| This study examines how the major news organizations of Pakistan,Jang Group of Newspapers,Nawa-i-Waqt Group of Publications,and Pakistan Herald Publications,framed Aurat March [English: Women March],a women’s rights movement from Pakistan across their print and digital platforms from January 2018 to July 2022.This study utilized a comprehensive methodology incorporating both quantitative content analysis of 615 news articles and in-depth qualitative critical discourse analysis.Quantitative analysis systematically examined article attributes and content across the sample to reveal coverage volumes,patterns,and trends.Qualitative critical discourse analysis was then employed to uncover the latent meanings and ideological frameworks that underpin the manifest content of the articles.This integrated methodology provided both empirical findings and a theoretical analysis of media representations of the Aurat March.This research utilized frameworks of framing theory and socialist feminist theory to analyze the coverage volume,prominence,sourcing,and framing trends of this significant women’s rights movement.The analysis focused on several variables,including the medium of publication,language of publication,genre,author gender,and section positioning,to decode the editorial decision-making process of different outlets of these media organizations.Then,critical discourse analysis was employed to identify noticeable and hidden meanings based on the language,rhetoric,and ideology employed in the selected articles by these organizations.The findings of this study showed that the print outlets of these groups published more coverage of Aurat March,which indicates that print media hold dominant positions in Pakistan even in this age of new media.The study also found that while the English media outlets of these groups presented moderately balanced coverage of the march,their Urdu media overwhelmingly reinforced patriarchal norms through inflammatory religious framing.English platforms legitimized the activism of women by using positive terminology such as "inspiring," "progressive," and "inclusive," while Urdu outlets employed negative and reactive framing,labeling the march as "vulgar," "un-Islamic," and "immoral."This study revealed a significant disparity between Urdu and the English media,highlighting the challenges that women’s rights movements face in gaining nuanced and legitimate coverage,particularly in language outlets.However,the analysis noted that both language versions marginalized the authentic voices of marchers.The study found that coverage spiked 10-fold in 2020 amid viral controversies and backlash regarding controversial slogans before escalating legal harassment and blasphemy allegations against march organizers and participants dominated headlines in 2021.This revealed how media discourse amplified controversies,escalating demonization narratives from 2018 to 2021 before caution prevailed by 2022.The findings of this study showed that the mainstream media coverage of the march largely aligned with patriarchal interests by amplifying the backlash and demonizing rhetoric,although English outlets provided faint counter-narratives legitimizing the feminist movement.The conflict frame was most extensively used across all outlets,comprising 45-70% of their total coverage.Meanwhile,demonization framing was more dominant in Urdu media,making up 28-58% of their total articles,but moderate at 15-33% in English outlets.Rights-based framing appeared in just 9-44% of English coverage and was largely absent from Urdu media.These findings illustrate the deep sociocultural divisions underlying media representations of women’s rights movements in Pakistan and the profound challenges facing gender justice movements in securing nuanced,inclusive coverage of rights-based grievances and agendas,particularly vernacular media.This study highlights the enduring barriers to women’s rights movements,gaining legitimizing coverage,and platforms for marginalized voices.It draws on extensive research in the field of feminist media scholarship to situate the findings within the broader context of the representation of women’s rights activism and patriarchal resistance to gender justice movements.The findings of this study highlight the enduring barriers to women’s rights movements and the need for a more progressive participatory framing of women’s dissent,as well as broader media reform to uphold democratic values of diversity,pluralism,and gender equality.This study provides crucial empirical insights and theoretical analysis for further scholarship on the media’s framing of women’s rights movements in conservative contexts.These findings have significant implications for gender and media advocates seeking to transform patriarchal norms and structures of inequality.This thesis underscores the need for reform and the adoption of progressive,participatory framing of women’s dissent to uphold the democratic values of diversity,pluralism,and gender equality.The research provides valuable insights for those interested in advancing gender equality and women’s rights and highlights the critical role of mainstream media in reflecting and shaping public narratives on these issues. |
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