1 - Introduction to Gender studies .pptx

Gender studies

1. Introduction to Gender Studies

2. Gender Studies – An Introduction ‘Gender’ is a grammatical term borrowed from linguistics; it is the collective term for the categories of masculine, feminine or neuter. At first, the gendered roles in society were assumed to be the natural result of one’s sex. However, cross-cultural studies demonstrate that while sex is a universal condition; gender roles vary across culture . Gender refers to the role in a cultural or social setting; it is characterized by: Attitudes Feelings Behaviors

3. Difference between Sex and Gender Sex Sex refers to a person’s biological and physiological status . It is typically categorized as male, female or intersex. There are a number of indicators of biological sex: Chromosomes Gonads Internal reproductive organs External genitalia Secondary sex characteristics

4. Difference between Sex and Gender Gender Gender refers to the socially constructed roles , behaviors, activities and attributes that a society deems appropriate. Gender allows us to see human roles and personalities based on social factors instead of nature.

5. Difference between Sex and Gender Sex Gender Natural Social Biologically and physiologically defined Defined by society and culture It is a universal term It is variable in terms of time, geographical and socio-cultural settings

6. Gender Studies Gender studies investigates the biological differences between men and women but focuses on these differences in a socio-cultural context . Gender studies is an interdisciplinary field . It draws upon academic areas such as: History Psychology Sociology Anthropology A woman is not only a woman but she also has a certain place in our society and gender studies tries to understand this place.

7. Women Studies Women studies is an academic field devoted to topics concerning women. Feminist theory Women’s history Women’s health Women’s fiction Focuses on women and their struggles and achievements. It started as a discipline during the second wave of feminism.

8. Difference between Gender and Women Studies Gender Studies Women Studies Issues regarding genders Issues about women Diverse study: roles in society, how they are shaped, their impacts, etc. Focused study: women and their roles in the society Gender studies interrogates the way society perceives all genders. Women studies interrogates on women’s history Inclusive of all genders Exclusively for women

9. Gender Studies - Development Short history – emergence in 1960s after the second wave of feminism started. During the 1970s, differences and inequality between men and women came to the attention of sociologists (especially women sociologists). Initially, the studies focused on ‘filling in the gaps’ in knowledge about women but later shifted to significant aspects such as women roles in a society and the issues they faced.

10. Gender Studies – Multi-disciplinary Nature In 1991, the National Women’s Studies Association announced that women’s studies and women’s studies programs are fundamentally interdisciplinary. Gender studies explores women’s past and present contributions to societies as persons, creators and thinkers. It also explores the cultural, racial and economic diversity of women’s experiences. Gender studies draws upon methods from a wide range of disciplines including: Anthropology Literature and Arts Biology Economics History Political science Psychology Religion Sociology

11. Gender Studies – Multi-disciplinary Nature The goal is to study gender from a feminist perspective and recognizing women’s experiences and ambitions. It also explores the ways that femininity and masculinity affect an individual’s thought process. It analyzes how gender plays out in politics, intimate life, culture, technology, health, science, etc. The increasing global concern about equal rights of sexes, their obligations and their opportunities has brought attention to gender studies. It also provides critical thinking skills.

12. Gender Studies – Multi-disciplinary in Nature History has overlooked women contributions due to wars, conquests and display of brutality. Gender studies tries to highlight women’s role in history like in industry, agriculture and creativity. A separate gender studies discipline that is linked with other disciplines will help highlight issues of women and also not deprioritize them.

13. Autonomy vs. Integration Debate A debate in the US states whether to make an autonomous department in universities for Gender/Women studies or to incorporate it as a subfield into traditional disciplines. During the late 1900s, women studies came out as a discipline and it was taught in two ways: Teaching in Women Studies Centre Teaching within many disciplines. This launched a debate whether the institution of women studies should be integrated or autonomous.

14. Autonomy vs. Integration Debate Autonomy arguments: Identity to the institution of women studies Separate decision-making body Separate budget and resources for teaching Separatists believe that women studies is an entity in itself and should be studied as a unit rather than it being scattered across different disciplines. Integration arguments: Autonomy would reduce impact of women studies Gender blindness will remain in other disciplines regardless Lead to ‘ academic ghettoization ’ In the end, Jean Fox O’ Barr concluded that it is both a discipline and interdisciplinary field.

15. Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan History of women activism goes back quite a long time to the 18 th century when women expressed themselves through oral traditions of storytelling, singing, etc . The major turning point for current struggles was the era of Zia- ul - Haq and the Hadood Ordinance which were a series of discriminatory laws that affected women: Zina Ordinance The Law of Evidence 1984 Qisas and Diyat Ordinance Hadood Ordinance alienated large sections of society and only pleased one particular section.

16. Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan Impacts of Hudood Ordinance: Women beaten, sold, murdered in the name of Karo Kari, Swarah and Vani . Poor rural women in jails The government created the Ministry of Women’s Development ( MoWD ) and its main purpose was ‘mainstreaming gender issues through integration into all sectors of national development’. In 1998, Nawaz Sharif endorsed the National Plan of Action (NPA) prepared by MoWD which focused on: Law Human rights The media The girl child Education Domestic violence against women

17. Status of Gender Studies in Pakistan Education: Institute of Women Development Studies (1994) Gender/Women Studies Department of Allama Iqbal Open University (1997) Women Study programmes in Karachi University Gender/Women Studies Centre, University of Balochistan (defunct) MA programme at Quaid-e- Azam University, Islamabad ( made but not started yet) NGOS: Pakistan Gender/Women Studies Association (PWSA)