Female friendships in contemporary Pakistani media: negotiations with patriarchy and class

Author

Leena S. ZaidiFollow

Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2022

Date of Submission

2022-06-10

Advisor

Nudrat Kamal, Lecturer, Department ofSocial Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Female friendships, Media studies, TV dramas, Patriarchy, Cross-class solidarity

Abstract

Female friendships are essential to women’s lives. They provide women with safe spaces and are havens in a world that is otherwise rigged against them. This research focuses on the portrayal of female friendships in contemporary Pakistani media. In much of the existing media research, while gender representations are assessed and analysed, the particular relationships between female friends are not. In Pakistan’s context specifically, there is not much research dedicated to analysing the depictions of female friendship on-screen.

Writer and producer Shuchi Kothari has argued that when women are depicted on screen, those depictions contribute to the creation of women’s culture in Pakistan through conversations amongst viewers (Kothari 301). Therefore, media representations become important because they have an impact on the lives of real women. This is the primary reason for conducting this research. Because female friendships are so important in women’s lives, it is vital that their on-screen portrayals be assessed.

I examine two dramas, Daam and Churails and arrive at the conclusion that often, female friendships are spaces where women negotiate their place amongst large and powerful social structures. In this research, two of those structures are highlighted: patriarchy and class. The thesis utilises Karen Hollinger’s, Elora Chowdhury’s, and Kumkum Sangari’s work to do a close analysis and asses how patriarchy is challenged or reinforced by female friendships and how cross-class solidarity is navigated.

This research attempts to add to the existing body of work to help enrich the understand of on-screen female friendships and what certain portrayals may mean. It hopes to encourage further research that fills the large gaps that are still prevalent.

Pages

70

Recommended Citation

Zaidi, L. S. (2022). Female friendships in contemporary Pakistani media: negotiations with patriarchy and class (Unpublished undergraduate project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/sslace/108