Panel 20: Gender in South Asia

Chair: Susan Ostermann

Panelists

Kalpana Jha, University of Victoria, “South Asian Borders: Political Masculinities and the Control Problematique”

This paper seeks to theorise the “feminisation of territory” and how this leads to construction of the nation and its boundaries and legitimisation of violence, through the engagement with the dominant discourses of the “motherland” in India and Nepal. I examine different literature and text from this region for textual analysis to establish “feminisation of territory”. I primarily analyse the painting of Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore (Dhar, 2020) and draw parallels with the current political discourses of the motherland in India. I further weave this into the discourses of citizenship provisions of Nepal using Seira Tamang’s (2000) state patriarchy. When the nation is embodied in the feminine- “The Motherland”, this helps reinforce vulnerability to foreign infiltration, making protection an imperative. Such narrative, on one hand, fortifies masculine power over what identifies as “feminine”, on the other legitimises the logic for continued subordination and violence. Patriarchy and masculine characteristics have predominantly been examined within feminist theory as a source of power, domination, inequality, and subordination. Various forms of inequalities examined by feminism challenge and reveal structures and discourses that reinforce explicitly or implicitly the centrality of men and their primacy at the top of a hierarchical power and economic structure (Dowd, 2008; Kaiser, 2020/2022). Using political and hegemonic masculinities (Connell, 1995; Messerschmidt, 2016; Ozbay & amp; Soybakis, 2020), this paper examines territorial control exercised at the borders of the states in the South Asian region, primarily focussing on India and Nepal.

Tipu Sultan, University of Bielefeld, “Globalization and Gender Roles: Redefining Gender Role Attitudes among Dual-Earner Couples in Pakistan”

Globalization is an important dynamic to increase women labor force participation that consequently has increased dual-earner families in the developing countries. Moreover, globalization is transforming the traditional gender roles of men and women in the sub-continent. The current study investigates the influence of globalization on gender roles attitudes among dual-earner couples in Pakistan. The current study is innovative in many ways that the increase in dual-earner couples is a newly emerging trend in Pakistani society so far, no significant research has been done on this topic. The study includes dual-earner couples belonging to various professions in Pakistan. The researcher has interviewed 35 dual-earner couples (70 respondents) but included 52 good quality interviews (26 dual-earner couples) for the analysis. Qualitative research approach and semi-structured interviews were used to gain deeper understanding of the influence of globalization on gender role attitudes and practices among dual-earner couples. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Study findings suggests in Pakistani society globalization is changing the traditional gender role attitudes of men and women in dual-earner families. Pakistani students and professionals who migrate to western countries, they experience more liberal and egalitarian gender roles in their host countries. Their experience influences their own gender role attitude when they are back to their home countries. Moreover, the global reach of western culture dispersed through media and globalization is bringing shifts in societal norms and challenging traditional gender role attitudes among dual-earner Couples.