identity politics

1. Identity Politics and Academia
in Post Modern Paradigm
Presented to:Dr. Rafi Ullah Khan
Presented by: Anum Khan
MPhil's Scholar 1st Semester
Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations
Quaid-e-Azam University

2. Content
• Identity Politics
• Communism vs. Capitalism
• Michel Foucault
• Feminism

3. Identity Politics
• The term identity politics refers to political positions based on the
interests and perspectives of social groups with which people
identify.
• Identity can be shaped around many principles
age, religion, socialclass or caste, culture, dialect, disability, educa
tion, ethnicity, language, nationality, sex, gender
identity, generation, occupation, profession, race, political
party affiliation, sexual orientation, settlement, urban
and rural habitation, and veteran status.

4. Identity Politics
religion
Social
class
culture
education
ethnicity
Gender
identity
sexual
orientation
nationality
Identity Politics

5. Communism VS Capitalism

6. Identity Politics in Social
Classes
• Lower Class – Blue collar
• Middle Class – White collar
• Upper Class – Elite class
Working Class (Proletariat)
Wealthy Class (Bourgeoisie )

7. Identity Politics in Social
Classes
• Das Kapital well known book by Karl Marks, According to him
human societies develop through class struggle. In capitalism, The
bourgeoisie control the means of production and the working
classes known as the proletariat selling their labor power in return
for wages.
• Marx actively pressed on working class to carry out
organized revolutionary action to topple capitalism and Thus a
Communist block emerged.
• After IIWW two major groups emerged on the basis of Identity
politics i.e. Communist bloc and Capitalist bloc

8. Identity Politics Shapes
Human Minds
Period of political tension between the “First
World” Western Democracies and the
“Second World” Communist States
• It was fundamentally a war over influence
(over the “Third World”)
• Fukuyama’s claim: The end of the cold war
was not just the end of an era, but the end of
history itself.

9. The End of History
“…the end point of mankind’s
ideological evolution and the
universalization of Western liberal
democracy as the final form of human
development.”
– Hence, it is an intellectual triumph: that is, its basic principles
have already been perfected and can go unchallenged

10. Philosophical Bases
Marx
• Dialectical materialism: history progresses according to material
forces
•Establishment of a communist utopia would be the end of history
• However, materialist explanations cannot fully account for the
entirety of human action

11. Michel Foucault
Stratificatication in Society

12. Michel Foucault
• “Incredulity towards metanarratives” is a belief—promoted
by Michel Foucault and others—that their influence is primarily
connected with power and oppression.
• Thus, for instance, in the minds of many postmodernist thinkers,
the Enlightenment’s exaltation of reason and universal human
rights has simply been a tool for white, bourgeois, Western man
to dominate others.
• The same critique is applied by many postmodernist disciples to
academic standards in today’s Western schools. Which are as
follows

13. Power Politics as a form of Discourse

14. Post Structuralism
• As an intellectual movement, structuralism was initially
presumed to be the heir apparent to existentialism.
• In1960s, many of structuralism's basic tenets came under attack
from a new wave of predominantly French intellectuals such as
the philosopher and historian Michel Foucault, the
philosopher Jacques Derrida, the Marxist philosopher Louis
Althusser, and the literary critic Roland Barthes. Though
elements of their work necessarily relate to structuralism and are
informed by it, these theorists have generally been referred to
as post-structuralists. In the 1970s, structuralism was criticized
for its rigidity and ahistoricism.

15. Antipositivism
At the turn of the 20th century the first wave of German sociologists,
including Max Weber and Georg Simmel, rejected the doctrine of
positivism , thus founding the antipositivist tradition in sociology.
Later anti positivists and critical theorists have associated positivism
with "scientism"; science as ideology. In 1969,German theoretical
physicist Werner Heisenberg, Nobel laureate for pioneering work
in quantum mechanics, distanced himself from positivism by saying:
…….The positivists have a simple solution: the world must be
divided into that which we can say clearly and the rest, which we
had better pass over in silence. But can any one conceive of a
more pointless philosophy, seeing that what we can say clearly
amounts to next to nothing? If we omitted all that is unclear we
would probably be left with completely uninteresting and trivial
tautologies……

16. Logical Positivism/ Post
positivism
• In the early 20th century, logical positivism an independent
movement sprang up in Vienna and grew to become one of the
dominant schools in Anglo-American philosophy and
the analytic tradition.
• Logical positivists (or 'neopositivists') rejected metaphysical
speculation and attempted to reduce statements and propositions
to pure logic.
• Strong critiques of this approach by philosophers such as Karl
Popper, Willard Van Orman Quine and Thomas Kuhn have been
highly influential, and led to the development of post positivism.

