Public Discourse on Gender-Based Violence in Pakistan: A Qualitative Discourse Analysis of the Noor Mukadam Case

Abstract

Gender, based violence (GBV) has been, and still is, a major violation of human rights and a serious public health problem worldwide, and in Pakistan as well. Public discourse is one of the main sources of the general knowledge of GBV that primarily encompasses media and social media stories. These assist in defining the perception that society has of violence, blame, morality, and justice. In 2021, after the murder of Noor Mukadam in Islamabad, it was described as a turning point that caused the debate around feminists, their mobilization, and the institutional review to increase significantly. This study concerns the GBV representations in the national discourses in Pakistan, following the Noor Mukadam case. It focuses mainly on aspects such as gendered power relations, moral regulation, and feminist counter-hegemonic narratives. The study also aims to explore these aspects in relation to the protest, anxiety, and negotiation around the issue of GBV. A qualitative discourse analysis was carried out on purposively sampled data from mainstream news media, television talk shows, official statements, and social media platforms (Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube). The study looked at language use, presentation, references to other texts, and also what was not said. Victim-blaming and moral policing were the main features of the media and public discourse, which dominated the scene and shifted the responsibility for the crime from the perpetrator to the victim. The narratives mainly focused on the honor of the family and societal norms, presenting the murder as a natural consequence of moral decay. The media and public commentary on the perpetrator, in general, were aimed at humanizing him and depicting him as a person with inner conflicts or a victim, thereby removing or lessening his responsibility. Sensationalized reporting focused on the elite status and spectacle, thereby ignoring and diverting attention from the root causes of the GBV. Social media was a reflection of misogyny and surveillance, which were used for the control of women’s voices and, at the same time, for the reinforcement of patriarchal norms. Feminist counter-discourses, especially through #JusticeForNoor, dismantled the dominant narratives by focusing on rights, accountability, and structural reform. The debate around the Noor Mukadam case is indicative of a struggle between the old patriarchal narratives that are deeply rooted and the new feminist activism that has arisen. Indeed, a majority of the mainstream and online discussions were replete with victim, blaming, honor, honor-based rhetoric, perpetrator sympathy, and media sensationalization, of which feminist counter-narratives were a minority. However, these feminist counter-narratives showed that social media and public engagement could be used to challenge the harmful narratives, to lobby for justice, and to facilitate systemic change.