Abstract
Episodes of ideological concern related to honour norms and construction of social meanings depicted through paintings are pertinent in foregrounding the social realities of Pakistan. This paper analyzes the grammar of paintings from the perspective of gender roles assumed in the context of honour. The grammar of the visual design of five paintings painted by male and female Pakistani painters belonging to different areas of Pakistan have been qualitatively studied in the light of the social semiotic framework suggested by Kress and Leeuwen (2006). The results show that women are represented as helpless, outcast and oppressed beings; while men have been depicted, indirectly through signs, as oppressors. Paucity of research in this area and implications of the analysis for gender studies, anthropological linguistics, violence studies and visual literacy, make it a significant contribution to the existing literature.
Highlights
Background to the studyHonour killing is a premeditated murder of a man or a woman either or allegedly involved in adultery or an inappropriate relationship, carried out to restore honour, not just for an individual but for a collective group (Dyer, 2015; Wikan, 2008; Pahor et al, 2016)
The study looks at three specific areas, how genders are represented, how social structures gain meaning on being painted, and how power dynamics and cultural ideologies work in socalled traditional or patriarchal societies. Keeping this background in view, the present study focuses on the ideological concerns behind the representation of Pakistani men and women as oppressors and oppressed, dominant and submissive, hyper-masculine or hyper-feminine in paintings on honour killing (Sun 2017, p. 2627)
An analysis of the visual grammar of honour killing in Pakistani paintings reveals that the paintings, as perspectival offer images, condemn honour killing, draw attention of the viewers to the plight of Pakistani women and inspire them to take steps to emancipate them
Summary
Background to the studyHonour killing is a premeditated murder of a man or a woman either or allegedly involved in adultery or an inappropriate relationship, carried out to restore honour, not just for an individual but for a collective group (Dyer, 2015; Wikan, 2008; Pahor et al, 2016). When family honour is vested in a woman‟s behaviour, appearance, and sexuality, her life is threatened by unknown perils This equation turns into a lethal weapon when used in a system where violence is employed as patriarchal backlash, if a woman is perceived to have committed dishonorable acts “Restoring the family‟s honor, washing away the shame is seen as a social responsibility and the right of the insulted groups, the family and relatives” (Raza & Liaqat 2016, p.1). In this context, honour is a culturally specific patriarchal tool used to control female sexuality A person‟s honour is believed to be a sacred value, its loss being equated with the loss of life (Doğan 2016, p. 55)
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