From Folk Feminism to Fundamentalism: The Transformation of Punjabi Culture under Religious Pressure in Pakistan

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17602918

Abstract

Building upon anthropological perspectives which conceive of culture less as substance and more as daily-life practices that people use to confront challenges, in this paper we analyze the way a feministic pluralist tradition of Punjabi culture in Pakistan has been transformed into a moralized patriarchal one under the ideological onslaught by religious pressure groups like Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and the Taliban. Utilising the framework of critical discourse analysis, in this study folk poetry, song covers, proverbs and media discursive practices and cultural celebrations were studied to discern changes in gendered subjectivities as shaped by religious nationalism and moral populism in Punjab. The findings indicate that the images of Heer or Jugni which once glorified women’s expressive authority, have been actively replaced with those relating to modesty and obedience. Demonstrate through linguistic, symbolic and topical analysis that forms of culture have been moralized so that what used to be spaces of comedy, sensual delight and critique are now arm twists for ideological orthodoxy.

Drawing on feminist cultural theory (Butler, 1990; Mohanty, 2003) and Bourdieu’s notion of symbolic power, the study posits that religious moralization is a mechanism internal colonization that recasts femininity as a location of morality surveillance. But countercurrents of resistance persist in digital media, feminist art and community-driven cultural revival, proving that the ideas behind folk feminism are still alive under the veneer of moral orthodoxy. This work adds to the field of postcolonial feminist scholarship by revealing how gender, religion, and language collude in regenerating cultural identity in contemporary Punjab. It provides critical reading about politics of representation, resistance and cultural memory practice within Pakistan.