Language Power, and Gender Politics: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Woman Empowerment Slogans as Tools for Social Change
Samina Khaliq Butt
Assistant Professor, Department of English, Government Islamia Graduate College, Railway Road Lahore
Dr. Saboor Ahmad
Foundation University Islamabad, Pakistan.
Dr. Mudasar Jahan
Associate Lecturer, English, University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Abstract
This study employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine the language and discourse of women's empowerment, gender equality, and anti-harassment slogans in Pakistan. Using Fairclough's (1992a) CDA framework and feminist CDA (Lazar, 2005), the study analyzes a corpus of slogans from various sources, including feminist organizations, social media, and educational materials. The findings reveal that language use in these slogans reinforces and challenges existing patriarchal norms and power dynamics. While some slogans promote empowerment and equality, others perpetuate harmful stereotypes and gender roles. The study highlights the significance of language in shaping social relationships and perpetuating power dynamics. This research aims to contribute to the existing research on gender inequality, language, and discourse in Pakistani society. The study addresses two research questions: (1) How do language and discourse in women's empowerment slogans reinforce or challenge patriarchal norms? (2) To what extent do CDA and feminist CDA frameworks reveal relationships between language, power, and gender inequality? The study's rationale is to provide insights into the language and discourse that perpetuate social injustices, informing strategies for promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in Pakistan. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on CDA and feminist CDA, providing new perspectives on language, power, and gender inequality in Pakistani society.
Key Words: Critical Discourse Analysis, Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, Language, Power, Gender Inequality, Women's Empowerment, Pakistan.
