Gender Studies by Aqdas Talha

2018
VOCABULARY
TIME
GENDER STUDIES LECTURE SERIES
Compiled by: Aqdas Talha | (PMS)

[Type text] Page 1
Gender Studies Gender Studies Lecture Series
Lecture 1
Introduction to Gender Studies
1-Introduction
2-What is Gender
a) Sex vs Gender
Sometimes it is hard to understand exactly what is meant by the term ‘gender’ and how it
differs from the closely related term ‘sex’. Understanding of the social construction of
gender starts with explaining the two concepts, i.e., gender and sex. Often these two
terms are used interchangeably: however, they bear different meanings as concepts.
“Sex” refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and
women. It is defined as the anatomical and physiological characteristics that signify the
biological maleness and femaleness of an individual. “Gender” refers to the socially
constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers
appropriate for men and women. Gender emphasizes that masculinity and femininity are
products of social, cultural and psychological factors and are acquired by an individual in
the process of becoming a man or woman. ‘Gender’ is the term widely used to refer to
those ways in which a culture reformulates what begins as a fact of nature. The biological
sexes are redefined, represented, valued, and channelled into different roles in various
culturally dependent ways.
b) Masculinity and Femininity

3- Determinants of Gender
a) Biological
b) Soci-Cultural
c) Economic
4- Important concepts of Gender Studies
a) Gender Roles
b)Gender Discrimination
c)Gender Stereotypes
d)Sexist Language
e) Gender Relation
f) Gender Justice
Achieving gender justice is a matter of basic rights and also a key means of addressing poverty.
5- Challenges
a)Gender Empowerment
b)Gender Mainstreaming
c)Gender Equality
d) Gender Democracy
6- Importance of Gender Studies
7- Gender Studies in Pakistan
8- Conclusion
Vocabulary Time Contact us: 03354650283

What is Gender Studies?

A gender study is a field of study that looks at the world from the perspective of gender. This
means that while studying something – the distribution of resources within a household, a social
unit like a caste group, a bill placed before Parliament, a development project, the classification
of different species – are done in a manner that takes into account the fact that different genders
exist in the world. These genders are differently placed within social reality such that various
processes impact them differently. Thus gender studies recognises that gender has to be taken
seriously. It is also a field that recognises that often, within academic disciplines and also other
spheres of society, the perspective that has been applied has been that of the most powerful
people in society, and that this is often at the expense of less powerful people. Gender studies
then exists as an important means of correcting such imbalances.
 Gender Studies refers to the academic study of the academic phenomenon of gender.
 Culturally and socially constructed differences between men and women.

 Gender is the social significance of the difference in sex. Gender, according to Professor
Lois Self, “is the difference the [sex] difference makes.” Gender is a social concept.
Masculinity and femininity are the usual descriptors of gender, and they refer to a
complex set of characteristics and behaviors that are prescribed for members of
a particular sex category; it is an achieved social status.
 Women and men are more alike than they are different. Men are not from Mars; women
are not from Venus—we are all from planet Earth.” Michael S. Kimmel
The term gender identity was coined by John Money which implies inner sense of being male or
female. He argues that socialization, rather than genetics, is a critical factor in one’s
determination of own gender identity (Okami, 2014)
*******
Lecture 2
Social Construction of Gender
"For human beings there is no essential femaleness and maleness, femininity or masculinity,
womanhood, or manhood, but once gender is ascribed, the social order constructs and holds
individuals to strongly gendered norms and expectations. Individuals may vary on many of the
components of gender any may shift genders temporarily or permanently, but they must fit into
the limited number of gender statuses their society recognizes.” Lober
"Every society classifies people as 'girl and boy children’. Lober
Historicizing Gender

Definitions :
"A social mechanism, phenomenon, or category created and developed by society; a perception
of an individual, group, or idea that is 'constructed' through cultural or social practice”.
According to Hacking (1999) gender is not an inevitable result of biology; in other words
biological differences do not determine gender. Rather it is historically and socially constructed.
Hence male and female categories are not inherently different, but actually products of the
society. Similarly he explains the sense of self as a construction of social process. On the other
hand essentialism is a concept which claims that social categories have deeply rooted biological
underpinnings
1- Emerged in 1980’s and developed in 1990’s
2- Ian Hacking “The Social Construction of What”?
3- Berger and Luckman “Social Construction of Reality” in 1996 introduced the social
construction
The term formally entered the sociological vocabulary through Peter Berger and Thomas
Luckmann 's The Social Construction of Reality (1966). For Berger and Luckmann, the basic
features of social order are captured in the principle that ‘Society is a human product. Society is
an objective reality. Man is a social product’.
4- Andy and Lock referred to influential thinkers who contributed to the development of social
constructionism
5- Relevant areas of study
6-Basic assumptions
a) Human Experiences
b) Language
7- Process of Social Constructs

a) Creation
b) Institutionalisation
c) Tradition
8- Social constructs are prone to change
9- How gender is socially constructed?

a)social and historic progress
b) Nature vs nurture
c) Doing Gender

People do not merely internalize gender roles as they grow up but they respond to the norms
prevalent in the society. Children learn to categorize themselves by gender from infancy. A part
of this is learning how to display and perform gendered identities as masculine or feminine.
Children observe and gradually internalize the gendered behavior around them through different
medium and sources. Gender- differentiated children’s activities gradually cement the gender
difference in behaviour that later reflect in the nature of adult male and female behaviour.
Gender refers to culturally constructed roles that are played by women and men in society.
Further, gender is used as a concept to analyse the shaping of women’s and men’s behaviour
according to the normative order of a society.
Gender is a complex phenomenon which is socially and culturally constructed. An individual

acquires gender through a process of socialization, i.e., the person acquires the gendered body -
feminine or masculine - in the course of social development. The construction of femininity and
masculinity plays an important role in shaping various institutions like the family. Understanding
of gender in relation to society leads to a reflection on the existing power relations between
women and men. Children are socialised into performing the gender roles required of them. For
example, young girls may be encouraged to play with dolls, and when they are slightly older,
may be expected to participate in housework. It is in these ways that they come to learn what
codes of behaviour are considered appropriate for them, which norms they have to conform to.
Our conception of what women and men are and what they are supposed to be is produced by the
society in which we live. Thus many people say that gender is “socially constructed”. The day-
to-day, continuous production of gender has been called doing gender (Zimmermann, 1987),
meaning that gender is “made” by us in everyday lives in our interactions with others.
Judith Butler is one of the most prominent social theorists currently working on issues pertaining
to the social construction of gender. Butler is a trained philosopher and has oriented her work
towards feminism and queer theory. Butler's most known work is Gender Trouble: Feminism
and the Subversion of Identity, published in 1991, which argues for gender performativity. This
means that gender is not an essential category. The repetitious performances of "male" and
"female" in accordance with social norms reifies the categories, creating the appearance of a
naturalized and essential binary. Gender is never a stable descriptor of an individual, but an
individual is always "doing" gender, performing or deviating from the socially accepted
performance of gender stereotypes. Doing gender is not just about acting in a particular way. It is
about embodying and believing certain gender norms and engaging in practices that map on to
those norms.
*******
Lecture 3
Is Sex Socially Determined too?

Sex refers to a person’s biological status and is typically categorized as male, female, or intersex;
whereas gender refers to the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with
a person’s biological sex.
On the other hand the term sexuality, which can be also called sexual orientation refers to the
sex of those to whom one is sexually and romantically attracted.
The Bruce/Brenda case, which came into attention in late 1990s in research area, raised critical
questions related to the debate of essentialism versus constructionism regarding to gender
identity. In 1965 a boy called Bruce whose genital organ was accidentally burnt in the hospital
during the circumcision process shortly after his born had been attempted reconstructive surgery
for recovery. Since the chances of success to recreate male genital organ were small, external
female genitals was created and the child, renamed Brenda, was raised as a girl by parents. A
doctor, John Money, who suggested the parents to raise their child in congruence with the
reassigned anatomical sex was a main figure in that case. During this period Money was
publishing papers that represent the success of the operation. However by age two Brenda started
to act like a boy, in the following years she was found to have sexual attraction to girls.
Klinefelter syndrome or Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) also known as 47,XXY or XXY, is the set
of symptoms that result from two or more X chromosome in males.
********
Lecture 4
4.1 Gender Stereotypes
Gender stereotypes are simplistic generalizations about the gender attributes, differences, and
the roles of individuals and/or groups. Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but they rarely
communicate accurate information about others. Gender has appeared in religious,
philosophical, and literary works for centuries. Consider the following excerpts, from ancient
times to the present:
 “Woman is more compassionate than man and has a greater propensity to tears… But the
male… is more disposed to give assistance in danger, and is more courageous than the
female”. (Aristotle, cited in Miles, 1935).
 “To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is
meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant
moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition,
is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not
greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being,

the future is with woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than
woman?” (Mahatma Gandhi, cited in Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, 1960)
 “A man will say what he knows, a woman says what will please.” (Jean Jacques
Rousseau, Emile, 1762/1955)
 “Man with the head and woman with the heart; Man to command and woman to obey;
all else confusion.” (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1842)
Although the past three decades have brought a new level of awareness about the wide range
of roles possible for each gender, strong beliefs about gender difference remain. The
commonest female stereotypical role that is prevalent is of the homemaker. It is imperative
for her to put her family’s welfare before her own; she is loving, compassionate, caring,
nurturing, emotional and sympathetic. The male’s role on the other hand is to be the provider.
He is also to be assertive, competitive, independent, aggressive, courageous, rational, career-
oriented and pragmatic. We link following traits to men and women.
4.2 Instrumental /Masculine traits
Independent, competent, rational, assertive, strong-headed, aggressive, bread-earner,

dominant, active, tough etc.
4.3 Expressive / Feminine traits
Expressive, weak, talkative, feminine, shy, sensitive, passive, emotional, submissive, caring,
dependent, blunt etc
4.4 Gender Roles and Relations
Gender roles can be defined as the social roles that a person is expected to fulfill based upon
his or her gender. These vary in different social, cultural and historical contexts. They vary
among different societies and cultures, classes, ages and during different periods in history.
Gender –specific roles and responsibilities are often conditioned by household structure,
access to resources, specific impacts of the global economy, and other locally relevant factors
such as ecological conditions (FAO, 1997)
Gender relations are the ways in which a culture or society defines rights, responsibilities,
and the identities of men and women in relation to one another (Bravo – Baumann, 2000).
Men and women respond to different situations and conditions differently, this is not because
of their biological traits but because of their socially and culturally endorsed roles; therefore
they ascribe to acquire distinct and diverse sets of knowledge and needs.
The socio-cultural norms of a society are instrumental in demarcating the gender relations.
They indicate the way men and women relate to each other in a socio-cultural setting and
subsequently lead to the display of gender-based power. This develops from the expected and

