LAUGHING THROUGH OPPRESSION: HUMOR AS A FEMINIST COPING MECHANISM IN SABA IMTIAZ'S KARACHI, YOU'RE KILLING ME

Abstract

This article examines the strategic deployment of humor as a feminist coping mechanism in Saba Imtiaz's novel Karachi, You're Killing Me. Through close textual analysis, it demonstrates how the protagonist Ayesha uses wit, irony, and self-deprecating comedy to navigate the intersecting oppressions of gender inequality, class privilege, workplace exploitation, and urban violence in contemporary Karachi. Drawing on feminist humor theory and concepts of subversive laughter, the article argues that Ayesha's comedic voice functions dually: as a survival strategy that makes unbearable realities psychologically manageable, and as a political tool that exposes the absurdities of patriarchal norms and systemic injustice. The analysis reveals how humor enables Ayesha to maintain agency in a male-dominated newsroom, deflect gendered moral policing, and critique elite disconnection from urban suffering. However, the article also traces the limits of humor, showing moments where laughter fails to mask underlying trauma and exhaustion. By positioning humor as both empowering and revealing of deeper wounds, this study contributes to understanding how women in oppressive contexts use comedy not merely to entertain but to survive, resist, and speak truth to power.