This chapter studies the representation of the ‘new Pakistani women’ in contemporary Urdu dramas.... more This chapter studies the representation of the ‘new Pakistani women’ in contemporary Urdu dramas. Specifically, it examines the heroines of four recent dramas that have been celebrated for their progressive outlook on women’s issues. I argue that the discourse on women’s rights has been reinterpreted to shape a normative role model for urban middle-class women. This new woman is set in opposition to the upper-class, ‘westernized’ women as well as to ‘backward’, lower-class women. She is expected to be educated, self-reliant, and aware of her rights but also family-oriented, respectable, pious, and above all, ready to compromise on her desires in order to avoid familial and social conflict. By doing so, she preserves the unity of the family and by extension of the nation.
A propos de : Nida Kirmani, Questioning the Muslim Woman : Identity and Insecurity in an Urban In... more A propos de : Nida Kirmani, Questioning the Muslim Woman : Identity and Insecurity in an Urban Indian Locality, Routledge ; Pratiksha Baxi, Public Secrets of Law : Rape Trials in India, Oxford
In 2002, the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced that 17% of the seats in the National... more In 2002, the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced that 17% of the seats in the National Assembly and Senate would be reserved to women. Though quotas for women were not a new phenomenon in Pakistan, they had never reached this level. Moreover, after they had been dropped in 1988, the representation of women in the Pakistani parliament fell under 3%. Thus the entry of more than 80 women in Parliament (about 20% of all MPs) in 2002 was considered as a game changer in Pakistani politics, and Musharraf’s decision was generally praised by activists of the women’s movement. The article tries to evaluate how women construct new ways to do politics in their discourses and practices, and what place gender norms and representations occupy in this process. While recognizing women’s agency though quota regulations, it is also argued that a distinctive demarcation of ‘women’s politics’ can bring about constraints, contribute to women’s marginalization in the political field, and streng...
In 2010, the marriage of a female Indian tennis player to a Pakistani cricketer sparked heated de... more In 2010, the marriage of a female Indian tennis player to a Pakistani cricketer sparked heated debate in India and Pakistan. Seen as a form of treason by Indian nationalists, the union was celebrated as a victory in Pakistan, but also as an opportunity for reconciliation between the two nations. These debates shed light on the interconnection between notions of family and nation and the gendered nature of the relationship between the two countries. Considered in its legal and historical context, this case highlights the role of gender representations in the construction of India and Pakistan’s national projects. The sexual autonomy of women is simultaneously perceived as a sign of “modernity” and a threat to national integrity. The India-Pakistan relations, marked by the legacy of colonialism, reveals the ambivalence of a “sexual nationalism” that combines the defense of women’s rights with control of their sexuality.
Apres douze ans d’existence, le comite de redaction de la revue Genre, Sexualite & Societe a ... more Apres douze ans d’existence, le comite de redaction de la revue Genre, Sexualite & Societe a souhaite reflechir aux normes et hierarchies qui organisent le monde academique, et influencent son travail de multiples manieres. C’est dans le cadre de cette demarche que nous avons decide de publier ce dossier qui propose des analyses feministes, queer et trans*, pour plusieurs a la premiere personne, produites principalement par des enseignant·es et chercheur·es francophones, dont beaucoup ne sont...
In 1999, after a heated debate on gender parity in political representation, the French constitut... more In 1999, after a heated debate on gender parity in political representation, the French constitution was amended to include the principle of “equal representation” of both sexes. This paved the way for the introduction of gender quotas. In the same period, a bill providing reservations for women at the national level provoked a political crisis in India. The objective of this article is to compare both debates, looking in particular at the way women’s representation was framed. In France, the main argument against quotas was that republican representation should be unitary and transcend social differences, but at the end of the 1990s, women in mainstream politics were seen as one element of the dual nature of human kind, different from other categories such as class or race. In India, the specific representation of certain groups (Dalits, lower castes, tribal groups) had been the traditional framework for political representation since independence in 1947. But when the bill propose...
ABSTRACT In the last 20 years, research and academic writing on “non-heterosexual” lives, identif... more ABSTRACT In the last 20 years, research and academic writing on “non-heterosexual” lives, identifications, and sexualities have developed considerably in India, in a context where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and queer politics have become more and more visible in the public sphere. When it comes to gender and sexuality, researchers are often activists, and scholarship is highly political. In particular, by documenting non-heterosexual lives, practices, and groups, social scientists participate in the construction of social categories that can be mobilized in the public sphere. Using both Pierre Bourdieu’s and Stuart Hall’s views on representation as a discursive process by which representatives shape the group they claim to represent, this article contends that social scientists are engaged in a “work of representation” when it comes to LGBT and queer individuals and groups. Yet, this process is not without tensions, as there is a deep contradiction between the making of an “object of study” that is spoken about, and the promotion of a political subject, who can speak for him- or herself. Drawing on a corpus of about 45 academic publications on LGBT and queer people and issues in the last 25 years, this article explores the contentious discursive formation of “LGBT” and “queer” as analytical and political categories.