17. Critical Realism
Critical realism, have emerged to reconcile the overarching aims
of social science with postmodern critiques. There are now at least
twelve distinct epistemologies that are referred to as positivism.

18. Academia- Educational
Theory
• When postmodernism came in and challenged the hierarchical
systems, the educators were also questions as the holders of truth.
Arguably, they were redefined as the protectors of the premodern
and modern myths.
• In postmodern educationally theory, the teacher no longer holds
the privileges position. Student-centered learning became the new
zeitgeist in educational theory. In the student-centered approach,
the faculty is more of a guide than an expert. They chart the path
and provide much of the content; however, they are not assumed
to always be right. The students opinions are valued and seen as
adding to the overall quality of the class.
• This is also an approach that tends to be less structured in many
ways. More flexibility is designed into the course in order for it to
be adjusted to meet individual student needs. While it is a
powerful teaching approach in many ways.

19. Feminism

20. What is Feminism?
French Word: Feminism, a medical term to describe
feminization of male body or to describe women with masculine
traits
Used in USA – Early part of twentieth century for the group of
women with the political agenda of changing the social position
of women.

21. Feminism history and perspective
 Feminism – A collection of movements that confronts the abuse
of power and seeks equality (political social and economic) and
justice. It rests on two premises women are disadvantaged because
of their sex and this established norm must be changed.so seeking
to establish equal opportunities for women in education and
employment.
 The history of the modern western feminist movements is divided
into three "waves". Each is described as dealing with different
aspects of the same feminist issues.

22. Waves of Feminism
 The first wave refers to the movement of the 19th through early
20th centuries, which dealt mainly with suffrage, working
conditions and educational rights for women and girls.
 The second wave (1960s1980s) dealt with the inequality of
laws, as well as cultural inequalities and the role of women in
society.
 The third wave of feminism (late 1980’s early 2000s (decade),
is seen as both a continuation of the second wave and a
response to the perceived failures.

23. The First Wave of Movement
The incidents that are included in the history of feminism first movements starts
from 1809 married women property law in US till 1928 the right to vote was
granted to all UK women equally with men in 1928. There are exactly 69 incidents
defined within the first feminism wave movement.
Most Important incidents
Russia: In 1913 women observed their first International Women's Day on the last
Sunday in February. Following discussions, International Women's Day was
transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International
Women's Day ever since.
England: In 1918 Marie Stopes, who believed in equality in marriage and the
importance of women's sexual desire, published Married Love, a sex manual that,
according to a survey of American academics in 1935, was one of the 25 most
influential books of the previous 50 years.
Germany: in 1919 granted women the right to vote England 1919- Nancy Astor
became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons.
China: The first female students were accepted in Peking University, soon
followed by universities all over China.

24. The Second Wave of Movement
Feminism movements are started from 1963 the report of the American Presidential
Commission on the Status of Women which caused the enacting of equal pay act till
1980s feminist sex wars last incident the Japanese Equal Employment Opportunity
Law of 1985, prohibits gender discrimination with respect to recruitment, hiring,
promotion, training, and job assignment. There are 104 incidents included in the
second wave of feminism movements.
Most Important incidents
1966 Twenty-eight women, among them Betty Friedan, founded the National
Organization for Women (NOW).
1969 The American radical organization Red stockings organized.
1973 The American National Black Feminist Organization was formed
1977 the Canadian Human Rights Act was passed, prohibiting discrimination based
on characteristics including sex and sexual orientation, and requiring "equal pay for
work of equal value
1980 The second wave began in the 1980s in Turkey and in Israel.

25. Third Wave of Movement
The incidents that consists in the third wave of feminism starts from 1991
published of an article by Rebecca walker American feminist “Becoming the
third wave” following establishment of riot girl movement in Washington and
continuing till now , the latest famous incident were the slutwalk incident
Toronto, on 3 April 2011 and globally the slutwalk issue is spreading. Slut walk
was incident that Toronto police stated women are victims because they are
walking and wearing like sluts that had created too many challenges and
spreading on media over the world. There are exactly 31 incidents in the third
wave of feminism movement
The most important incidents
1994: The Gender Equity in Education Act became law in the U.S. It banned sex
role stereotyping and gender discrimination in the classroom
1994: The Violence Against Women Act became law in the U.S
1995: The Fourth World Conference on Women was held in China
2007: The Gender Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2006 came into effect in the
United Kingdom
2008: Norway requires all companies to have at least forty percent women on
their boards

