Am I a temptress or a guardian? The discourse of securitization and girls’ education in a religiously-driven-postcolonial-security state of Pakistan

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper explores the intricate relationships between security, gender, and education by examining the construction of girls’ education within the security-centric state of Pakistan. Utilizing a Foucauldian qualitative methodology, the study conducted power elite interviews with officials from the army, religious scholars, bureaucrats, educationists, and third-sector representatives. The findings reveal that Pakistan’s status as a security state directly influences girls’ education, aligning it with the country’s security imperatives. This alignment generates a dual discourse: visible discourses that advocate for girls’ education and invisible discourses, such as gendered hypocrisy, that undermine it. By employing theoretical hybridization – integrating International Relations, education, Feminism, and Foucauldian discourse analysis – the paper offers a nuanced view of how security dynamics influence gendered educational practices. Furthermore, recognizing that studying a postcolonial subject requires the inclusion of indigenous and non-Western academic voices, theoretical hybridization is utilized to incorporate these perspectives effectively.