In India and Pakistan, the political representation of women is today presented as a democratic i... more In India and Pakistan, the political representation of women is today presented as a democratic imperative. In 2002, Pakistan (re)established quotas for women in Parliament. In India, quotas only exist at the local level, though there is a project to extend them to the parliamentary level. This development has led to a change of parliamentary lineup and has encouraged the spread of a model according to which representation should “mirror” the population. Omnipresent discussions of the place of women in politics and sexist views of the division of political labor have led politicians to strongly promote the “representation of women”. Yet it is only in Pakistan, where quota mechanisms exist, that women have taken on new parliamentary roles. Confronted by the “threat” of feminization and an erosion of “masculism” in politics, men in both countries have recognized the legitimacy of women’s representation even as they reaffirm traditional models of representation and seek to indirectly discredit female representatives.
This chapter studies the representation of the ‘new Pakistani women’ in contemporary Urdu dramas.... more This chapter studies the representation of the ‘new Pakistani women’ in contemporary Urdu dramas. Specifically, it examines the heroines of four recent dramas that have been celebrated for their progressive outlook on women’s issues. I argue that the discourse on women’s rights has been reinterpreted to shape a normative role model for urban middle-class women. This new woman is set in opposition to the upper-class, ‘westernized’ women as well as to ‘backward’, lower-class women. She is expected to be educated, self-reliant, and aware of her rights but also family-oriented, respectable, pious, and above all, ready to compromise on her desires in order to avoid familial and social conflict. By doing so, she preserves the unity of the family and by extension of the nation.
A propos de : Nida Kirmani, Questioning the Muslim Woman : Identity and Insecurity in an Urban In... more A propos de : Nida Kirmani, Questioning the Muslim Woman : Identity and Insecurity in an Urban Indian Locality, Routledge ; Pratiksha Baxi, Public Secrets of Law : Rape Trials in India, Oxford
In 2002, the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced that 17% of the seats in the National... more In 2002, the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced that 17% of the seats in the National Assembly and Senate would be reserved to women. Though quotas for women were not a new phenomenon in Pakistan, they had never reached this level. Moreover, after they had been dropped in 1988, the representation of women in the Pakistani parliament fell under 3%. Thus the entry of more than 80 women in Parliament (about 20% of all MPs) in 2002 was considered as a game changer in Pakistani politics, and Musharraf’s decision was generally praised by activists of the women’s movement. The article tries to evaluate how women construct new ways to do politics in their discourses and practices, and what place gender norms and representations occupy in this process. While recognizing women’s agency though quota regulations, it is also argued that a distinctive demarcation of ‘women’s politics’ can bring about constraints, contribute to women’s marginalization in the political field, and streng...
In 2010, the marriage of a female Indian tennis player to a Pakistani cricketer sparked heated de... more In 2010, the marriage of a female Indian tennis player to a Pakistani cricketer sparked heated debate in India and Pakistan. Seen as a form of treason by Indian nationalists, the union was celebrated as a victory in Pakistan, but also as an opportunity for reconciliation between the two nations. These debates shed light on the interconnection between notions of family and nation and the gendered nature of the relationship between the two countries. Considered in its legal and historical context, this case highlights the role of gender representations in the construction of India and Pakistan’s national projects. The sexual autonomy of women is simultaneously perceived as a sign of “modernity” and a threat to national integrity. The India-Pakistan relations, marked by the legacy of colonialism, reveals the ambivalence of a “sexual nationalism” that combines the defense of women’s rights with control of their sexuality.
Apres douze ans d’existence, le comite de redaction de la revue Genre, Sexualite & Societe a ... more Apres douze ans d’existence, le comite de redaction de la revue Genre, Sexualite & Societe a souhaite reflechir aux normes et hierarchies qui organisent le monde academique, et influencent son travail de multiples manieres. C’est dans le cadre de cette demarche que nous avons decide de publier ce dossier qui propose des analyses feministes, queer et trans*, pour plusieurs a la premiere personne, produites principalement par des enseignant·es et chercheur·es francophones, dont beaucoup ne sont...
