At the limits of discourse: political talk in drag on Late Night Show with Begum Nawazish Ali

Abstract

The liberalization of the television industry in Pakistan in 2003 resulted in an explosion of new cable channels and the proliferation of news, talk and commentary programmes. Late Night Show with Begum Nawazish Ali (Aaj TV, 2005–2007), hosted by a man in drag, was one of the shows that tested the limits of this new medisphere by openly discussing topics such as homosexuality and by criticizing military rule. I argue that the significance of this programme and other like it lay in how they made social and political conversations that used to take place in the private space of the living rooms of the elite visible to a broader public thus potentially enabling participation and critique. The limits of this participation can be seen in Late Night Show's cancellation that was a strategic concession by Aaj TV in a much larger struggle between television news channels and the government over the media's role in covering political protests and violence. I conclude by showing how the norms of television talk in Pakistan are still very much in formation and are shaped by media owners' economic and political interests, audience desires, journalists search for a professional identity and government regulation.