gendered roles assumed by men and women and the impact of their interactions. A good
example for this can be ‘The family’. In this setting man assumes the provider and decision
maker’s roles and woman takes-up the familial and childcare roles. These power relations are
biased because the male has more power in making financially, legally and socially
influential decisions. Roles, assumed attributes and socio-cultural norms lead to the design of
behavioural blueprints. Those who do not conform to these roles we are seen to be deviant as
per the societal standards.
Gender roles are societal, cultural and personal. They regulate how males and females should
think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. Learning reinforced through
various societal institutions and plays a role in this process of shaping gender roles. While
various socializing agents- parents, teachers, peers, movies, television, music, religion- teach
and strengthen gender roles throughout the lifespan, parents probably exert the greatest
influence. The way in which gender roles are absorbed and assimilated by a group of people
describes the influence of society. The role of a man and a woman in society is influenced
by a variety of factors. These factors vary with the region, religion, culture, climate,
historical beliefs, ideologies and experiences, across the globe.
*******
Lecture 5
5.1 Feminism:
In the broadest sense, the term feminism refers to a set of ideas that recognize that women are
faced with certain disadvantages because they are women and the belief that this should not
be so. It refers to the political practice that emerges from these, a practice which is aimed at
changing the situations of women who face systemic disadvantages. The term ‘broadest
sense’ has been used to describe this definition because there are different types of feminism,
which recognise that in the social world women suffer certain disadvantages in comparison
to men.
Feminism seeks to change those dimensions and systems of society which give rise to
inequalities between the sexes. Thus it not only wishes to understand social systems and
processes, but also has a commitment to change those that are unjust and discriminatory. In
doing so, it realises that the problems that individual women face – violence, exploitation,
and discrimination, for example – are caused by broad social and historical factors, and not

because of immediate individual circumstances. They must therefore be countered through

social changes.
5.2 Feminism and Economy:
The social world we inhabit is undoubtedly gendered – it is shaped by gender and has
implications for people based upon their gender. Feminism has drawn attention to the manner
in which it can be seen that the economy is also gendered. There are many examples of this:
women’s employment outside the home may be concentrated within certain professions and
certain types of work, and they may be less likely to own and/or control economic resources
and assets. Feminism has also examined the gendered nature of different types of economic
systems – for example, capitalist, feudal, and socialist. Each of these systems had different
methods of organising work for the purposes of economic activity.
Many feminists who look to the economy to further their understanding of the oppression of
women argue that efforts like reforming hiring policies, distributing family resources equally
between men and women, and having active women’s groups cannot entirely produce
equality between men and women in the economy. On the other hand, they argue that entire
economic systems must be transformed in order to truly liberate women (and men) from
various types of economic exploitation. This is because they identify a deep and long history
of links between economic organisation of work and income, patriarchal control within the
family, and social norms of sexuality and appearance, as the cause for the continuing levels
of discrimination in the economy.
In the 1970s, Bodh Gaya saw a movement by agricultural labourers to reclaim agricultural
land, much of which was held by the Bodh Gaya Math. In 1979, the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh
Vahini organised a shibir (camp) where the demand was first raised that the redistributed
land be registered in women’s names as well as in men’s. Why was this demand important?
Land is a very significant asset. It is considered a primary resource for the economy, and a
source of livelihood and financial security for people. Women made the demand for
ownership of land because it would help them to achieve all these things. The lack of
ownership of land left them particularly vulnerable.
5.3 Feminism and Gender Studies
Feminism is directed both towards understanding society, and also towards changing those
aspects and structures society that are unjust and exploitative. It therefore involves both the
growth of knowledge and the betterment of the social world. These are not two separate things,
but are interlinked aspects of feminism. Thus the feminist scholar Vina Mazumdar has pointed
out that women’s studies (the precursor to gender studies) gave feminist activists information
and insights which activists needed for their work – for example, information on peasant women
and women in the unorganised sector of the economy. Women’s studies and gender studies have
also furthered the cause of feminism by pointing out biases and omissions in various academic

disciplines, for example in the fields of history and sociology. There is, then, a close relationship
between the field of gender studies and feminism.
*******
Lecture 6
Masculinity and Feminity
1- Masculinity :
'Masculinity' is a concept that is made up of more rigid stereotypes than femininity.

Representations of men across all media tend to focus on the following:
• Strength - physical and intellectual
• Power • Sexual attractiveness (which may be based on the above)
• Physique
• Independence (of thought, action, finances).
Male characters are often represented as isolated, as not needing to rely on others (the lone hero).
What are the features associated with masculinity? Boys are seen as physically strong and
powerful, even a little rough, and as being capable of greater physical feats than women. They
are also seen as mentally tough, self-confident, outgoing, and even aggressive. In contrast to
girls, who are often seen as irrational and impractical, boys are considered to be rational and
practical. Boys may be teased for liking things which are considered ‘girly’ – for example,
hobbies (for example, cooking) and toys (for example, dolls) that are associated with girls.
Outdoor hobbies and sports may be encouraged. They may be scolded if they display weakness –
for example, being afraid of the dark – and be reminded that they should be strong and brave.
These features reflect the idea of a boy or man who has to go out into the world, earn a living,
and support him and his family. He then has to be outgoing and capable, not shy and
apprehensive. He will have to be focused on a productive career, and will not be able to afford to
waste time on futile, unproductive pursuits. He will have to take the fact that he is a provider,
very seriously. It is in this way that manliness is measured in a boy or man’s ability to provide
for his family.
Masculinity has other dimensions as well. It also includes a certain attitude towards women,
particularly women from a boy’s own household. Manliness depends also upon a men exercising
control over the women members of his household. This control may be exercised in various
ways. Brothers may question sisters about where they go, whom they meet; if companions are
considered unsuitable, they may be prevented from meeting them. Fathers may make decisions
about the kind of education their daughters will have, and decide till what level they will study.
Major decisions, like if and when to marry, the choice of marriage partner, decisions related to
children and their future may not be in the hands of the women concerned. They are kept out of
financial matters related to savings, investments, expenditure associated with major
commodities. In these ways, men exercise control over women – over their actions, decisions,

finances, as well as over their bodies, sexuality, and reproductive capacities. The ability to
exercise these forms of control is an important part of the ideal of masculinity.
One of the hallmarks of masculinity is the idea of a man as a provider, being able to meet his
own and his family’s requirements. However, many men are not in situations where they can
support their families without contributions from other family members. Illness and old age may
force men to stop working, and look to other members of their families for financial support.
2- Feminity:
Representations of women across all media tend to highlight the following:

• beauty
• size/physique
• sexuality
• emotional (as opposed to intellectual) dealings
• relationships (as opposed to independence/ freedom)
• Often their passivity extends to victimhood. In drama, they tend to take the role of helper or
object, passive rather than active.
‘Femininity’ refers to those characteristics that are associated with being female – with being a
girl or woman. Femininity refers to the cultural and social construction of what it means to be a
girl or woman. What are some of the traits of femininity? Girls are seen as gentle, caring and
nurturing, and as having a capacity for selfsacrifice (or of being a martyr) that men do not have.
Girls are also supposed to be very concerned about their physical appearance – clothes, makeup,
and hair – and spend time making themselves look beautiful. It is also assumed that girls will
grow up to marry and have children – that they will at some stage of their lives be wives and
mothers.
Femininity is a set of traits and behaviour that girls and women are expected to possess. It is in
some senses an ideal of behaviour. At times girls are admonished or scolded for behaving in
certain ways. An assertive and opinionated girl may be told that her behaviour is unacceptable,
and she may be disciplined for behaving thus. In this situation, her behaviour is being compared
to an ideal of feminine behaviour.
Models of femininity are associated with certain roles – those of wifehood and motherhood. It is
assumed that all women will be wives and mothers. Parents may begin to prepare for the
eventual marriages of their daughters when those daughters are still young – collecting clothes
and jewelry. Employers may be reluctant to hire a young woman to work for them, assuming that
she will not be able to devote enough time to work once she (inevitably) gets married and starts a
family. Those working in an office may have to attend a seminar or counseling session on
achieving a ‘work-life balance’ – i.e., on how to manage both work and home life. But these
seminars are often only for women – it is assumed that men do not need them as they have a
lesser, or no, responsibility towards housework.
Women perform many different activities in their daily lives. They may be married, have
children, look after their households, and also have jobs, participate in voluntary work, and/or
have hobbies to which they are dedicated. In other words, women perform multiple tasks. Yet the
roles of wife and mother are given primacy. Certain jobs are seen as ‘good’ for women as they
leave women with enough time to devote to their households. School teaching is a good example

of this. Also, the characteristics women possess, which are associated with being a wife and
mother, affect which career options are deemed suitable for women. Nursing for example is seen
as an extension of the caring, nurturing role of women, from the home, into the workplace.
Domestic work is similarly seen as something towards which women are naturally inclined. And
yet, this ideal of femininity is actually only available to very few women. Femininity and
masculinity are based upon, amongst other things, the social roles that women and men are
expected to perform in their lives.
3- What is Feminism?
 Seeks to challenge power structures and change the roles and perceptions of women .
 It is understanding how power works because without this it is impossible to change
things .
 Feminism is not a monolith, nor is it a dogma. The only thing you have to believe in
order to call yourself a feminist is that ensuring women's freedom and equality of
opportunity in all spheres of life is a crucial priority.
 Mass media play an important part in the reinforcement of patriarchal ideology,
Feminists seek to see how this works, criticise it and find ways of using the media to
propose alternatives to patriarchy.
 Gender roles and representations have changed over the years – mostly because feminists
have made a good deal of progress in eroding the stereotypes.
 Women’s bodies and female sexuality have become commodities and the consequences
of this are mental and physical illness, starvation diets and eating disorders.
4- Feminism and Masculinity:
 Gloria Steinem gave several speeches in 2002, preaching school shootings, Nazism, and
terrorism were a product of “male dominance.” She says: “The cult of masculinity is the
basis of every violent, fascist regime.
 Men are related to deomestic violence and sexual assault. In their activism, feminists
were quick to pounce on the issue of domestic violence. They were also quick to show
that violence upon women was not a product of random, individual cases of violence, but
rather something that was institutionalized in society. This message is cv7aptured in the
haunting title of an article written by feminist Liz Kelly: “’It’s Everywhere’: Sexual
Violence as a Continuum”
 A group of women parade around campus chanting: “No Means No; Yes Means Yes;
Wherever We Go; However We Dress,”
 Feminisation of Employment
*******
Lecture 7
Liberal Feminism

1- Introduction
 Liberals hold that freedom is a fundamental value, and that the just state ensures freedom
for individuals. Liberal feminists share this view, and insist on freedom for women.
 Martha Nussbaum proposes an account of the good life that has “at its heart, a profoundly
liberal idea , the idea of the citizen as a free and dignified human being, a maker of
choices”
 Liberal Feminism began in the 18th and 19th centuries and has continued through to the
present day. Throughout its history the liberal feminist movement has been and continues
to be focused on eliminating female subordination.
 It is rooted in a set of customary and legal constraints blocking women's entrance to and
success in the so-called public world.
 Liberal feminism conceives of freedom as (a) personal autonomy that is living a life of
one's own choosing and (b) political autonomy—being co-author of the conditions under
which one lives.
2- History :
Liberal feminism is part of, and thus finds its roots in, the larger tradition of liberal political
philosophy; thus we see much liberal feminist work inspired by Immanuel Kant, John Stuart
Mill, and John Rawls (and other figures in this tradition).
3- Main Idea
(a) Personal Autonomy:
Liberal feminists hold that the exercise of personal autonomy depends on certain enabling
conditions that are insufficiently present in women's lives, or that social arrangements often fail
to respect women's personal autonomy and other elements of women's flourishing.They also
believe that women are inadequately represented in the processes of democratic self-
determination. According to Okin Liberal feminists hold that autonomy deficits like these are
due to the “gender system” or the patriarchal nature of inherited traditions and institutions, and
that the women's movement should work to identify and remedy them.Following are some main
ideas.
 Being free of violence and the threat of violence.