26. Feminist Theory:
Feminist Theory:
It has three Yardsticks
1) Comprehensive account of women’s subordination
2) Identifies underlying causes
3) Develops effective strategies to overcome them

27. Liberal Feminism
“Liberal feminism seeks individualistic equality of men and
women through political and legal reform without altering the
structure of society”
 Gender differences aren't biological – they are socially
constructed
 pushes for equal opportunity
 Reformist in nature – tries to open up public life equally to
women + men without discrimination, without challenging
patriarchy
 Highlights discrimination at work

28. Radical Feminism
“Radical feminism considers the male-controlled capitalist
hierarchy as the defining feature of women's oppression and the
total uprooting and reconstruction of society as necessary”.
 Focus on oppression of women – Intent on social change
 Revolutionary in nature – questions gender roles based on
biology
 Labels sexuality as the root cause of oppression
 Patriarchy – from discrimination to oppression

29. Liberal Feminism
Criticizes male dominant culture – Male attributes lead to
destruction, Wars.
Celebrate womanhood – biology gives rise to psychology,
creativity is good.
Definition – analyses how patriarchy generates the threat of
violence and how actual violent behavior by men acts as a
controlling agent for women in general, affecting their
identities.

30. Marxist/Socialist Feminism
Marxist feminism argues that capitalism is the root cause of women's
oppression, and that discrimination against women in domestic life
and employment is an effect of capitalist ideologies.
Puts housewives into the structure of Capitalism – vital to
economy
Criticizes Family as a source of women's oppression + exploitation
– economically dependent on man. Family is Latin for servant.
Brief history of Womanhood – prehistoric times and evolution of
male dominant society
Women's position in Global system – World systems theory,
periphery and core.
Capitalism should be replaced by socialism to bring in equality

31. Psychoanalytical Feminism
Freud's theory of personality development – Oedipus complex
Source of Men’s dominance – Focus on childhood development
Two sided unconsciousness of men – Emotional needs and
rejection as potential castrators .
Psychological gendering of childhood – role of
unconsciousness
Break the cycle – Shared parenting

32. Men's Feminism
Application of Feminist theories to the study of men +
masculinity
Scrutiny of different masculinities in gender debate
Analysis of Hegemonic Masculinity
Gender is embedded in society not in traits
Gender inequality is not only b/w men and women but also
men of lower economic status
Military and aggressive sports lead to wars

33. Post Modern Feminism
Gender and sexuality are shifting
Equality will come when there are so many recognized sexes
and genders which cant be played against each other
Queer theory – Unique narrative , Celebration of anomalies

34. Queer Theory
 Teresa de Lauretis coined the phrase Queer Theory - Judith
Butlers book 1990
 Queer Theory:
“An approach to literary and cultural study that rejects
traditional category of gender and sexual orientation”
 Queer Theory critically examines the way power works to
institutionalize and legitimate certain forms and expressions of
sexuality and gender while stigmatizing others

35. Problematizing the category of Sex: Queer
Theory
Contextual meaning of Queer:
1)Homosexuality
2) Out of the ordinary, not normal
Identities are not fixed, specially individual sexual orientations -
Blurring boundaries between straight and gay

36. Other Ideologies
 Conservative Feminism is conservative relative to the society in which it
resides.
 Libertarian Feminism conceives of people as self-owners and therefore as
entitled to freedom from coercive interference.
 Separatist Feminism does not support heterosexual relationships.
 Eco Feminists see men's control of land as responsible for the oppression of
women and destruction of the natural environment; ecofeminism has been
criticized for focusing too much on a mystical connection between women and
nature.
 Materialist feminisms grew out of western Marxist thought and have inspired
a number of different movements, all of which are involved in a critique of
capitalism and are focused on ideology's relationship to women.
 Marxist feminism argues that capitalism is the root cause of women's
oppression, and that discrimination against women in domestic life and
employment is an effect of capitalist ideologies.
 Socialist feminism distinguishes itself from Marxist feminism by arguing that
women's liberation can only be achieved by working to end both the economic
and cultural sources of women's oppression.

