Voicing Violence: An Ethnography of Rural Punjabi Women

Khan, Sadaf

Abstract

This ethnographic study presents a rich picture of the many forms of violence experienced
by the women of rural Punjab, Pakistan. It gives voice to their perceptions of the reasons
for such violence. Using qualitative methods combining in-depth interviews, informal
group discussions, field observations, and photography the researcher was able to develop
a nuanced understanding of how the women concerned described, interpreted and coped
with their violence punctuated lives. A theoretical framework was applied to the research
for explanatory interpretive purposes, devised to test whether gender inequality could
account for the phenomenon of violence against women in this context or whether the
picture was more complex, perhaps featuring the interplay of multiple inequalities.
Therefore, both essentialist radical feminism and Bourdieu’s multidimensional social
spaces underpin the framework.
The research found that the sample of women in a province of rural Punjab, particularly
those of child-bearing age, experience a full spectrum of violence and controlling
behaviours. They live their lives with a lack of privacy in both the public or private
domains. Women’s lives were dominated by their marriages over which they had little
control, and their subsequent childbearing. The phenomenon of honour was strongly
associated with women’s oppression and extreme violence. Complex male-dominated
belief systems play a powerful role in social control and exist in the space where formal
public sphere institutions would be seen in other societies. While men committed most of
the violence against women the research also revealed the extent of affinal kin domestic
abuse committed or instigated by women. Inequalities other than gender, such as class,
caste and religion did not exhibit explanatory value as they were not spoken about;
however, there were generational factors influencing the violence.
The thesis makes a series of theoretical, empirical and methodological contributions and
concludes with recommendations for both practice and further research. The research
should be of interest to other researchers, policymakers and all those active in women’s
rights and welfare, particularly those in Pakistan and the Global South.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 18, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 30, 2023
• Award Date: Sep 29, 2023