 Being free of the limits set by patriarchal paternalistic and moralistic laws.
 Having access to options.
 The ability to assess one's own preferences and imagine life otherwise.
 State must play it’s part to protect women’s rights.
 Liberals reject the laws prohibiting prostitution.
(b) Political Autonomy :

Some liberal feminists emphasize the importance of political autonomy, that is, being co-author
of the conditions under which one lives. Some use contractualist political theory to argue that the

state should ensure that the basic structure of society satisfies principles of justice that women, as
well as men, could endorse.
 Distributive Justice
 Public Deliberation and Electoral Politics- The gender system leads to women's being
underrepresented in influential forums of public deliberation, including in elected law-
making bodies. For example women have less free time to engage in public deliberation
because of the double-burden they carry of paid and unpaid labor; sex stereotyping leads
many to think that women (especially women from particular ethnic and cultural groups)
are less capable of leadership than men; the behavior called for in agonistic public
deliberation and electoral politics is understood to be masculine; issues of particular
interest to women are seen as personal and not political issues; women lack power in the
many institutions (like churches, universities, and think tanks) that influence political
debate, etc.
4- Famous Scholars
 Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1799) represents the beginning of the liberal feminist

movement. She wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she makes the
case that women need to be educated just as well as men so that they can grow up to be
moral and autonomous human beings.
 In 19th century John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor (Mill) wrote about women needing to
be more involved in society.
 Harriet Taylor called for women to work outside the household as well as raise children.
 John Stuart Mill believed that women should be recognized as fully rational and worthy
of the same civil liberties and economic opportunities as men.
 The both supported Suffrage Movement. After several decades of struggle women were
finally allowed to vote in 1920 when the 19th Amendment passed.
 NOW's first president, Betty Friedan, was an author and prominent feminist activist who
was an important leader in the liberal feminist movement. She wrote some important
books including The Feminine Mystique, The Second Stage, and The Fountain of Age.
Though there are many ideas in these books and in liberal feminism, the culmination has
been to support the humanist ideal of androgyny. Androgyny is where women and men
improve themselves by adopting both feminine and masculine traits to become fuller
human beings.
5- Critique:
 Liberal feminism focuses too much on women becoming like men and it unnecessarily
denigrates the importance of traditional female roles.
 It emphasizes the rational above the emotional while humans need both.
 It also questioned liberal feminism's focus on the individual and not on the community.
 Some argue that liberal feminisms run the risk of being insufficiently liberal.
 Conservatives hold that reformers can do more harm than good when they undermine the
institutions and norms.

6- Conclusion
*******
Lecture 8
Marxist/Socialist Feminism
1- Introduction
"Anyone who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without
feminine upheaval. Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex,
the ugly ones included."Karl Marx
The oppression of women did not always exist. In fact, the family as we know it today has not
always existed but is a transient form. Marxism explains that it arose together with class society,
private property and the state. The oppression of women is only as old as the division of society
into classes. Its abolition is therefore dependent on the abolition of classes, that is, on the
socialist revolution.
 Marxist feminism is a sub-type of feminist ideology which focuses on the dismantling of

capitalism as a way to liberate women.
 Marxist feminism states that economic inequality, dependence, political confusion and
ultimately unhealthy social relations between men and women are the root of women's
oppression in the current social context.
• This idea was laid by Engels
 Marxist feminism points out the roll of capitalism in the oppression of women.
As early as the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels argued that the ruling class oppresses
women, relegating them to second-class citizenship in society and within the family:
"The bourgeois sees in his wife a mere instrument of production...He has not even a suspicion
that the real point aimed at [by communists] is to do away with the status of women as mere
instruments of production."

2- Historical Background
As early as the 17th century, women began to advance the demand for their social and political
emancipation. The English Revolution saw an increasing participation of women in the fight
against the monarchy and for democracy and equal rights. They were also part of French and
Russian revolution.
After Marx's death, Engels used some of Marx's ethnological notes to write the book The origin
of the Family, Private Property and the State, which examined the rise of women's oppression as
a product of the rise of class society and of the nuclear family.
3-Main Ideas
 INESSA ARMAND, the first leader of the women's department of the 1917 Russian
Revolution, made the following observation: "If women's liberation is unthinkable
without communism, then communism is unthinkable without women's liberation." That
statement is a perfect summary of the relationship between the fight for both socialism
and women's liberation--neither is possible without the other.
 Engels explicitly argued that rape and violence against women were built in to the family
at its beginning:
"The man took command in the home also; the woman was degraded and reduced to servitude;
she became the slave of his lust and a mere instrument for the production of children...In order to
make certain of the wife's fidelity and therefore the paternity of his children, she is delivered
over unconditionally into the power of the husband; if he kills her, he is only exercising his
rights."
The ideal of the monogamous family in class society is based upon a fundamental hypocrisy.
From its very beginning, the family has been stamped "with its specific character of monogamy
for the woman only, but not for the man.”
 Lenin called women oppression in family as “Domestic Slavery”.
4- Famous Scholars
Karl Marx
Fredrich Engels
Juliet Michell
5-Critique
 Oppression is psychological, not economic.

 Economic revolution does not guarantee equality.

 Mao said “Despite collective work , egalitarin legislation, social care of children etc, it
was too soon for Chinese really, deeply and irrevocably to have changed their attitudes
towards women.”
6- Conclusion
*******
Lecture 9
Radical Feminism
1- Introduction
 Stems from Radicalisation

 Radical feminism considers the male-controlled capitalist hierarchy as the defining
feature of women’s oppression and the total uprooting and reconstruction of society as
necessary.
 Radical feminists believe that men are the enemy, and they control, exploit & oppress
women through the process of patriarchy(male rule or domination) in employment,family
relations, sexual relations & status.
 According to MacKinnon, gender difference is simply the reified effect of domination.
As she puts it, “difference is the velvet glove on the iron fist of domination. The problem
is not that differences are not valued; the problem is that they are defined by power” .
 Women are oppressed by men both in private and public life.
 Violence is used as a tool against women to oppress them.
 Men as a group desire control over women as a group and organize society around
oppression.
 Men control women through:
Controlling Motherhood (and devalue it) and Controlling Sexuality
State helps in control by failing to write laws or writing laws that allow men to control
women’s bodies and role in society.
2- Background
 Emerged in 1960s
 Second wave of Feminism- At this point in time, women had won the right to vote and
were working more outside of the home.

 Black power Movements
3- Main Ideas
 Men give up their patriarchy

 Women exist without men & self-reproduce
 Women keep their lives separate from men
 Abolish the nuclear family unit
 Take male-dominated culture on its head.
 Protection of rape victims and battered women.
 Pornography, prostitution and sexual harrasment must end.
 Radical cultural feminism , radical liberation feminism, radical-lasbian feminism are
related ideas.
4- Famous Radical Feminists
 New York Radical Women - They arranged demonstration Miss America Protest in 1968.
 Redstockings of the Women's Liberation Movement by Ellin Wills and Shumalith
Firestone
 Kate Millet wrote Sexual Politics in 1970
 Guerrilla Feminism
5- Criticism
 Critics claim Radical feminists simplify the issues and therefore tend to suggest that men
are the victimizers and women the victims. Not all women are victims and not all men
corrupt so by taking an essentialist standpoint Radical feminists run the risk of "doing
unto others that which they do not want done unto themselves and other oppressed
groups.” (Rosmarie Tong)
 The crux of this theory is that the reason women are oppressed is because we are women
living in a patriarchal world. Many critiques of this theory pay attention to the fact that
early Radical feminism often ignored race, class and sexual orientation differences.
 The very place that Radical feminism finds its strength, it also finds its weakness - the
sisterhood of all women.
 To view women as a "sex class" whose basic interest involves emancipation from men
would leave unresolved the problem of economic exploitation.
 Radical Feminism tends to overlook the fact that the general position of women in
society has changed over time and this can only be explained in terms of wider economic
and political changes in society.
6- Conclusion
*******

Lecture 10
Psychoanalytical Feminism
1- Introduction
Psychoanalytic and gender feminists believe “women’s way of acting is rooted deep in women’s
psyche.” For the psychoanalytic feminist, the ideal “human person is a blend of positive feminine
and positive masculine traits.”
2- The Roots of Psychoanalytic Feminism: Sigmund Freud
Contrary to popular belief in his time that children are “sexless” (sexuality-less), Freud argued
that children were quite sexual and, in fact, experienced three sexual stages of infancy: oral, anal,
and phallic.
Oedipus complex : the positive set of feelings of a child toward the parent of the opposite sex and
hostile or jealous feelings toward the parent of the same sex that may be a source of adult
personality disorder when unresolved.
Freudian theory proposes that a male child wants his mother sexually, yet noticing that she and
other creatures alike have no penis, he assumes they have been castrated by his father, and for
fear of being castrated himself, chooses not to compete with his father and act upon his desire,
but rather detaches himself from his mother. He instead begins to develop a “superego”.
Girl’s dilemma and desire for baby :
Envy, according to Freud, leads woman to shame, vanity, narcissism and more such immoralities
that are in direct contradiction of the male “superego, which gives rise to the traits marking a
civilized person.
Shared Parenting :
Dorothy Dinnerstein argues that people have a “tendency to blame women for everything wrong
about ourselves” because it is mother who bears us, raises us, and presides over us. With the
implementation of dual parenting gender roles and arrangements may be forgotten. Man will no
longer be the sole “mighty world-builder” or breadwinner, nor will woman be the sole nurturer,
or “mother-goddess” answerable to anything that goes wrong.
Role of Literature:
Women and men should write about their experiences.
3- Criticism :

Critiques of Freud “argued women’s social position and powerlessness relative to men had little
to do with female biology and much to do with the social construction of femininity.”
Karen Horney writes that “Women’s feelings of inferiority originated not in women’s
recognition of their ‘castration’ but in realization of their social subordination.
As soon as women learn to view themselves as men’s equals, society will have little if any power
over them.”
According to Clara Thompson “Male authority causes women to have weaker egos than man
do.” The cross-cultural tendency of societies to favor male superiority is the impetus of women’s
self-hatred and inferiority.
*******
Lecture 11
Eco Feminism
1- Introduction
A general, common-denominator characterization of “ecofeminist philosophy” is that it: (1)

explores the nature of the connections between the unjustified dominations of women and nature;
(2) critiques male-biased Western canonical philosophical views (assumptions, concepts, claims,
distinctions, positions, theories) about women and nature; and (3) creates alternatives and
solutions to such male-biased views.
Early positions of “feminist environmental philosophy” focused mostly on ethical perspectives

on the interconnections among women, nonhuman animals, and nature. Carol Adams was
famous echo feminist
As it matured, references to feminist environmental philosophy became what it is now—an

umbrella term for a variety of different philosophical perspectives on interconnections among
women of diverse races/ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, and geographic locations, on the one
hand, and nonhuman animals and nature, on the other.
Rosemarie Tong states that, in patriarchal culture, “women have been ‘naturalized’ and nature
has been ‘feminized.’”
Tong draws on the work of Karen Warren to solidify this assertion: “Warren emphasized that
women are ‘naturalized’ when they are described in animal terms such as ‘cows, foxes, chicks,
serpents, bitches, beavers, old bats, cats, bird-brains, hare brains. Similarly, nature is ‘feminized

