The Socio-political Construction of 'Honor' in the Patriarchal Society of Pakistan

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how the notion of „honor‟ is usually constructed in Pakistani society. Using the script of an Oscar-winning documentary by Sharemeen Obaid Chinoy, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, the researchers have investigated how various socio-political norms, linguistic tools, and strategies have been used to construct the issue of honor killing in a typical Pakistani patriarchal society. A set of tools offered by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) practitioners (e.g. Fairclough, 1992, Van Dijk, 2006, Gee, 2011 and Reisigl and Wodak, 2000) helped the researchers to find that the concept of „honor‟, as social actors of the documentary view it, does not seem to be rooted in moral or religious codes rather it is a metaphor for political and social approval. Interestingly, only women are objectified as the carriers of this concept. They are conceived as the agents of disrespect or the violators of „honor‟ if an untoward incident happens. These attitudes clearly comment on the political power struggle between genders, which need in-depth investigations in Pakistani society. The analytical framework of this study may be used to analyze media discourse and discriminatory socio-political norms/attitudes in South Asian societies.