THE LANGUAGE OF GENDER IN PAKISTANI MEDIA: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF DAWN NEWSPAPER

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the representation of gender in the Pakistani English-language newspaper Dawn using the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) developed by Norman Fairclough. The main objective is to discover the effect of the construction and reinforcement or debunking of gender ideology in the media in the socio-cultural framework of Pakistan. The study adopts a three-dimensional model proposed by Fairclough and discusses a purposive sample of news texts that discuss gender-related issues such as gender-based violence and women’s rights for political participation. The analysis of the text shows that there are significant gender differences in representation. Women are often represented in terms of victim/oppressed, passive, and domestic, and men are often represented as leader, rational, and agent. Passive voice, euphemisms, stereotyped lexical elements tend to mask the agency of male perpetrators and silence voices of women. Authoritative discourse tends to be masculine and upholds power dynamics. In more progressive stories, the traditional gender roles are learned, albeit in subtle ways, by the way the story is framed linguistically. The research has four specific impacts on the study of gender studies, media linguistics and critical discourse analysis: Firstly, it provides empirical evidence into the role of language in English languages media in sustaining patriarchy. Secondly, this research will be useful in studying the role of language in sustaining patriarchy in second language acquisition. Thirdly, this research will be useful in studying the role of language in sustaining patriarchy in English languages media. Fourthly, this research will be useful in the study of second language acquisition. It sensitizes journalists, intelligentsia and researchers on the need to question gender-biased discursive practices. The study suggests a more extensive comparative and multimodal research approach for future studies to further enhance the understanding of the relationship between language, gender and media in Pakistan.