when “she” is raped, mastered, conquered … or when “she” is venerated …as the grandest
“mother” of all.”
Francoise d’Eaubonne, an early ecofeminist, saw a direct link between the oppression of nature
and the oppression of women. She claimed that the liberation of one could not occur without the
liberation of the other. The ecology movement and the feminist movement are intertwined.
2- Links with Deep Ecologists :
Deep ecologists believe that nature has intrinsic value apart from human the values human place
on it. It is human-centeredness (anthrocentrism), deep ecologists feel, that is at the root of the
earth’s degradation. Humans only care about the aspects of the earth that contribute directly to
their own comfort and welfare. Eco-feminists differ, however, in that they feel that the problem
is not human-centeredness but rather male-centeredness, or androcentrism.
3- Historical Background:
French feminist Françoise d'Eaubonne coined the term “ecological feminisme” in 1974 to call
attention to women's potential to bring about an ecological revolution. Initially, “ecofeminism”
referred generically to a wide variety of “women-nature” connections and ecofeminism did not
emerge as a distinctly philosophical position until the late 1980s and early- to mid 1990s.
One of the earliest and most widely referenced is ecofeminist historian Carolyn Merchant's
perspective (Merchant 1980). Merchant argues that the separation of culture from nature (or, the
culture/nature dualism) is a product of the scientific revolution. She describes two conflicting
images of nature: an older, Greek image of nature as organic, benevolent, nurturing female, and a
newer, “modern” (1500–1800s) image of nature as inert, dead, and mechanistic.
4- Main ideas :
An understanding of nature and environmental problems often helps one understand how and
why women's oppression is linked with the unjustified domination or exploitation of nature.
For example, data show that women—especially poor, rural women in less developed countries
(LDCs) who are heads of households—suffer disproportionate harms caused by such
environmental problems as deforestation, water pollution, and environmental toxins. Knowing
this helps one understand how the lives and status of women are connected to contemporary
environmental problems. (Greta Gaard and Lori Gruen).
According to Marxist-informed “materialist ecofeminism”, socioeconomic conditions are central

to the interconnected dominations of women and nature.
Feminist political philosophy critiques ways in which traditional understandings of the political
world, including the nature of the public sphere, freedom, democracy, political speech, solidarity,
and participation, fail to adequately address feminist concerns.Ecofeminist political philosophy

tends to expand these critiques to include ecologically informed visions for conceptualizing
politics, political analyses, and the nature of democracy.
Generally, ecofeminists seek to strengthen women’s ties to nature rather than weaken them. They
feel that womens’ physiological experiences lead to traits such as caring, nurturing, and
intuitiveness and that these traits are undervalued in a male dominated society.According to
Daly, nature is doomed unless women take action.
5- Ethical Perspectives
“Ecofeminist philosophical ethics” (“ecofeminist ethics”) is the sub-field of ecofeminist

philosophy that has received the most scholarly attention.
a) care-focused nature of ecofeminist ethics

b) environmental virtue ethics
c)environmental justice-focused ethics
6- Conclusion
*******
Lecture 12
Men’s Feminism
Introduction:
For many people, feminism is synonymous with misandry and overreaction. In the West many
think that we reached and then overshot equality, with women instead receiving preferential
treatment.This perception of feminism as driving forward rights for women while crushing men
underfoot has led to the creation of various men’s rights groups, some of which raise perfectly
valid points and draw attention to men’s interests in fields where they may be compromised. For
instance, UK organisation Fathers for Justice advocates men’s rights for access to their children
while Whiteribbon.org raises awareness on domestic violence regardless of gender and age.
“When a man commits domestic violence he is punished very harshly. But when a woman
commits domestic violence she gets cheers, chuckles or is all too often ignored.” The men's
liberation movement began in the early 1970s as consciousness-raising groups to help men free
themselves from the limits of sex roles.
History:
Pillsbury helped to draft the constitution of the feminist American Equal Rights Association in
1865, he served as vice-president of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association. In 1868
and 1869 Parker edited Revolution.

Montesquieu introduced female characters, like Roxana in Persian Letters, who subverted
patriarchal systems, and represented his arguments against despotism in 18th Century
Main Ideas:
 Men’s Feminism is the study of men and masculinity.

 Hegemonic Masculinity
 It studies the oppositional relation between femininity and masculinity.
 Gender inequality occurs because of men’s mal-treatment of other men and women.
 Low income group is exploited
 Taste of risk is reason for violent behaviour.
Heterosexual vs Homosexual
Gender inequality is embedded in men’s jockeying for the leading positions in all spheres of
life.
Criticism :
 It overlaps with gay studies

 It does not offer new theoretical perspectives.
 It is an amalgamation of earlier works.
 *******
Lecture 13
Queer Theory
1-Introduction:
 A field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s.

 Queer Theory Disembodies desire and examines how homoeroticism and heteroeroticism
function, intermingling and mutually confusing modes of expression within the
constructions of cultures and identities.
 Homoeroticism refers to same-sex.
 Heteroeroticism is opposite sex.
 Explores and challenges the way in which heterosexuality is constructed as normal.

 Challenges the traditionally held assumptions that there is an oppositional divide between
being gay and heterosexual.
 Acknowledging the inevitable violence of identity politics and having no stake in its own
hegemony, queer is less an identity than a critique of identity.
 Challenges the embedded power structure based on male domination and Female
Subordination.
 Starting in the 1970s, a range of authors brought deconstructionist critical approaches to

bear on issues of sexual identity, and especially on the construction of a normative.
2-The History:
Molly Houses were made in England for the separate activities of gays.
*In 1950s, police actively enforced laws that prohibited sexual activities between men.
*Such people were termed as sexually ‘abnormal’ and ‘deviant’.
*In 1967 homosexuality was decriminalised in UK.
*In India it was decriminalised in 2009.
*In Pakistan, the Anglo Saxon law of “Unnatural Offences” was included in Pakistan Penal Code
(Act XLV of 1860), PPC. Within the PPC, "Unnatural Offences" Article 377 states: "Whoever
voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal,
shall be punished with imprisonment [...] for a term which shall not be less than two years nor
more than ten years, and shall also be liable to fine"
3-Judith Butler (1999):

Suggests gender is not the result of nature, but is socially constructed.Male and female
behaviour roles are not the result of biology but are constructed and reinforced by society
through media and culture. Gender is a Performance. She argues that there are a number of
exaggerated representations of masculinity and femininity which cause “gender trouble.”
Accordingly, Butler put forward the argument of transsexuals, who identify themselves as
oppose to their anatomical sexs, and drag performers, who dresses in female clothes for
entertaining, in her 1999 preface to Gender Trouble. The argument draws attention to the
‘naturalized knowledge’ of gender perceptions. Butler emphasized that when one, who holds
naturalized perspective, see a man dressed as a woman or a woman dresses as a man considers
this actions as ‘unreal’. In other terms, since the ‘reality’ of gender is shaped within the frame of
gender norms based on cultural inferences, actions outside of the normative terms reflects
unreality.
The hallmark of her arguments is the description of gender which not refers to something people
have, rather something people do at specific times and in specific circumstances. In other terms
the performance itself refers to the gender (Butler, 2004)
4- Queer Theory in Modern World:

*In recent years 'queer' has come to be used differently, sometimes as an umbrella term for a
coalition of culturally marginal sexual self-identifications and at other times to describe a nascent
theoretical model which has developed out of more traditional lesbian and gay studies.
*Institutionally, queer has been associated most prominently with lesbian and gay subjects, but
its analytic framework also includes such topics as cross-dressing, hermaphroditism, gender
ambiguity and gender-corrective surgery.
*Demonstrating the impossibility of any 'natural' sexuality, it calls into question even such
apparently unproblematic terms as 'man' and 'woman'.
*Before the term ‘queer’ produced as political strategy, it was used to label homosexual people
in Western societies in 1980s. More extensively in 1990s queer discussions has been emerged
not merely by lesbian and gay politics; rather produced by historical knowledge of post-
structuralism. Unlike naturalised categories of heterosexual insights, as well as lesbian, gay,
bisexual, trans (lgbt) movements which emphasised the notion of identity politics; queer has
been adopted post-structuralist theorisation of identity as provisional and contingent (Jagose)
*Michael Foucault “ History of Sexuality” 1970
*Teresa de Lauretis, the theorist often credited with inaugurating the phrase 'queer theory',
abandoned it barely three years later, on the grounds that it had been taken over by those
mainstream forces and institutions it was coined to resist.
5- Queer Theory and AIDS
6- Criticism :
*Adam Green argues that queer theory ignores the social and institutional conditions within
which lesbians and gays live.
*******
Lecture 14
First Wave of Feminism
1-Introduction:
The first wave of feminism took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emerging out of
an environment of urban industrialism and liberal, socialist politics. The goal of this wave was to
open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage. The wave formally began at the
Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, when 300 men and women rallied to the cause of equality for
women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (d.1902) drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration outlining the new
movement's ideology and political strategies.
The efforts of women in the 19th century that led to the passage of women’s right to vote in 1920
is often referred to as the First Wave of feminism. First Wavers were primarily concerned with
women’s equalities, specifically the right to vote, which is why it is similar to a political theory.

In its early stages, feminism was interrelated with the temperance and abolitionist movements
and gave voice to now-famous activists like the African-American Sojourner Truth (d.1883),
who demanded, "Ain't I a woman?" Victorian America saw women acting in very "un-ladylike"
ways (public speaking, demonstrating, stints in jail), which challenged the "cult of domesticity.”
"That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches,
and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-
puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have
ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman?
I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well!
And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and
when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman? “ 1851
Ohio
2- History :
The term first-wave was coined in March 1968 by Marsha Lear writing in NYT.
Some thinkers have sought to locate the roots of feminism in the writings of Christine de Pisan
(d.1434). Certainly Olympes de Gouge (d.1791), Mary Wollstonecraft (A vindication of rights of
women in 1792 , Grandmother of British Feminism) and Jane Austen) are foremothers of the
modern women's movement. All of these people advocated for the dignity, intelligence and basic
human potential of the female sex.
Women in 19th Century by Margret Fuller

3- Main Ideas:
 The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of
man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over
her.
 Passed 12 Resolutions, arguing that ―woman is man’s equal‖ and that *men* should
encourage women to speak, teach, participate in religious assemblies.
 Placed the onus on women to take action to protect themselves for the future.
 Right to vote is a necessary tool for all other aspects of emancipation.
Multiplicity of Oppressions: the process by which multiple forms of oppression race, gender,
class—are connected. Anna Julia Cooper, African-American feminist activist, said that because
of this multiplicity of oppression, sexism is indissolubly linked to other forms of oppression,
abuse, and inequality .
We want simply to be ourselves…not just our little female selves but our whole big human
selves –Mary Jenny Howe.

Goals of the women’s movement became more diverse, with leaders organizing smaller groups
focused on other issues affecting women:
 Legal and accessible birth control

 Expansion of educational opportunities
 Crusade against lynching and other race-based violence and injustice
 Fight for improved working conditions
4- Timeline of first-wave feminism worldwide
 1821 :USA, Maine: Married women were allowed to own and manage property in their
own name during the incapacity of their spouse.
 1829 : Sati was Banned in India
 1869: United Kingdom: The UK granted women the right to vote in local elections.
 1920 : 19th Amendment in USA.
 1928: The right to vote was granted to all UK women equally with men in 1928.
5- Downfall of First Wave
According to Ruth in 1930’s
 Women’s movement loses numbers and influence

 Many women are indifferent to their newfound right to vote
 Women who do vote, work outside the home, and/or participate publicly in political
movement are harshly criticized
 The Depression results in legislation restricting the employment of married women.
 After the war end and men needing to return to their jobs (and thus their proper gender
roles), the focus returns to the nuclear family, which requires women back in the home.
*******
Lecture 15
Second wave of feminism
1-Introduction:
Second-wave feminism is a period of feminist activity that first began in the early 1960s in the
United States, and eventually spread throughout the Western world and beyond. In the United
States the movement lasted through the early 1980s.

