06 Understanding Gender Trans/formation in Trans/national Racial Communities: Pakistani Women in First-World Diaspora

Abstract

Gender is a social and cultural construct and every society imposes different characteristics pertaining to gender roles for men and women. Often these roles are manifested in the actions of people in certain settings with gender based practices or constructions differing from one society to another. The patriarchal mode of society deems less liberal positions for women than a society which is matriarchal. Pakistan’s mainly patriarchal culture deems women subservient to men but migration and resettlement in a new environment enable these women to exhibit resilience and determination. The rationale of this inquiry is to analyze the impact of migration on Pakistani women Diaspora and how female gender roles are transformed, and represented in diasporas literature.