In 1999, after a heated debate on gender parity in political representation, the French constitut... more In 1999, after a heated debate on gender parity in political representation, the French constitution was amended to include the principle of “equal representation” of both sexes. This paved the way for the introduction of gender quotas. In the same period, a bill providing reservations for women at the national level provoked a political crisis in India. The objective of this article is to compare both debates, looking in particular at the way women’s representation was framed. In France, the main argument against quotas was that republican representation should be unitary and transcend social differences, but at the end of the 1990s, women in mainstream politics were seen as one element of the dual nature of human kind, different from other categories such as class or race. In India, the specific representation of certain groups (Dalits, lower castes, tribal groups) had been the traditional framework for political representation since independence in 1947. But when the bill propose...
ABSTRACT In the last 20 years, research and academic writing on “non-heterosexual” lives, identif... more ABSTRACT In the last 20 years, research and academic writing on “non-heterosexual” lives, identifications, and sexualities have developed considerably in India, in a context where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and queer politics have become more and more visible in the public sphere. When it comes to gender and sexuality, researchers are often activists, and scholarship is highly political. In particular, by documenting non-heterosexual lives, practices, and groups, social scientists participate in the construction of social categories that can be mobilized in the public sphere. Using both Pierre Bourdieu’s and Stuart Hall’s views on representation as a discursive process by which representatives shape the group they claim to represent, this article contends that social scientists are engaged in a “work of representation” when it comes to LGBT and queer individuals and groups. Yet, this process is not without tensions, as there is a deep contradiction between the making of an “object of study” that is spoken about, and the promotion of a political subject, who can speak for him- or herself. Drawing on a corpus of about 45 academic publications on LGBT and queer people and issues in the last 25 years, this article explores the contentious discursive formation of “LGBT” and “queer” as analytical and political categories.
In India and Pakistan, the political representation of women is today presented as a democratic i... more In India and Pakistan, the political representation of women is today presented as a democratic imperative. In 2002, Pakistan (re)established quotas for women in Parliament. In India, quotas only exist at the local level, though there is a project to extend them to the parliamentary level. This development has led to a change of parliamentary lineup and has encouraged the spread of a model according to which representation should “mirror” the population. Omnipresent discussions of the place of women in politics and sexist views of the division of political labor have led politicians to strongly promote the “representation of women”. Yet it is only in Pakistan, where quota mechanisms exist, that women have taken on new parliamentary roles. Confronted by the “threat” of feminization and an erosion of “masculism” in politics, men in both countries have recognized the legitimacy of women’s representation even as they reaffirm traditional models of representation and seek to indirectly discredit female representatives.
Recensés :
- Nida Kirmani, Questioning the Muslim Woman : Identity and Insecurity in an Urban In... more Recensés : - Nida Kirmani, Questioning the Muslim Woman : Identity and Insecurity in an Urban Indian Locality, New Delhi, Routledge, 2013, 248 p. - Pratiksha Baxi, Public Secrets of Law : Rape Trials in India, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2014, 488 p.
Today the electoral process looks stronger than ever in India, judging from the increasing rate o... more Today the electoral process looks stronger than ever in India, judging from the increasing rate of electoral participation, and the ability of several parties to form a government on their own. Yet the 2010s have been marked by a loud critique of parliamentarism and political parties as they function in the country, and by a series of “democratic innovations”. This panel will identify and analyse those discourses and practices that advocate and implement a new approach to representation, with or without elections. For instance, what is the legacy of the Hazare movement (2011-2012) that claimed a representative role for civil society organizations and judges, both in terms of ideas and in terms of practices? What is the impact of recurrent demands for “democratic reforms”? What is the effect on the politics of reservations of ever new claims to backwardness, now emanating from groups that have long been considered as dominant? Regarding new representational practices, papers might investigate how online activism affects political mediation; how participatory budgeting gives rise to a new form of political representation; how the gram sabha in rural areas, and neighborhood associations in large cities, forge new links between participation and representation. These representational practices could be studied from the point of view of political science, as well as sociology, anthropology or any other relevant discipline. While this panel will focus on India, papers that engage in a comparison with other South Asian countries are also welcome.
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Books by Virginie Dutoya
Papers by Virginie Dutoya
- Nida Kirmani, Questioning the Muslim Woman : Identity and Insecurity in an Urban Indian Locality, New Delhi, Routledge, 2013, 248 p.
- Pratiksha Baxi, Public Secrets of Law : Rape Trials in India, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2014, 488 p.
Regarding new representational practices, papers might investigate how online activism affects political mediation; how participatory budgeting gives rise to a new form of political representation; how the gram sabha in rural areas, and neighborhood associations in large cities, forge new links between participation and representation. These representational practices could be studied from the point of view of political science, as well as sociology, anthropology or any other relevant discipline. While this panel will focus on India, papers that engage in a comparison with other South Asian countries are also welcome.