The second phase drew in women of color and developing nations, seeking sisterhood and
solidarity and claiming, "Women's struggle is class struggle.”
Feminists spoke of women as a social class and coined phrases such as "the personal is political"
and "identity politics" in an effort to demonstrate that race, class and gender oppression are all
related. They initiated a concentrated effort to rid society top-to-bottom of sexism, from
children's cartoons to the highest levels of government.
The 38 percent of American women who worked in 1960 were largely limited to jobs as teacher,
nurse, or secretary.
Women were generally unwelcome in professional programs; as one medical school dean
declared, "Hell yes, we have a quota...We do keep women out, when we can. We don't want
them here — and they don't want them elsewhere, either, whether or not they'll admit it."As a
result, in 1960, women accounted for six percent of American doctors, three percent of lawyers,
and less than one percent of engineers.
In 1962, Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique captured the frustration and even the
despair of a generation of college-educated housewives who felt trapped and unfulfilled.
No longer a “second sex”.
2-Goals and Objectives:
The feminist movement of the 1960s and '70s originally focused on dismantling workplace
inequality, such as denial of access to better jobs and salary inequity.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was established but women realised soon that it
would not enforce the law's protection of women workers, and so a group of feminists including
Betty Friedan decided to found an organization that would fight gender discrimination through
the courts and legislatures. In the summer of 1966, they launched the National Organization for
Women (NOW), which went on to lobby Congress for pro-equality laws and assist women
seeking legal aid as they battled workplace discrimination in the courts.
They popularized the idea that "the personal is political" — that women's political inequality had
equally important personal ramifications, encompassing their relationships, sexuality, birth
control and abortion, clothing and body image, and roles in marriage, housework and childcare.
As such, the different wings of the feminist movement sought women's equality on both a
political and personal level.
3-Leaders of Second Wave:

The feminist movement was not rigidly structured or led by a single figure or group. As one
feminist wrote, "The women's movement is a non-hierarchical one”. It does things collectively
and experimentally.
In fact, the movement was deeply divided between young and old, upper-class and lower-class,
conservative and radical.

Nonetheless, women like Gloria Steinem and Germaine Greer attracted media attention through
both their popular writings and their appealing image. They played a key role representing
feminism to the public and the media — providing attractive examples of women who were
feminists without fitting the negative stereotypes of humorless, ugly, man-hating shrews
4-Accomplishments of Second Wave Feminism
4.1-New Legislation
The struggles of feminist activists in the 1960s and 70s led to groundbreaking legislation that
helped to level the playing field for women in many aspects of life. One of the most famous
pieces of legislation that arose from the Women's Lib movement was the Equal Pay Act of 1963,
which made gender-based wage discrimination illegal.
Many other smaller legislative changes contributed to expanding women's rights during the
second wave of feminism, including the first marital rape laws in the United States, and the
Pregnancy Discrimination Act passed in 1978.
4.2-Women's Role in Society
Often the greatest achievement of the second wave of feminism is considered to be the changes
in cultural and social norms and attitudes concerning women. The perception of women and their
role in society was revolutionized in the 60s and 70s.
4.3-Social Changes
The societal changes, and the second-wave philosophy of "the personal is political," enabled
women to speak up and get help for issues such as rape and domestic violence which were taboo
before. The first domestic violence shelters in the United States opened in the late 1960s, and
many police departments began making domestic crisis intervention training mandatory for
officers in the 1970s.
4.4-New Organizations
One of the achievements of the second wave of feminism was the founding of many
organizations that still work towards equality for women today.
The most famous of these is the National Organization for Women (NOW), which was founded
in 1966 by 28 people who were unsatisfied with the lack of action to address issues the
Presidential Commission on the Status of Women had found.
Another organization founded just a few years later in 1969 was the National Association for the
Repeal of Abortion Laws. Now known as NARAL Pro-Choice America, the organization lobbies
for women to have unrestricted access to abortions.
5- End of Second wave:

The second wave of feminism is considered to have ended in the late 70s or early 80s with the
advent of the so-called "Feminist Sex Wars," bitter debates that divided the feminist movement
over issues related to sex, including prostitution, pornography, and lesbian and trans-women.
*******
Lecture 16
Third Wave Feminism:
Introduction:
The term "third wave feminism" was first used in 1991 by American writer Rebecca Walker,
daughter of Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, in an essay for Ms. Magazine titled
"Becoming the Third Wave.” The term third wave feminism is generally agreed to have begun in
the mid-1990s, and continue to modern day.
Third-wave feminists believed there needed to be further changes in stereotypes, media
portrayals, and language to define women.
The movement of third-wave feminism focused less on laws and the political process and more
on individual identity. The movement of third-wave feminism is said to have arisen out of the
realization that women are of many colors, ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultural
backgrounds.
Proponents of third-wave feminism claim that it allows women to define feminism for
themselves by incorporating their own identities into their belief system of what feminism is and
what it can become.
Third wave feminists have argued that language has been used to create binaries (such as the
male/female or heterosexual/homosexual binaries). Post-structuralist feminists see these binaries
as artificial constructs created to maintain the power of dominant groups.
Another important part of this wave of feminism is sex-positivity, a celebration of sexuality as a

positive aspect of life, with a broader definition of what sex means and what oppression and
empowerment may imply in the context of sex.
The Feminist Sex Wars split feminists on the issue of sex and sexuality. Split into the anti-porn
and sex positive factions respectfully, these two factions disagreed on sexuality, pornography
and other forms of equal representation, prostitution, the role of trans*women in the lesbian
community as well as lesbian sexual practices .
Further, third-wave feminists want to transform the traditional notions of sexuality and embrace
‘an exploration of women’s feelings about sexuality.

Some feminists prefer to change the connotations of a word or words that are sexist rather than
censor it from speech. This idea of changing the connotation of a word inspired the first
SlutWalk in Toronto, Canada in 2011 in response to a Toronto police officer who stated,
“Women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”
Third Wave Direct Action Corporation was founded by American feminists Rebecca Walker and
Shannon Liss as a multiracial, multicultural, multi-issue organization to support young activists.
The organization’s initial mission was to fill a void in young women’s leadership and to mobilize
young people to become more involved socially and politically in their communities.
Criticism :
The third wave feminist movement isn't a unified movement dedicated to a single cause. In fact,
one of the distinctive features of third wave feminism is its multitude of voices and perspectives.
Some consider that a weakness of the movement due to a lack of focus, while others value the
openness and diversity of the movement.
*******
Lecture 17
Status of Women in Pakistan
1-Introduction:
“No nation can rise to the height of glory unless their women are side by side with them...It is
crime against humanity that our women are shut up with in the four walls of the houses as
prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have
to live.”... Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Father of the Nation
 According to Global Gender gap report 2012, Pakistan ranked 134th out of 135 countries.
 In 2013, Pakistan ranked 135th out of 136 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index
Report of the World Economic Forum.
 In 2014, eight more countries were included in the report, but Pakistan remained second
last at 141 out of 142 countries. It is significant that Pakistan ranked at 112 in 2006, the
first year of the report, and since then, its position has been steadily deteriorating every
year.
Even in the ‘Political Empowerment’ sub-index of the GGGI report, Pakistan had slipped
from 64th place in 2013 to 85th in 2014 due to the weakening of women’s position in
parliament. In comparison, Bangladesh was at 68th position, while Rwanda and Burundi
ranked as seventh and 17th respectively. These three are low-income countries, while
Pakistan is rated as a low middle-income country.

The main purpose of the GGGI is to provide a framework for measuring gender-based
disparities in different countries and tracking their progress in four key areas:
 access to economic opportunities,
 political representation,
 education facilities
 health services.
Since the first global gender gap index in 2006, about 80pc of countries have managed to reduce
their gender gaps. On the other hand, there are a few countries that have either made no progress,
or are even falling behind their previous rankings.
2- Economic Issues:
In Pakistan, the situation is steadily deteriorating: women remain sidelined from mainstream
economic activities mainly due to the dominant religious and patriarchal ideology that continues
to confine, subjugate and violate their space despite their having equal rights under the
Constitution.
The percentage of female employment in the non-agricultural sector in Pakistan was last
measured at 13.2pc in 2013 by the World Bank. Needless to say, this percentage is abysmally
low.
It is also one of the 10 lowest-performing countries on the GGGI sub-index of ‘Economic

Participation’ and one of the three countries with the lowest percentage of firms with female
participation in ownership.
Before the 18th Amendment, the ministry of women development, social welfare and special
education used to work on issues related to the improvement of women’s status in society, and
implemented the global agenda of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women) and the Beijing Platform for Action in conjunction with forums
such as the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the Commonwealth, UNIFEM and UNDP.
During its existence from 1979 to 2010, the ministry took many initiatives designed to improve
women’s access to education, health and legal services, and enhance their participation in the
political economy of the country.
For example, it was on the recommendations of this ministry that the principle of reservation of
seats for women in the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies was revived and their
representation ensured in the local bodies. The First Women Bank Ltd was established with the
ministry providing credit lines for micro-credit facilities for women to set up bakeries, boutiques,
beauty parlours, catering centres, tuition centres, grocery stores, and poultry, dairy and fish
farming. Women study centres were established at various universities, while skill development
centres, women’s polytechnics, computer centres, literacy centres, crisis centres for women in
distress, child care centres and working women’s hostels were set up in different parts of the
country.

Subsequent to devolution, the ministry was dissolved and its functions transferred to the
provinces which do not appear to have the capacity or political will to develop an alternative
narrative to the rampant obscurantism proliferating throughout the country.
In order to improve outcomes for the women of Pakistan, the government needs to create a new
organisational mechanism on the pattern of World Economic Forum’s gender parity task forces
for Turkey, Japan and Mexico to reduce national gender gaps in three years. These task forces
comprise members of the government from the relevant ministries of gender, human rights, law
or population welfare in each country, and representatives of private-sector organisations and
corporations. This composition allows for greater dialogue between the government and the
private sector to discuss the rationale behind reducing gender disparity, developing a common
vision and aligning all stakeholders in a well-articulated policy framework, so that realistic
targets can be set, strategies chalked out, and benchmarks introduced for mobilisation,
accountability and impact.
The recommendations of the Gender Parity Group are available for any country that wishes to
improve the status of women in their own national interest. These are based on best practices
such as women-focused education and health initiatives, mentoring and training women for high-
level professional positions, flexible working hours, salary parity, career planning, etc that can be
implemented through government policy, legislation and private-sector support. Top-down
approaches towards promoting women’s leadership have also been very successful. For example,
in Norway, public-listed companies are required to have 40pc women on their boards.
3-Women Health Issues:
Due to a variety of factors, including its rugged, diverse geography and civil unrest, women in
Pakistan face severe limitations in their access to medical care. These problems are especially
prevalent in rural areas, where travel is often a major limiting factor. As a result, Pakistan is
plagued with high rates of maternal mortality, child mortality, and child malnourishment.
Additionally, cultural forces have led to the under-education and under-employment of women,
minimizing both their independence and their ability to advocate for issues disproportionately
affecting them. This has also resulted in very few females employed in medical care, and in turn,
culturally-driven gender conflicts between largely male health care providers and female
patients. The barriers to health care access for women in Pakistan remains significant; thus,
women’s independence and empowerment remains limited.
Pakistan has the highest rate of female breast cancer in Asia, as one out of nine Pakistani women
is likely to suffer from breast cancer at some point in life.
Approximately 90,000 cases of breast cancer are reported every year in Pakistan and about
40,000 women die from this deadly ailment. More than 90% women have a chance of surviving
breast cancer with early diagnosis; however due to lack of awareness and medical facilities
women are diagnosed at later stages, which is the prime reason for the high mortality rate.
Pakistan is committed to gender equality through various international conventions, protocols