37. Other Ideologies
 Anarchic-feminists believe that class struggle and anarchy against the state
require struggling against patriarchy, which comes from involuntary
hierarchy.
 Black and Postcolonial feminisms pose a challenge "to some of the
organizing premises of Western feminist thought." During much of its history,
feminist movements and theoretical developments were led predominantly by
middleclass white women from Western Europe and North America.
 Womanism emerged after early feminist movements were largely white and
middle-class.
 Postcolonial feminists argue that colonial oppression and Western feminism
marginalized postcolonial women but did not turn them passive or voiceless.
 Lipstick feminism is a cultural feminist movement that attempts to respond
to the backlash of second-wave radical feminism of the 1960s and 1970s by
reclaiming symbols of "feminine" identity such as make-up, suggestive
clothing and having a sexual allure as valid and empowering personal choices

38. Feminism in Pakistan

39. Feminism in Pakistan
There are two strands of feminism in Pakistan:
1. Islamic feminism:
Riffat Hassan, Amina Wadood, Asma Barlas
2. Secular Feminism:
Shahnaz Rouse, Fouzia Saeed (see feminism as an extension of
basic human rights)
“Pakistan needs a feminism that elegantly
marries both strands of feminism, secular and
Islamic”
(Bina Shah)

40. Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah:
 Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah rallied thousands of women in the
Pakistan Movement.
 Soon after Pakistan's Independence Fatima Jinnah took part in
refugee relief work and formed the Women s Relief Committee
during the transfer of power, which evolved into the All Pakistan
Women s Association.
 She contested the 1964 general elections at the age of 71 against
the military dictator, General Ayub Khan.

41. Begum Ra’ana Liaqut Ali Khan:
 Begum Ra'na Liaquat Ali Khan helped the refugees who fled India
during partition and also organized the All Pakistan Women’s
Association in 1949
 Noticing that there were not many nurses in Karachi, Khan
requested the army to train women to give injections and first aid.
This resulted in the para-military forces for women.
 She became the first Muslim woman delegate to the United
Nations in 1952.

42. First Phase of Feminism in Pakistan:
 After independence, elite Muslim women in Pakistan continued to
advocate women's political empowerment through legal reforms.
 They got passed the Muslim Personal Law of Sharia in 1948,
which recognized a woman's right to inherit all forms of property.
 They were also behind the futile attempt to have the government
include a Charter of Women's Rights in the 1956 constitution.
 The 1961 Muslim Family Laws Ordinance covering marriage and
divorce is still widely regarded as empowering to women.
 Bhutto opened up all government services for women, including
District Management Group and Foreign Services of Pakistan.

43. Zia-ul-Haq Era:
 Feminism in Pakistan rose as a backlash to Hudood Ordinance of
1979 which as rape vicims to produce four witnesses.
 Zia banned women from taking part and from being spectators in
sports.
 When the victim was women, diyat was halved.
 Comedian and director, Rangeela, was the first to publically
express support for women through his movie “Aurat Raj”
(1979) which was the story of a woman who stands up against
her chauvinist husband, forms a political party, and becomes a
national leader.

44. 7/1/2019 Gender Studies Lecture 6 44

45. 7/1/2019 Gender Studies Lecture 6 45
12th February, 1983 – Lahore, Pakistan
Women’s Action Forum (WAF) & Pakistan Women Lawyers’ Association
(PWLA) at a rally against the law of evidence.

46. Cont……
 Women’s Action Forum (WAF) was founded in 1981
 WAF devised the slogan ‘men, money, mullahs and military’ in
that era.
 Feminism gained momentum in Benazir’s governments (1988-90
&1993-96) when NGO’s and focus groups thrived.
 Feminism suffered a backlash during Nawaz government in 1997
when conservatism revived. Islamic ideology council proposed
making burqa mandatory and honour killings rose to new heights.
 Musharraf advanced women’s rights and encouraged their
involvement in media, sports and socio-political activities.

47. Status of Gender Studies in
Pakistan
Problems:
 Taught in Western perspectives.
 Absence of indigenos content and dearth of indigenous writers
 Dearth of reliable statistics

48. Status of Gender Studies in
Pakistan
Timeline:
 Institute of Public Studies (IPS), a civil society think tank has
undertaken a number of studies and publication of gender studies
since its inception in 1979.
 IPA established Study Group on Gender Studies in 2001.
 Institute of Women Studies Lahore (IWSL) 1986 started offering
Diploma and Certificate Programmes and engaged in research
and advocacy
Center of Excellence for Women Studies (CEWS) in 1989 by
Ministry of Women Development, in 5 public universities.
CEWS offers courses and seminars, conducts research and
acts as a functional base of knowledge.
Pakistan Association for Women Studies (PAWS) in Karachi in
1991

49. Status of Gender Studies in
Pakistan
Objectives of Pakistan Association for Women Studies
PAWS:
 A forum for interaction and coordination among female
activists
 Build solidarity among women
 Develop feminist research on indigenous issues
 Strengthen the capabilities of women through training and
education
 Assist women in self-employment
 Report findings to assist policy makers
 Organize conferences, workshops and short courses

50. Course Work
 First MA in 1996 in University of Karachi
 M. Phil / Ph D programs in 2002
 As a subidiary course at First Year (Hons.) level from 2004
 BS Hons. 4 years program from 2007
 MA evening program from 2010
 Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been working
on perception of the subject in Pakistan.

