Configuring Power and Patriarchy in Pakistani Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Gender in the Drama Baaghi (2017)

Abstract

By using Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory, this research paper examines Baaghi (2017), a Pakistani drama's adaptation of Qandeel Baloch's life story on television. Close analysis of critical scenes from Baaghi demonstrates how patriarchal stereotypes both evolve and persist across Fouzia's storylines for early marriage refusal through her celebrity and media fame and her family's rejection to her death. The research performs textual and discursive investigation to demonstrate how Fouzia battles against deeply established cultural rules which dictate female submission and honor practices in Pakistani society. The drama displays visual practices that objectify Fouzia by restaging the voyeuristic conditions which Mulvey identifies with visual culture and suffering. Through her legendary structure Fouzia depicted an advanced conflict between women's rebellion and the patriarchal focus on female audience until her fatal end symbolizing cultural disputes about women's exposure. The research applies Fouzia's character to demonstrate how she simultaneously stands as an empowered figure and illustrates standard cautionary examples of women resistant to gender norms in traditional societies.