POWER RELATIONS: GENDER REPRESENTATION IN PAKISTANI DRAMAS

Abstract

Female authored dramas have been an area of concern based on the fact that they mirrored traditional power relationships between genders. While women have made tremendous progress in different phases of life, but unfortunately their on-screen representation in female authored dramas has been limited to patriarchal and normative beliefs. By using quantitative content analysis, this study analyzed the contemporary female written Pakistani dramas to explore the standpoints of female authors regarding recent trends in gendered power relations. These dramas entitled as ‘Gul E Rana’ and ‘Pakeeza’, which were also the names of female protagonists, were selected using purposive sampling method. Content coding analysis demonstrated that the authors’ narratives offered different perspectives regarding power imbalances between gender by portraying both positive and negative gender roles. While the fact that women were most often seen as second to men is not disproven, it is clear that they were also given their own position of authority and power. However, the dynamics of these power structures for both male and female protagonists were different. Power relations by female authors revealed that female protagonists have expressed powerful attributes, in their social circles; however, in relationships with male protagonists they were depicted as oppressed and weak.