Gender Studies

Lecture 1
By: Farwa Batool
Syllabus Discussion
Gender Studies Syllabus
I. Introduction to Gender Studies
Introduction to Gender Studies
Difference between Gender and Women Studies
Multi-disciplinary nature of Gender Studies
Autonomy vs. Integration Debate in Gender Studies
Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan

II. Social Construction of Gender

Historicizing Constructionism
Problematizing the category of “Sex”: Queer Theory
Is “Sex” socially determined, too?
Masculinities and Feminism
Nature versus Culture: A Debate in Gender Development

III. Feminist Theories and Practice

What is Feminism
Liberal Feminism
Radical Feminism
Marxist/Socialist Feminism
Psychoanalytical Feminism
Men’s Feminism
Postmodern Feminism
 Gender Studies Syllabus
IV. Feminist Movements
Feminist Movements in the West, First Wave, Second Wave and Third Wave Feminism, United Nation Conferences on
Women, Feminist Movements in Pakistan.

V. Gender and Development

Colonial and Capitalistic Perspectives of Gender
Gender Analysis of Development Theories; Modernization Theory, World System Theory, Dependency Theory, Structural
Functionalism.
Gender Approaches to Development: Women in Development (WID), Women and Development (WAD), Gender and
Development (GAD); Gender Critique of Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs).
Globalization and Gender

VI. Status of Women in Pakistan

Status of Women’s health in Pakistan
Status of Women in Education
Women and Employment
Women and Law
Gender Studies Syllabus
VII. Gender and Governance
Defining Governance
Suffragist Movement
Gender Issues in Women as Voters
Gender Issues in Women as Candidates
Gender Issues in Women as Representatives
Impact of Political Quota in Pakistan

VIII. Gender Based Violence

Defining Gender Based Violence
Theories of Violence against Women
Structural and Direct Forms of Violence
Strategies to Eliminate Violence against Women

IX. Case Studies of:

Mukhtaran Mai
Mallala Yousaf Zai
Shermin Ubaid Chinoy
Past Paper and Important
Topics Discussion
CSS 2016 Exam
CSS 2020 Exam
Important topics from Past Papers
• Difference between gender and women studies
• Social Construction of Gender
• Autonomy and Integration Debate
• Types of feminism
• Waves of feminism
• Violence against women
• Effects of Globalisation
• Women in Politics
• Women and Development
• Status of Women in contemporary world
• Context of Pakistan
Where to study from?
• Lectures
• Internet
• Articles related to gender related issues
• Casestudies, Research Papers
• Books
• 50 key concepts in Gender Studies (Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan)
• Feminist Thought (3rd ed. Rosemarie Tong)
• What is Gender? Sociological Approaches (Mary Holmes)
• NOA book by Amanullah Gondal
• Past paper and assignment practice
PART I. Introduction to
Gender Studies
• Introduction to Gender Studies
• Difference between Gender and Women Studies
• Multi-disciplinary nature of Gender Studies
• Autonomy vs. Integration Debate in Gender Studies
• Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan
Introduction to Gender Studies
• Emergence of gender studies has been possible due to the presence of women
studies
• Women studies, as an area of academic study, came into being during the 2nd
wave of feminism (1960s – 1970s)
• It was in response to the realization by women of social, economic and political
inequality due to lack of women’s ideas and perspectives in higher education
curriculum and research on women – exclusion in academia. They argued that
access to education doesn’t ensure educational equity
• Complemented the knowledge base of several other disciplines due to relevance
• Goal was to prevent bias and ignorance in knowledge base about women,
leading to injustice for them
Introduction to Gender Studies
• Main subject of women studies was the past and present situation of
women in the society
• Additionally, it was about social relationships i.e. between men and
women
• Issues were raised that were not in the realm of women studies and
other established disciplines as well. This was also the time of
emergence of men’s studies
• Two distinct terms were coined in women studies at an early stage;
‘sex’ and ‘gender’
Introduction to Gender Studies
• First courses in women studies emerged in late 1960s in US
• First MA offered in 1980 by University of Kent
• Slowly started emerging in the rest of the regions like Australia, Europe, Asia
and Middle East to slowly becoming ‘a global educational phenomenon’
(Mary Maynard Daly)*
• Establishment of women studies was a logical step towards development of
feminist epistemology
• Formal presence of women studies – recognized discipline
• Formal presence constantly contested
• Informal presence of women studies – existing disciplines offering courses
Difference between Gender and
Women Studies
• Gender Studies includes; Women studies, Men Studies and Queer Studies
• Since late 1980s women studies is being replaced by gender studies given the rationale
that feminist theories opened up wider possibilities to analyse gender difference
• Idea behind Gender studies is that its not enough to study women as a unique group
in order to fully understand the position of women in society
• Instead there needs to be assessment of men’s lives, social relationship between men
and women for instance within the social unit of family or workplace.
• In addition, it is important to study the power the men’s social roles give them against
the roles women observe socially
• It was also a product of the realization that inequalities and differences are not just
b/w genders but also b/w class, sexuality, ethnicity, age, religion etc
Difference between Gender and
Women Studies
• Gender studies investigates the actual
gender differences b/w men and women, but
is critical about what they mean in a socio-
cultural context
• Gender studies studies gender relations,
equality, equity, queer theory, race, culture
etc
• *Women also belong to different social
classes, races and ethnicities which makes
their experiences very different from each
other
• Gender Studies is more inclusive accounting
for men, women and those who identify as
neither
• Women studies is an
interdisciplinary academic field
devoted to topics concerning
women, feminism, gender and
politics.
• Women studies deals with
women and their problems in
isolation
• Prioritizes women centered
knowledge
Multi-disciplinary nature of Gender Studies
• Amalgamation of sociology, psychology, biology, history, literature,
international politics etc
• Multidisciplinary research refers to studying different disciplines
simultaneously, in collaboration to reach a final output where each
discipline contributes separately – across disciplines
• Is it the same as Interdisciplinary research?
• “All women studies courses are by their very nature interdisciplinary” –
Florence Howe (Intro to High School Feminist Studies)
• All disciplines from the perspective of women studies
Multi-disciplinary nature of Gender
Studies
• Women studies, studies women and gender from feminist perspective by
placing women at the centre of inquiry
• Gender studies assesses impact of both femininity and masculinity on
individual throught process, power in social relationships while keeping
history and experiences in consideration
• Origins of Gender Studies can be found in Humanities
• History; Absence of women from historical accounts making history only his-story
• Literature; Contributed towards methods of deconstruction of language
• Philosophy; Influenced research methodology
• Gender studies academics believe all knowledge is ideological i.e. not
neutral, subjective and deeply interrelated
Autonomy vs. Integration Debate in Gender Studies