and frameworks. One key way towards gender equality, particularly in access to education and
health services, is through Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) that implies mainstreaming

gender into public finance. One of the caveats in practicing GRB is lack of capacity of
government officials, particularly at provincial level.
*******
Lecture 18
Gender and Development
Man and woman are a peerless pair; being supplementary to one another; each helps the other, so
that without the one, the existence of the other cannot be conceived and, therefore, it follows that
anything that impairs the status of either of them will involve the equal ruin of them both.
– Mahatma Gandhi
Men in many contexts, through their roles in the home, the community and at the national level,
have the potential to bring about change in attitudes, roles, relationships and access to resources
and decision- making which are critical for equality between women and men. In their
relationships as fathers, brothers, husbands and friends, the attitudes and values of men and boys
impact directly on the women and girls around them. Men should therefore be actively involved
in developing and implementing legislation and policies to foster gender equality and in
providing role models to promote gender equality in the family, the workplace and in society at
large. - Kofi Annan – Report of the UN Secretary General, ‘The Role of Men and Boys in
Achieving Gender Equality’, December 2003
1- Facts on women status around the world:
 66% of the world’s illiterate people are women

 Women provide 70% of the unpaid time spent in caring for family members. This unpaid
work provided by women is estimated at US $11 trillion per year – one third of the global
GDP
 Women own 1% of the land in the world
 Women’s participation in managerial and administrative posts is around 33% in the
developed world, 15% in Africa and 13% in Asia and the Pacific.
There are only 5 female Chief Executives in the ‘Fortune 500’ corporations, the most
valuable publicly owned companies in the US.
Worldwide, only about 14% of members of parliament are women. 7% of the world’s
cabinet ministers are women
 In the UN System, women hold 9% of the top management jobs and 21% of senior
management positions, but 48% of the junior professional civil service slots.

 School enrolment rates mask the fact that many girls never complete school. This is for a
number of reasons: a large number of girls in the third world are forced to marry at a very
early age; girls are pulled out of school if extra help is needed in the fields; some girls get
pregnant and are forced to leave school.
Sources: UNIFEM Statistics on Women and Development; UN Statistics

Division
2- Gender and Development :
In addressing gender and development issues, it is usual to look at the relations between women
and men (social, political, economic), focusing on global inequalities, always keeping in mind,
however, that we all play a part in supporting inequality no matter where we live in the world.
We look at issues of power, which can prevent development and which can hinder participation
in, and opportunities for, involvement in one’s own community.
Gender equality is considered a critical element in achieving Decent Work for All Women and
Men, in order to effect social and institutional change that leads to sustainable development with
equity and growth. Gender equality refers to equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities that
all persons should enjoy, regardless of whether one is born male or female.
In the context of the world of work, equality between women and men includes the following
elements:
1. Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment

2. Equal remuneration for work of equal value
3. Equal access to safe and healthy working environments and to social security
4. Equality in association and collective bargaining
5. Equality in obtaining meaningful career development
6. A balance between work and home life that is fair to both women and men
7. Equal participation in decision-making at all levels (Source ILO)
3- Why Gender Development matters ?
In societies in which women have lower literacy and less access than men to mass media,
women may know relatively little about reproductive health, including how to avoid
unwanted pregnancies etc.
Gender inequality affects the health of women and girls, especially in countries with
relatively low life expectancy and widespread poverty. Where men are valued more than
women, girls and women tend to receive less nutrition and health care than men and boys
when resources are scarce. An estimated one-half million mothers die from pregnancy-
related causes each year; at least 8 million suffer lifelong health problems linked to
pregnancy and childbirth.

Parents in many developing countries are less likely to send a daughter than a son to school. In
some cultures, educating girls is considered a waste of family resources because girls join their
husband’s family when they marry, and will not contribute to their own parents’ support.
Development strategies are clearly more equitable when they consider the different needs,
constraints, opportunities and priorities of men and women. Compelling evidence suggests that
such inclusive strategies are also far more effective and sustainable. Recognition of men's and
women's valuable and distinct skills and knowledge can help to shape policies and programmes
that contribute significantly to both economic growth and equity objectives.
4- Approaches :
Over the past three decades a number of specific approaches have been taken in relation to men’s
and women’s involvement in and with development. These models or approaches have set out to
explain how development affects women and men and why women do not experience
development in the same way men do.
These models are:
o Women in Development (WID) approach

o Women and Development (WAD) approach
o Gender and Development (GAD) approach
5- Women in Development Approach:
The Women in Development approach dates back to the 1970s when the belief
was that women had not only been left out of development but had also become even
more disadvantaged as a result.
The Women In Development approach believed the central issue to be the
absence and exclusion of women from development programmes and approaches.
Women played a central role in the life of their community and particularly within their
family as mothers, educators, care providers and as workers. This approach supported the
solution of integrating women into development programmes in order to improve
women’s access to resources and their participation in development.
The WID (or Women in Development) approach calls for greater attention to
women in development policy and practice, and emphasises the need to integrate them
into the development process
The WID perspective evolved from a ‘liberal’ feminist framework and was
particularly influential in North America. It was a reaction to women being seen as
passive beneficiaries of development.
It marked an important corrective, highlighting the fact that women need to be
integrated into development processes as active agents if efficient and effective
development is to be achieved.
Women’s significant productive contribution was made visible, although their
reproductive role was downplayed. Women’s subordination was seen in terms of their
exclusion from the market sphere, and limited access to and control over resources.

Programmes informed by a WID approach addressed women’s practical needs by,

for example, creating employment and income-generating opportunities, improving
access to credit and to education. Women’s ‘problem’ was therefore diagnosed as
insufficient participation in a benign development process, through an oversight on behalf
of policy- makers.
6- Limitation of WID:
Despite increasing the visibility of women in development issues, the WID approach had a
number of limitations.
* This approach made demands for women’s inclusion in development, but it did not call for
changes in the overall structure or economic system in which women were to be included.
* The WID approach concentrated very narrowly on the inequalities between men and women
and ignored the social, cultural, legal and economic factors that give rise to those inequalities in
society.
* WID focused on women almost exclusively and assumed that women were outside the
mainstream of development.
7- Women and Development approach:
The women and development (WAD) approach originated back in 1975 in Mexico city, as it sort
to discuss women’s issues from a neo-Marxist and dependency theory perspective. Its focus was
to “explain the relationship between women and the process of capitalist development in terms of
material conditions that contribute to their exploitation”. WAD is often misinterpreted as WID,
however what sets it apart is that, WAD focuses specifically on the relation between patriarchy
and capitalism. The WAD perspective states that women have always participated and
contributed towards economic development, regardless of the public or private spheres.
The Women and Development approach argued that women had always been part of the
development process, where the work women undertook both inside and outside the household
was vital to the survival and continuance of society. WAD saw both women and men as being
disadvantaged by the global economic structures, including class issues and the way wealth was
distributed. WAD therefore argued that the integration of women into development was to their
disadvantage and only worsened their chances of equality.
8- Criticism on WAD:
This approach was criticised for assuming that the position of women would improve if and
when international structures became more equitable, thereby underplaying the role of patriarchy
and not adequately addressing the question of social relations between men and women and their
impact on development.
*******

Lecture19
Gender and Development
1-Introduction:
The Gender and Development approach came about in the 1980s and represents a coming
together of many feminist ideas. It very obviously looks at the impact of development on both
men and women – supporting the equal participation of both women and men in development
and emphasising equality of benefit and control in everyday events. GAD is not concerned with
women exclusively, but with the way in which gender relations allot specific roles,
responsibilities and expectations between men and women, often to the detriment of women.
GAD focuses on the social or gender relations (division of labour etc) between men and women
in society and seeks to address issues of access and control over resources and power. It
emphasises both the reproductive and productive role of women and argues that it is the state’s
responsibility to support the social reproduction role (mostly played by women) for caring and
nurturing of children. GAD treats development as a complex process that is influenced by
political, social and economic factors rather than as a state or stage of development. This
approach is about empowering those who are disadvantaged in a community and enhancing and
changing their lives for the better.
In addition, recent work has focused on the Gender, Law and Development (GLAD) approach,
which takes a rights-based approach to development and brings law and development together to
support a more equal access to resources and equal rights in law. In many countries/societies, the
economic, social and legal system is run by law that has historically supported men. This is to be
expected given the traditional absence of women from active public participation (voting,
political leadership etc.) and political structure formation where their original role had been
perceived to be one of homemaker as opposed to decision maker and policy former.
The GLAD approach sets out to ensure legal changes to laws that discriminate against women‘s
rights. Inheritance and property rights, for example, have changed in some countries (though not
all) where women are now allowed to inherit land or are as entitled to property as their husbands,
brothers or sons. Customary and religious laws, however, still dominate in many countries
throughout the world and these laws usually discriminate against women’s rights.
2-Some benefits from focusing on gender in development :
• Positive changes in gender relations and more respectful social attitudes towards women
• More decision-making and political participation by women in the community
• Women’s increased knowledge of their legal rights
• Greater likelihood that girls would stay in school

• Reduced violence against women
• Improved communication and mutual support between men and women on family planning, HIV and
other sexually transmitted infections
• Increased knowledge by men of women’s health care issues
• Shifts in attention about shared roles and responsibilities between men and women in childrearing,
labour, and reproductive health issues
3-Measuring equality and inequality
Measuring how women do in relation to men has changed considerably over the past number of
years with clearer and more focused statistics on the well being of people living in different
countries and regions. Commentators, activists and many women and gender groups argue that
while the reporting of statistics at national and international levels - particularly in relation to
women - has improved over the years, much remains to be done as many countries are still
unable to provide basic information relating to births, deaths, income, education etc.
Older statistical measures such as Gross National Product, Gross Domestic Product and per
capita income are still used but have largely been replaced by broader, more human-centred
measurements - the Human Development Index (HDI), Gender-related Human Development
Index (GDI), and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM).
The HDI measures health (life expectancy), knowledge (literacy) and wealth (GDP). This allows
for the better comparison of poverty, deprivation and development internationally.
Gender-related Development Index – measures the differences between women and men in
relation to the different dimensions of human poverty. This allows for the adjustment of the HDI
for gender inequality.
Gender Empowerment Measure – this measures gender inequality in the key areas of economic
and political participation and decision-making. It therefore differs from the GDI, which serves
as an indicator of gender inequality in the basic indicators.
One additional recent mechanism for measuring the obstacles to women’s economic
development is the Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base. It claims to help identify
policies that address the roots rather than the symptoms of gender discrimination, includes some
162 economies/countries and has some 50 indicators on gender discrimination. Not only does
this approach focus on access to resources (health, education etc), economic development (GDP
per capita) and the economic status of women, it also looks at the social institutions of a country
(including laws, customs and traditions) and how these in particular influence discriminatory
practices biased against women.
Looking at social institutions specifically, this data base focuses on:

Family Code – including information on marriage customs (age, inheritance, and polygamy) and
decision-making power within a household (parental authority, repudiation).
Physical Integrity – capturing violence against women through traditional practices such as
female genital mutilation or other attacks (e.g. rape, assault, harassment)
Civil Liberties – measuring the extent to which women can participate in social life, either
through running for political office or moving freely outside of the house (e.g. without wearing a
veil or being escorted by male relatives) Ownership Rights – indicating the quality of women’s
most basic economic right – to hold property, either in the form of bank loans, land, or other
material assets.
4-The Feminisation of Poverty
The UNDP has argued that approximately 70 per cent of the world’s poor are women while
UNIFEM states that ‘women constitute at least 60 per cent of the world’s poor’. Women
regularly have more limited access to food, to education, to health care, to credit, and are
discriminated against in relation to inheritance rights, local laws, customs and traditions etc.
some commentators argue that as a result of this situation, poverty is experienced more severely
by poor women than poor men and that this constitutes the ‘feminisation of poverty’’. The
feminisation of poverty has been defined as follows:
 that women have a higher incidence of poverty than men

 that their poverty is more severe than that experienced by men
 that there is a trend to greater poverty among women, strongly associated with increases
in the number of female headed households
An Indian study described this feminisation of poverty in the following way:
 Women and girls have less access to food, education and health care than men and boys and
hence, they may face poverty more severely than men
 Basic infrastructure and environmental degradation have a more adverse impact on women’s
work burden than men’s, given the former’s responsibility to fetch fuel and water, leading to
reduced health status
 Gender-specific processes, for example, given unequal inheritance rights, earning opportunities
and returns to labour, women’s economic position is highly dependent on men. They slip into
poverty while their husbands remain non-poor
 Lesser means - assets, skills, employment options, education, legal resources, financial resources
- to overcome poverty than men, and are more economically insecure and vulnerable in times of
crisis
 Women disproportionately bear the burden of structural adjustment.
 Poor women’s ability to overcome poverty is much lower (shortfalls from what is required for
survival are often more for women than for men).

*******
Lecture 20
Key Issues in Postcolonial Feminism

1 In 1984 Black American feminist Barbara Smith spoke warmly of being part of a Third
World feminist movement: 'And not only am I talking about my sisters here in the United States-
American Indian, Latina, Asian American, Arab American-I am also talking about women all
over the globe. . . Third World feminism has enriched not just the women it applies to, but also
political practice in general' (Smith 1984: 27). The struggle of Third World women-both in the
West and in the developing world-for recognition by Western feminism has been long and hard.
More often the silenced objects of Western analysis, Third World women are making their
voices heard and are beginning to change the face of feminism in the West. Postcolonial
feminism in the new millennium now accepts a crucial point, long self-evident to Third World
women, that racism, colonialism and its legacies are not just the province of non-white, non-
Western women.
2 The history of the West is, in large part, the history of its exploitation of its non-white, non-
Western Others. Colonized countries have been profoundly affected by the exploitative, racist
nature of this interrelation which was and remains economic, political and cultural. As current
debates on the slave trade and the question of reparations illustrate, history is always with us.
Although the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was abolished in the course of the Nineteenth Century,
its legacies and those of colonial occupation can be seen in the inequalities and political and
economic problems of formerly colonized countries. The question of responsibility for the past
and what this means for the present was a constant theme at the United Nations global
conference on racism held in South Africa in September 2001 and nowhere has this question
demanded more attention in recent years than in Australia. Here Aboriginal people's struggle for
recognition of their history since white settlement forms an integral part of the broader fight for
human rights and equality and Aboriginal women are active in this fight, while at the same time
urging white feminists to take these issues seriously (see, for example, Huggins 1998 and
Morton-Robinson 2000). In Europe and North America, the economic and political legacies of
colonialism have radically changed the 'racial' and ethnic make up of societies, bringing with
them problems of white ethnocentrism, ethnic conflict and racism that feminists must address.
3 As in the colonial period, the legacies of colonialism are invariably tied up with racism. In
her novel The Bluest Eye (1981), Toni Morrison graphically depicts the effects of the legacy of
nineteenth-century classical racism for poor black people in the United States. The novel tells of
how the daughter of a poor black family, Pecola Breedlove, internalizes white standards of

beauty to the point where she goes mad. Her fervent wish for blue eyes comes to stand for her
wish to escape the poor, unloving, racist environment in which she lives. For a long time
mainstream white Western feminism paid scant attention to the question of race. Racism was
seen as secondary to patriarchy and, at best, the problem of non-white women. Many white
women took a liberal, colour blind position which claimed not to see difference or act upon it. It
took a long, hard struggle by black women to have racism included on the feminist agenda. One
of the most poignant and powerful critiques of white complacency came in 1980 from the radical
black lesbian feminist Audre Lorde: 'By and large within the women's movement today, white
women focus upon their oppression as women and ignore differences of race, sexual preference,
class and age. There is a pretense to a homogeneity of experience covered by the word
sisterhood that does not in fact exist' (Lorde 1984a: 116). The strong tendency of white women
to disregard racism was an effect of white privilege-a point that women of colour were forced to
make repeatedly:
4 In recent years the question of whiteness has come to the fore in feminist debates on race
and remains a key issue in postcolonial feminism). This is largely due to the impact of Black
feminism on white feminists. Recognising the racialised nature of whiteness and the privilege
that comes with it have proved difficult for white women, provoking responses such as disabling
guilt rather than positive strategies that would involve relinquishing privilege.As Cherríe Moraga
argues:
Within the women's movement, the connections among women of different backgrounds and
sexual orientations have been fragile, at best. I think this phenomenon is indicative of our failure
to seriously address ourselves to some very frightening questions: How have I internalized my
own oppression? How have I oppressed? Instead, we have let rhetoric do the job of poetry. Even
the word 'oppression' has lost its power. We need a new language, better words that can more
closely describe women's fear of and resistance to one another; words that will not always come
out sounding like dogma. (Moraga )
5 As Lorde suggested in her essay 'Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference'
,the positive recognition of difference and diversity, so necessary to political advance, requires
willingness to acknowledge the privileges which come from the structural power relations within
which individuals are located.
Often white-feminists want to minimize racial difference by taking comfort in the fact that we
are all women and/or lesbians and suffer similar sexual-gender oppressions. They are usually
annoyed with the actuality (though not the concept) of 'differences', want to blur racial
difference, want to smooth things out-they seem to want a complete, totalizing identity. Yet in
their eager attempt to highlight similarities, they create or accentuate 'other' differences such as
class. These unacknowledged or unarticulated differences further widen the gap between white
and colored

6- Post-colonial feminists are still in the process of contesting the Eurocentric gaze that
privileges Western notions of liberation and progress and portrays Third World women primarily
as victims of ignorance and restrictive cultures and religions. This was a key focus of Chandra
Mohanty's influential essay 'Under Western Eyes' (1991) which argues that much Western
feminist writing about Third World women 'discursively colonize[s] the material and historical
heterogeneities of the lives of women in the third world, thereby producing/re-presenting a
composite, singular "third world woman"-an image which appears arbitrarily constructed, but
nevertheless carries with it the authorizing signature of Western humanist discourse' (Mohanty)
7-Difference as inequality is produced by economic, political, social and cultural factors. In the
global context these include the division of the world into radically different economic zones
characterised by extremes of wealth and poverty. Yet these relations of inequality are often
reproduced within developed societies where non-white women most often find themselves at
the bottom of the pile. Factors which produce difference as oppression include class,
ethnocentric and racist practices, and heterosexism. Islamophobia, for example, is a real threat in
Western Europe and the United States. The position in which women are located within any
society often determines what they see as political problems. In the Third World, indigenous
feminist movements face their own political problems. Yet here too, the effects of Western
discourses play a role. The tendency of Western feminism to see itself as feminism per se, and
not to give due regard to indigenous movements is not unrelated to the tendency of those hostile
to feminist movements in the Third World to characterize feminism as by definition Western.
Writing of Indian feminism, Narayan shows how anti-feminist forces in India use the notion of
Westernisation selectively to attack those aspects of modern Indian life and politics with which
they disagree. Far from being an imitation of Western feminism, Narayan argues, Third World
feminism is very much a response to local issues in Third World countries:
8- The idea of a cultural hybridity that can challenge existing binary oppositions and hierarchies
has become a popular one in postcolonial theory. It is seen by some women of Colour as a
profound and empowering effect of diasporic experience. Thus Black British feminist Heidi
Safia Mirza writes:
Cultural hybridity, the fusion of cultures and coming together of difference, the 'border crossing'
that marks diasporic survival, signifies change, hope of newness, and space for creativity. But in
the search for rootedness-a 'place called home'- these women, in the process of self-
identification, disidentify with an excluding, racist British colonizing culture. They articulate
instead a multi-faceted discontinuous black identity that marks their difference.
*******
Lecture 21

Mukhtaran Mai
The status of women in Pakistan varies considerably across classes, regions and the rural/urban
divide due to uneven socioeconomic development and the impact of tribal, feudal and capitalist
social formations on women’s lives. The Pakistani women of today enjoy a better status than
most Islamic and Middle Eastern women. However, on an average,, the women’s situation vis-à-
vis men is one of systematic subordination, although there have been attempts by the government
and enlightened groups to elevate the status of women in Pakistani society.
Pakistani society is male dominated society where women are the centre of attention and life but
this society also consider women as no more than secondary citizens which is perhaps due to the
traditional; norms prevailing in the whole society. The role and status of Pakistani women in all
walks of life has been highly undermined. Though over the years this scenario has changed and
the awareness of woman’s abilities, her rights and her status has reached almost all parts of
Pakistan which is a third world country. but this privilege of the right acknowledgment is limited
as the majority of Pakistani women belong to the rural areas who work in the fields and in the
industrial centre. It is a pool and virtually illiterate majority, which leads a life of physical
hardship involving long hours at tedious chores for which there is neither compensation nor
recognition. Most of these women bear the double burden of housework and outside work. Not
only do these women have longer days than the rest of the family, but also being the last to eat,
they eat less well and suffer from anemia and malnutrition.
The violence against women in Pakistan is dilemma of our society. Feminists and women’s
groups in Pakistan have criticized the Pakistani government and it’s leaders for white washing
the prosecution of women and typing to suppress information about their plight in the
international arena. Skepticism and biased attitudes against women’s complaints of violence are
common among prosecutors, police officers and medicolegal doctors in Pakistan. According to
reports from 1990s, such complaints often delayed/mishandled processing and
inadequate/improper investigation. The crimes against the women in Pakistan has its various
forms like Sexual Abuse, Women Trafficking, Dowry abuse, Domestic Violence, Honor
Killings, Marriage to Quran and many other form. After many ups and downs in the case The
Lahore high court ruled on 6 June 2005 that the accused men could be released on payment of a
50,000 rupees ($840) bond. However, the men were unable to come up with the money, and
remained in jail while the prosecution appealed their acquittal. Just over two weeks later, the
Supreme Court intervened and suspended the acquittals of the five men as well as the eight who
were acquitted at the original 2002 trial. All 14 would be retried in the Supreme Court.
The daunting step of a rural woman with an un-influential background is no doubt a source of
inspiration for those women of Pakistan who never dares to break the barriers and bear the
physical and mental victimization of their rights. Mukhtaran never stopped here; she was picked
up by women national and international NGOs, and Human tights activist. She was nominated
for many awards and souvenirs.
On 15th March 2009, Mukhtaran Mai, 37 years married to Nasir Abbas Gabol, a 30 years old
police officer who was assigned to protect her as her case gained notoriety. She has been
criticized for her legal marriage, when she reserved all rights regarding every decision about her
life. That is totally her personal decisions, and it comes in to the personal liberty of one

individual. She did lot of work for the development of her region despite of the reality that her
region witnessed the cruel act of human history with her. A decent society is not easy to attain, it
can only he achieved when the society has a deep sense of responsibility regarding its citizens
and when the state ensure the personal privacy to its citizens. It’s the time to change the set
pattern of society; in fact it’s the time to broaden our minds regarding the most sensitive issue of
women rights. It’s high time now that we bear the brunt of the patriarchal mind set of our
society, which make many women in relation with daughters, sisters, mothers and wives.
Lets finish the case of Mukhtaran with a thought provoking statement of an unknown writer
“She’s not a feminist, she’s not an educated person, she does not have any personal politics. Yes,
because of her own experience, she has an oppositional consciousness, but without really
knowing why. She has a right to get along with her life".
*******
Lecture 22
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
1-Introduction:
She born on 12 November 1978.
“By bringing the voices of the ordinary people faced with extraordinary challenges to television
screens around the world, I hope to affect change in one community at a time”.
She is a Pakistani-born, American-educated film-maker and journalist. Sharmeen graduated from

Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and
Government and subsequently received two Master’s degrees in International Policy Studies and
Communication from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
2-MajorWorks:
Many of her fifteen documentary features highlight various aspects of life in the Muslim world,
particularly with regard to the status of women. These include: Saving Face, a story of women
acid attack victims in Pakistan, Women of the Holy Kingdom, a profile of Saudi Arabian
women, and Afghanistan Unveiled, a look at how the U.S. intervention has impacted ordinary
female citizens.1 Other films, such as Pakistan’s Double Game, Reinventing the Taliban, and
Terror’s Children, focus on the current political, social, and religious climate in Sharmeen’s
home country of Pakistan.
Ms. Obaid-Chinoy regularly gives lectures and presides over film screenings at colleges and
universities across the United States. In 2007 she helped found the Citizens Archive of Pakistan,
whose projects center around the preservation of Pakistan’s cultural and social heritage.

Sharmeen is a fellow at TED - Technology, Entertainment and Design - a nonprofit dedicated to

the power and spreading of ideas and knowledge through innovative technologies and
audiovisual media.
3-Awards:
Her visual contributions have earned her numerous awards, including the Academy Award for
best short film and documentary (2012), and the International Emmy Award (2011), the One
World Media Award for Broadcast Journalist of the Year (2007), the South Asian Journalist
Association Award (2004 and 2006).
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a film producer and journalist who has worked on 14 films for major
networks in the United States and Britain. Her films include Children of the Taliban (with Dan
Edge), The Lost Generation (about Iraqi exiles) and Afghanistan Unveiled. Her work has taken
her around the world, where she has filmed and worked with refugees, women’s advocacy
groups and human rights defenders. By bringing their voices to the outside world, she has often
helped them bring about a critical change in their community.
Obaid-Chinoy helped found the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, a nonprofit, volunteer organization
that fosters and promotes community-wide interest in the culture and history of Pakistan.
Citizens Archive works with thousands of children, teaching critical thinking skills and instilling
a sense of pride about their history and identity.
Sharmeen also shares a special bond with her father as she said in her Emmy-acceptance speech.
Her work is poignant, prolific and ground-breaking in Pakistani cinema, culture and women’s
rights. “Saving Face” was important not only as a cinematic experience but also because it shed
light on some heinous yet underrated crimes against women. I came across Sharmeen’s TED
Talk about how suicide bombers are trained in Taliban-run madrassas in Pakistan – her work was
bold, detailed and interesting. She clearly loves her work and strives for it, despite every hurdle.
Like Malala, Sharmeen too has been criticised for “doing dirty laundry in public”. She has been
blamed for exploiting Pakistan’s vulnerable aspect to achieve fame. Yet, she fearlessly continues
with her work. Her latest documentary “Song of Lahore” – which celebrates neglected Sufi
musicians – was hailed with standing ovation at the Tribeca Film Festival last month. This is
Sharmeen’s yet another wonderful idea, another brilliant production..
Sharmeen said in her “Women in the World Summit” speech,
“Very often, we see women in my part of the world as victims. I hope by putting my camera out
there, I am creating heroes in my part of the world for the next generation. I need my daughters
to have heroes in Pakistan.”
*******
Lecture 23
Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani activist for female education and the
youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. She is known mainly for human rights advocacy for
education and for women in her native Swat Valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of
northwest Pakistan, where the local Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school.
Yousafzai's advocacy has since grown into an international movement.
Her family runs a chain of schools in the region. In early 2009, when she was 11–12, Yousafzai
wrote a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC detailing her life under Taliban occupation, their
attempts to take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for girls in the Swat
Valley. The following summer, journalist Adam B. Ellick made a New York Times documentary
about her life as the Pakistani military intervened in the region. Yousafzai rose in prominence,
giving interviews in print and on television, and she was nominated for the International
Children's Peace Prize by South African activist Desmond Tutu.
On October 9, 2012, fifteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot by a masked Taliban gunman
while she was riding home from school on a bus in Mingora, Pakistan, a region in the Swat
Valley from which the Pakistani army had claimed to have eliminated the Taliban. A bullet
grazed Malala’s skull and lodged in her neck. Two other girls, Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan,
also were injured during the shooting. All three survived, though Malala remained in critical
condition for some time. Ehsanullah Ehsan, the chief spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban
claimed responsibility for the shooting and characterized Malala Yousafzai as “the symbol of the
infidels and obscenity” (Da Silva 1). Declan Walsh, The New York Times reporter, summarized
the sentiments of the Western rationale world: “that Ms. Yousafzai’s voice could be deemed a
threat to the Taliban—that they could see a schoolgirl’s death as desirable and justifiable—was
seen as evidence of both the militants’ brutality and her courage” (“Taliban Guns Down” 1).
Speaking to a group of Girl Scouts U.S.A., Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Malala
as “very brave in standing up for the rights of girl,” and characterized the Taliban as “threatened
by that kind of empowerment” (“Malala: Reward Offered”). Coincidently, the attack occurred
the same week as the first International Day of the Girl Child. Malala’s advocacy for children’s
right to education has made her an appealing subject within the political framework of liberal
internationalism.
Malala has been an open activist especially for the role of female education in Pakistan, she lived
in the Swat valley and lived in daily fear with her father – knowing that the Taliban were always
within close reach in their battle to overtake the region with their draconian laws. Soon after the
assault, a Taliban spokesperson confirmed that Malala had been pursued because she had
“become a symbol of Western culture (“Malala Yousafzai’s Courage”) and that her advocacy for
educational rights for girls was an “obscenity” (Walsh, “Taliban Reiterate”). If she survived, he
vowed, Taliban militants would try to kill her again. “Let this be a lesson,” he said. But the
Taliban’s assassination attempt did not silence Malala. Instead, the brutal assault turned Malala
into a martyr for political moderation. As one reporter put it, Malala, a “potent symbol of
resistance to the militants’ extremist ideology,” represents hope for Pakistani moderates (Walsh,
“Girl Shot. In becoming a symbol for Pakistani moderates, Malala has also become a symbol for
the West—a symbol for the rationality of rights and irrationality of extremism. Malala’s story
not only functions as evidence of the brutality of the Taliban and its oppression of women and
girls but compels rationalizations for the perpetual international war on terror, which includes

NATOled drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The New York Times declared that Malala
“has shown more courage in facing down the Taliban than Pakistan’s government and its
military leaders”
United Nations petition
On 15 October 2012, UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, a former British
Prime Minister, visited Yousafzai while she was in the hospital, and launched a petition in her
name and "in support of what Malala fought for".Using the slogan "I am Malala", the petition's
main demand was that there be no child left out of school by 2015, with the hope that "girls like
Malala everywhere will soon be going to school".Brown said he would hand the petition to
President Zardari in Islamabad in November.
The petition contains three demands:
 We call on Pakistan to agree to a plan to deliver education for every child.

 We call on all countries to outlaw discrimination against girls.
 We call on international organisations to ensure the world's 61 million out-of-school
children are in education by the end of 2015.
Malala’s recent projects:
Yousafzai spoke before the United Nations in July 2013, and met Queen Elizabeth II in
Buckingham Palace. In September she spoke at Harvard University, and in October she met with
US President Barack Obama and his family; during that meeting, she confronted him on his use
of drone strikes in Pakistan. In December she addressed the Oxford Union. In July 2014
Yousafzai spoke at the Girl Summit in London, advocating for rights for girls. In October 2014,
after receiving the World Children's Prize for the rights of the child in Mariefred, Sweden, she
announced donating $50,000 through the UNRWA, to help rebuild 65 schools in Gaza.
Malala Day
On 12 July 2013, Yousafzai's 16th birthday, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to
education. The UN dubbed the event "Malala Day". It was her first public speech since the
attack, leading the first ever Youth Takeover of the UN, with an audience of over 500 young
education advocates from around the world.
The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed
in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was
born ... I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against
the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I'm here to speak up for the right of education for every
child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists.
Nobel Peace Prize

On 10 October 2014, Yousafzai was announced as the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace
Prize for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of
all children to education. Having received the prize at the age of 17, Yousafzai is the youngest
Nobel laureate.

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b) Masculinity and Femininity

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What is Gender Studies?

 Culturally and socially constructed differences between men and women.

"Every society classifies people as 'girl and boy children’. Lober

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1- Emerged in 1980’s and developed in 1990’s

2- Ian Hacking “The Social Construction of What”?

5- Relevant areas of study

7- Process of Social Constructs

8- Social constructs are prone to change

9- How gender is socially constructed?

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Gender is a complex phenomenon which is socially and culturally constructed. An individual

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4.2 Instrumental /Masculine traits

Independent, competent, rational, assertive, strong-headed, aggressive, bread-earner,

4.3 Expressive / Feminine traits

4.4 Gender Roles and Relations

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because of immediate individual circumstances. They must therefore be countered through

5.2 Feminism and Economy:

5.3 Feminism and Gender Studies

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'Masculinity' is a concept that is made up of more rigid stereotypes than femininity.

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Representations of women across all media tend to highlight the following:

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4- Feminism and Masculinity:

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 Being free of violence and the threat of violence.

(b) Political Autonomy :

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 Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1799) represents the beginning of the liberal feminist

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 Marxist feminism is a sub-type of feminist ideology which focuses on the dismantling of

• This idea was laid by Engels

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 Lenin called women oppression in family as “Domestic Slavery”.

 Oppression is psychological, not economic.

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 Economic revolution does not guarantee equality.

 Stems from Radicalisation

Controlling Motherhood (and devalue it) and Controlling Sexuality

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 Black power Movements

 Men give up their patriarchy

4- Famous Radical Feminists

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2- The Roots of Psychoanalytic Feminism: Sigmund Freud

Girl’s dilemma and desire for baby :

Women and men should write about their experiences.

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A general, common-denominator characterization of “ecofeminist philosophy” is that it: (1)

Early positions of “feminist environmental philosophy” focused mostly on ethical perspectives

As it matured, references to feminist environmental philosophy became what it is now—an

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2- Links with Deep Ecologists :

According to Marxist-informed “materialist ecofeminism”, socioeconomic conditions are central