suggest an end to these challenges, or signal the emergence of some sort of consensus about what should be done in relation to these challenges. The ongoing conduct of the Aurat March, and the continued backlash against it, for example, are indicative of the contested nature of these developments (Kelso, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref112">35</reflink>]). In this context the textbooks continue to construct women against, and in relation to, particular normative, idealised characterisations of virtue, honour, domestic roles, and as the recipient of rights granted to them. In this 'official', state-sponsored version of knowledge in relation to violence against women, the status of women, and the contest over women rights these meanings are made to foster and reproduce an 'impression of a broad consensus', one in which 'large segments of society do not question them' (Naseem, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref113">43</reflink>], p. 461). In this way, in an illustration of the ambivalent and contradictory forces shaping this cultural politics, the PSTs continue to contribute to the reproduction of 'gender injustice and fostering conflict' (Durrani & Halai, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref114">21</reflink>], p. 27).</p> <p>A critique of the cultural politics of the Pakistan Studies textbooks has an important role to play in interjecting into processes that reproduce and normalise the ongoing and often violent subjugation of women in Pakistan, and the many complex, complimentary, but often contradictory justifications and consequences of this subjugation. Our work here, and elsewhere (Khan, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref115">36</reflink>]), makes a limited contribution to this cultural politics. However, because the cultural politics of curriculum is always characterised by the contest of ideas, it can, and should continue to contribute to larger and more substantial efforts to make problematic the official forms of knowledge – and the inclusions and absences of these versions of the truth – that seek to educate young Pakistani women and men about violence against women, the status of women, and the contest over women rights.</p> <hd id="AN0191348740-7">Disclosure statement</hd> <p>No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).</p> <ref id="AN0191348740-8"> <title> Notes </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref38" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> This article draws on the doctoral dissertation titled: <emph>The Cultural Politics of Curriculum in Pakistan: The Challenges for Pluralism, Inclusion and the UN SDGs in a Post-colonial Context</emph>. The doctoral study, through a critical discourse analyse of the Pakistan Studies textbooks for grades 9 and 10, examined the cultural politics that shapes education in Pakistan. In examining the key elements of this cultural politics, the study investigated the ways in which these key elements intersect to shape the possibilities of promoting pluralistic, inclusive and peaceful societies and achieve sustainable development. The doctoral dissertation was published as a book, see Khan [36]. The lead author is a Pakistani citizen.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref47" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> The English translations of the Urdu that follow are those of the lead author.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0191348740-9"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibtext> Textbooks</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Here, we identify the textbooks as we have cited them in the main body of this article, following a standard reference for that textbook.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref50" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Choudhary, M. H., & Azam, U. (2019). Pakistan studies, 9 (M. A. Kawish, Trans.). Lahore : G. F. Publishers.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref72" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Dar, A. A. (2019). Pakistan studies 10 (T. M. Syan, M. Z. Waine, A. M. Awan, & S. Abbas, Eds.). Lahore : Gohar Publishers.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref46" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> Mirza, I. 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Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1500903
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The Status of Women and the Cultural Politics of 'Pakistan Studies' in Postcolonial Pakistan
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sher+Rahmat+Khan%22">Sher Rahmat Khan</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7029-4207">0009-0008-7029-4207</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Peter+Kelly%22">Peter Kelly</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4030-8301">0000-0003-4030-8301</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Seth+Brown%22">Seth Brown</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2750-2284">0000-0002-2750-2284</externalLink>)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Discourse%3A+Studies+in+the+Cultural+Politics+of+Education%22"><i>Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education</i></searchLink>. 2026 47(1):153-165.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 13
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Evaluative
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Grade+9%22">Grade 9</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22High+Schools%22">High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Junior+High+Schools%22">Junior High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Middle+Schools%22">Middle Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Grade+10%22">Grade 10</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Females%22">Females</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Textbooks%22">Textbooks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Textbook+Content%22">Textbook Content</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+9%22">Grade 9</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+10%22">Grade 10</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Postcolonialism%22">Postcolonialism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Feminism%22">Feminism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Power+Structure%22">Power Structure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+Stereotypes%22">Sex Stereotypes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Influences%22">Cultural Influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Politics+of+Education%22">Politics of Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Bias%22">Gender Bias</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pakistan%22">Pakistan</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1080/01596306.2025.2515021
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0159-6306<br />1469-3739
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This paper investigates how the rights, roles and status of women are presented in Pakistan Studies textbooks (PSTs) for grades 9 and 10, published by Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB). Using a critical discourse analysis to identify and critique power relations embedded in educational discourses, we understand Pakistan Studies textbooks as politically contested and socially shaped and constituted. Drawing on postcolonial theories, postcolonial feminism and Foucault's work on power relations, we introduce Pakistan as a postcolonial nation-state and describe its history and context in order to problematise the 'cultural politics' that produce these textbooks. We argue that patriarchal understandings of gender-relations and stereotypes of women as 'weak', 'vulnerable' and in need of 'male protection and supervision' are normalised in Pakistan Studies textbooks. The paper illustrates how the cultural politics of Pakistan is dominated by an ideology-based national identity that plays a key role in shaping the content of education materials including the curriculum and textbooks.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1500903
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1500903
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/01596306.2025.2515021
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 13
        StartPage: 153
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Females
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Textbooks
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Textbook Content
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grade 9
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grade 10
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Postcolonialism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Feminism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Power Structure
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sex Stereotypes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cultural Influences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Politics of Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gender Bias
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pakistan
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Status of Women and the Cultural Politics of 'Pakistan Studies' in Postcolonial Pakistan
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sher Rahmat Khan
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Peter Kelly
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            NameFull: Seth Brown
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0159-6306
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1469-3739
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 47
            – Type: issue
              Value: 1
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education
              Type: main
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