51. Universities:
 AIOU, Islamabad
 University of Sindh Jamshoro
 Islamia University of Bahawalpur
 Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad
 Szabist Islamabad
 Bahauddin Zakaria University, Lahore
 Bahauddin Zakaria University, Multan
 University of the Punjab, Lahore
 University of Peshawar
 Women University Islamabad

52. Impact of Political Quota in
Pakistan:
Quotas are mechanisms by which governments seek to increase
the number of women represented in the governing body.
Legal Quota systems:
May be prescribed by electoral law or constitution.
Voluntary party quota systems:
Not mandated by law, rather undertaken by parties themselves.
Quotas may be utilized during different stages of the political
process where the problem really exists. As for example:
Potential candidacy:
A certain percentage of candidates must be female.
Elections:
“reserved seats” for women.

53. Timeline
Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah and Begum Jahanara
Shahnawaz were the only female representatives in the first
Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
The Constitutions of 1956 and 1962 provided for 6 reserved seats
for women in the NA.
The 1973 Constitution reserved 10 seats for a period of ten years
from the commencing day of the constitution or the holding of
three general elections to the NA. In 1985, these seats were
increased to 20. But then they lapsed and the governments of
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif could neither revive these seats
nor increase them.
In 1988, Benazir Bhutto became the first woman PM.

54. Cont.
 In 1993, representation of women at local level was only 10%.
 In the general election of 1997, women’s representation hovered
between 4% in the provincial assemblies to 2% in the Senate and
4% in the NA.
 Report of the Commission of Inquiry for Women (1997) and
Nation Plan for Action (1998, NPA) recommended 33% reserved
seats for women at local and national level through direct
elections.
 They also suggested simplification of rules and adoption of
measures to ensure women could exercise their right to vote.
 In the Devolution of Power Plan (2000), 33% seats were reserved
for women in union, tehsil and district councils.

55. Cont.
 At national level, National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB)
announced that 60 seats in the NA (17% of total) will be
reserved for women.
 On general seats, 13 women won in 2002, 16 in 2008, and 9 in
2013. (declining trend)
 12th legislature of Pakistan had 74 women (21.64%), out of
whom 14 were directly elected.

56. Achievements of Women Parliamentarians:
 A study conducted by Aurat Foundation found that women
excelled in several areas of legislative business compared to
their male counterparts during 2002-07.
 PPP government appointed Dr. Fehmida Mirza as the first
female speaker who lead a Caucus of Women Legislators across
party lines.
 From 2008 to 2013, much progress was made.
 Amendment to Women in Distress and Detention Fund Act
(provides for mandatory financial and legal assistance to women
in prisons)

57. Cont…
 Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act
 Benazi Income Support Programme Act
 Advocacy for women IDPs after military operation in Swat,
gender responsive relief efforts, treatment and rehabilitation of
burn victims, meaningful debate on budgetary allocations in
health and education.

58. Conclusion
 Unfortunately, feminism is a challenge for Pakistan rather than a
progressive ideology.
 Feminism does not necessarily mean negation of all cultural,
social and religious norms.
 It’s viewed as anti-Islamic, and is considered to be influenced by
foreign and especially Zionist policy
 Although Islam advocates gender equality, the religious
authorities have always been opposing governmental steps to
empower womenfolk.
 One should support and strengthen Feminist Movement by
making PESTEL Analysis:
 Political
 Economic
 Social
 Technological
 Environmental
 Legal

59. Cont…
By making PESTEL Analysis we will curb the Chaos and the
worst Oppression as faced by women a consequence of
Patriarchy in the last few decades
 Mukhtara Mai
 Zainab Qatal case
 Qandeel Baloch
 Malala Yousaf Zai and many more ……..

60. Thank You

61. Bibliography
• http://postmodernpsychology.com/postmodernism-and-the-
academic-disciplines/ Accessed 30th -Dec-2018
• https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/postmodernism-
philosophy-behind-identity-politics Accessed 1-Jan-2019
• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-
sociology/chapter/conflict-theory/ Accessed 1-Jan-2019