Significant debates have occurred detailing the profession(s) that women chose (or not) and the effects that such choice have on the larger Pakistani society, both in terms of gender roles as well as economic market studies. Oxford University Press seems to have made considerable strides in providing venues for such literature in the last few years. The two books reviewed here are amongst such works published by OUP Karachi. Both books are about women’s professional careers: Fouzia Saeed’s book Taboo (translated into Urdu as 'Klunk' ), analyzes “the phenomenon of prostitution (not just as a sex worker but as a cultural professional) ...through it have looked at Pakistani society and its gender roles” (xix: 2001), while Mirza’s work engages with data “engendering the embeddedness of market in society, by analyzing the interfaces which emerge into women’s life world and the market due to women’s entry into office jobs” (Mirza 2002: 4).
Saeed uses a primarily ethnographic approach to the subject, yet applies a narrative format that arguably allows for the material to be easily absorbed by a larger audience. The end product is highly informative, simultaneously being effortless to read. The accessibility of the narrative should not be equated to triviality. Saeed has clearly spent much time struggling with the subject matter prior to publication. She outlines the many difficulties she faced with “Pakistani society’s ’good people’, specifically the ’civilized and cultured’ people in our national bureaucracy” (17: 2001).| The interviews and analysis provided by Saeed focus on socialization of the people who work and live in Shahi Mohalla and power dynamics within that socioeconomic framework. The study was conducted over a 10 year period, and her work is saturated with self reflexive commentary. One glaringly obvious issue Saeed was not able to overcome was her biased and disparaging views of the middle class Pakistani women. The homogenous construction of the middle class is problematic, simultaneously however, allowing a subculture of the Mohalla to exist freely in her work. Shahi Mohalla in Lahore is gloriously described, each detail allowing for the story to elaborate the lives of the people who inhabit the small alleyways : prostitutes, the pimps, managers and customers, as well as the musicians who provide the melodious backdrop. |  |  |
Saeed traces through the traditional practice of prostitution in South Asia (specifically in Pakistan) and illuminates the interconnections between performance theory and myths surrounding prostitution. In a valiant effort, she communicates the real people aspect, and demystifies the otherness of the “cultural profession” practiced by prostitutes.
One of the most intriguing facets of the narrative is the issue of gender within Pakistani society. On the most basic level, the Mohalla is where the birth of a daughter is celebrated with more gusto than in mainstream Pakistani society - where the female is the breadwinner. That sequence is juxtaposed with the complexity with which women are treated in the work force in mainstream Pakistani society, established and elaborated by Fouzia’s own personal experiences discussed in the book. Lastly, one is left with a slight feeling that the book does not discuss the phenomenon of male prostitution that is on the rise in major centers all across Pakistan.
| 'Both books, Taboo and Between Chaddor and the Market are texts that clearly deal with women in various professions within Pakistani society; how these women have changed through time, and how they have changed society.' |
[Reviewers Note: This is not to draw parallels between the two occupations, but rather to realize the embedded gender biases within Pakistani society irrespective of profession of the female.]
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Mirza’s aim is to analyze the labor market integration of lower-middle class woman coming into the office sector of the work force in Pakistan. A very intriguing phenomenon as a vast majority of these women come from Muslim conservative households. The study hinges on certain basic questions: how do these women experience their first steps into the (male dominated) office sector? What discontinuities emerge between their own life world and the world of work, and how do the women handle them? How is the office sector itself embedded in society; or, in other words, what are the interactions between the social and gender order of society and the office environment? How do they influence the access of women to employment, gender relations, and the gendered organization of work and space at the workplace? What changes have occurred -- in women’s lives as well as in the office sector -- due to women’s entry into office jobs? Mirza conducts an actor oriented study where the focus is on women’s logic of action, their negotiation strategies and their rooms for maneuver, and on the question regarding how these are related to their life world (2002: 4-5). Mirza conducted her research in Lahore, Pakistan. Through her qualitative research methods, and interview heavy data, Mirza successfully achieved her goals set out in the beginning of her study. The focus is primarily on thirteen women, who represented somewhat ’typical’ cases, which enabled Mirza to follow those specific women through a period of about one year. The framework of the study is well organized and builds sequentially through to the conclusion.
Mirza begins by a discussion of the institution of purdah and the meaning for the gender order in Pakistani Muslim culture. The first couple of chapters contextualize the life world that these women would experience - from kin relations, to non kin-based male associations. Having established the matrix from which these women may have emerged, Mirza conducts a clear sociological and statistical study of the urban labor market, specifically how it relates to female office workers. The integration of lower-middle-class women into this labor market, and the multiple levels of their experience presented, after which Mirza provides a thought-provoking and well substantiated discussion of the manner in which office culture changes through the women’s presence. Before concluding, Mirza teases apart the many facets of how such alteration in the women’s lives affects their lifestyles at home. The study concludes with an affirmation of lower-middle-class office workers being the active agents of change in the labor market, in their own conservative class, and in society at large (2002: 232-233).
Between Chaddor and the Market is a valuable text for many reasons: firstly, the statistics and variety of sources are very useful; secondly, the interviews provide thick description in a manner yet to be seen on this topic; and finally the interlacing of theories of purdah, the lower-middle-class woman and the urban labor market, is one that is frightfully understudied -- this book is a major step in understanding the complexity of issues surrounding women in the workforce in Pakistan. Perhaps the one issue that was slightly plaguing, was that women were constantly placed in opposition to the male - I am not sure if that is always the case, nor if that is always an entirely viable form of argument.Both books, Taboo and Between Chaddor and the Market are texts that clearly deal with women in various professions within Pakistani society; how these women have changed through time, and how they have changed society. These books are the beginnings in understandings of women in Pakistan - clearly establishing the heterogeneous complexity that exists within the many gendered orders of Pakistani society. These are very important first steps to eradicate the one dimensional (sometimes, if we are lucky, two dimensional - but rarely three-dimensional) view of the Eastern woman from the western lens.
Uzma Z. Rizvi is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania. The focus of her academic work is primarily, the study of culture, including topics on South Asia, the diaspora, archaeology, politics,
cultural theory, feminism, material culture, theater, and film. As a cultural practioner/producer, Uzma is a co-founder, associate artistic director and literary manager of RASA Theater, Inc (NYC), and can be heard on 89.3 FM (WCNJ)
on the Banana Chutney Mix.
This review was originally published in the American Institute of Pakistan Studies Newsletter. It is published here with permission from the author.
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