Abstract

This research is an attempt to provide useful insights regarding Muslim women's identities through a study conducted on the readership and reception processes of popular women's magazines in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. One of the objectives of this research is to challenge the oriental "othering" of Muslim women as a monolith. The research showcases diversity across the board within a Muslim country like Pakistan by highlighting the cultural conflicts and ambivalence inherent in the ideologies discursively constructed through the genre of women's magazines. The research draws upon Lazar's (2005) model of Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) and Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) theory of social semiotic to highlight the ambivalence inherent within the juxtaposition of images of women's bodies and accompanying religious codes. Read in conjunction, they articulate a certain ideology regarding the construction of Pakistani women's socioreligious identity(ies) that serve the interests of patriarchy and the Muslim clergy. More importantly, the research presents a detailed analytical study of the relationship between magazine representations and how these affect women's multiple and complex identities. The findings suggest that the magazine representations are a powerful resource Muslim women draw upon in constructing their identities, as women read these magazines not only as a source of pleasure, but also in quest of their identity(ies).

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