Rewriting Women: Media, Literature, and the Evolution of Female Representation in Pakistan

Abstract

Different narratives are formed and reformed about women in Pakistan, with the passage of time. These narratives portray fixed identities and roles of women in Pakistan. Newspapers, editorials and articles play an important role in shaping these narratives and raising issues about women through their specific use of vocabulary and linguistic choices. This research aims to study how a major Pakistani newspaper, “DAWN” (Lahore) represents point of view about women in its articles from January 2024 to January 2025. Through this archival analysis of newspaper, the research also provides an insight into the historical and cultural impact on the role of the media and literature in addressing issues and identities of women. Also, other than these journalistic discourses, the research looks into some scripts from literature for supporting reference. Overall, through a feminist approach and Hayden White’s historical lens, the study focuses on the evolution of women’s representation in Pakistani literature written in different forms. The research finally tries to present whether journalistic discourse is a neutral portrayal or a biased perspective about women in society.