• Debate on institutionalizing women studies as a separate discipline in

academia or integrating it with other disciplines as a subfield
• Women studies has allowed to bring the politics of feminism in to the
academic institutions
• Initially, universities were creating Women Studies Centers as places
of research and teaching with a focus on women and gender relations
through an interdisciplinary perspective
• Literary Studies, Anthropology, Sociology made women authors,
women’s history, their everyday life an object of research
Emergence of Women studies as a separate
discipline
• In 1970, first women studies programme was approved at San Diego
University
• In 1998, there were 9 PhD programmes in America and Canada
• Today women studies is taught in more than 700 colleges and
universities across the globe
Autonomy vs. Integration Debate in
Gender Studies
• This debate was between feminist researchers active at women
studies centres and those in the disciplines
• Integrationists argue that autonomy would lead to ghettoization or
isolation and reduction in impact of women studies in academic
circles
• They consider it important to contest gender blindness in every
discipline, transform disciplinary epistemology and methodology and
include feminist perspectives
• They claim separation equals segregation* (Seperatists argue whether
that happened with any other separate discipline like pol sci?)
Autonomy vs. Integration Debate in
Gender Studies
• Autonomy would allow to develop a visible identity and power base
• It allowed decision making in hiring, resources, position in university
politics. All this was important in legitimizing feminist scholarship and
guaranteeing it a future
• Proponents believed, this would result in co-optation by the very
institutions that excluded women
• They said that women studies as a whole, while interdisciplinary, is
greater than and different from the sum of its parts i.e. integration
disguises the reality of assimilation
Autonomy vs. Integration Debate in
Gender Studies
• Religion departments would never study the sociology of religion if
there had not been a self defined and autonomous discipline of
sociology
• Advantage of a separate discipline is that feminist perspective will not
be lost or deprioritized
• The culture of marginalization is present even today in the form of a
‘shadow structure’ (vulnerable, neglected department with meagre
resources)
• Over the years, the debate has taken the shape of both/and strategy
i.e. integration as well as separatism together
Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan
• In Higher Education and Academia:
• Ministry of Women’s Development (MOWD) aims to enhance women’s
literacy rates, improve retention of girls and women in all educational levels
and reorient the existing curricula by making them more gender sensitive
• National Plan of Action (NPA) in 1998 by MOWD demanded establishment of
separate commission on status of women and recommended promotion of
interdisciplinary field of gender and women studies in all public/private
educational and training institutes
• National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) created in 2000 to
examine, review, monitor progress of obligations under CEDAW* and NPA

*CEDAW: Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women

Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan
• Gender/Women Studies Centers @ Universities
• Major objectives:
• Critical examination of concepts, theories etc responsible for excluding women in
scientific investigation and development
• Redefinition of curricula at Universities, Colleges to incorporate knowledge on and from
women
• Generating debate on women’s issues
• Introductory foundation courses on Gender Studies in Universities
• Academic action oriented research on women in development
Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan
• Public Sector Gender/Women Studies Centers
• Gender/Women studies Department in Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU)
1997
• Women Research and Resource Centre (WRRC) of Fatima Jinnah Women
University (FJWU) 1999
• Institute of Women Development Studies (IWDS) 1994
• Centre of Excellence for Gender/Women’s Studies program at Karachi University
• Gender/Women’s Studies Centre, University of Balochistan
• All aim to introduce Gender/Women studies as discipline, create
awareness and sensitization at community level, emphasize women’s
role and contributions in national and international development
Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan
• Issues
• Conflation of Gender/Women studies with Home Economics recreates and
reinforces gendered division of labour. Gives an impression that flowermaking
and embroidery is all there is about Gender/Women Studies courses
• Shortage of funding in some centers led to a proposal to integrate with other
disciplines, however not many departments showed interest in integration
Past Paper Practice – CSS 2019 Q2
• How do you differentiate the discipline of Gender Studies from that of
Women Studies? Historically, trace the need for establishment of
Gender Studies as a distinct discipline and its scope and significance
with especial reference to Pakistan (20)
Questions?