Item Details
Skip Navigation Links
   ActiveUsers:828Hits:19012708Skip Navigation Links
Show My Basket
Contact Us
IDSA Web Site
Ask Us
Today's News
HelpExpand Help
Advanced search

In Basket
  Journal Article   Journal Article
 

ID171303
Title ProperCan fun be feminist? gender, space and mobility in Lyari, Karachi
LanguageENG
AuthorKirmani, Nida
Summary / Abstract (Note)The densely populated, multi-ethnic area of Lyari in Karachi is one of the city’s original settlements. The area has become infamous as the site of an ongoing conflict between criminal gangs, political parties and law enforcement agencies for over a decade, and, for this reason, Lyari has been labelled as one of several ‘no-go areas’ in the city. However, for the residents of Lyari, the ways in which they understand their part of the city far exceed these facile labels. While at times their neighbourhoods do become fearful spaces, they are also places of comfort, familiarity and fun. This article explores the multiple ways in which women and girls experience and understand this area. In particular, it documents the various ways in which they express and experience enjoyment in their everyday lives and during exceptional moments. Based on extensive interviews and participant observation in several neighbourhoods, the research shifts attention away from solely using violence as a lens to understand urban space and away from seeing women mainly as victims of violence. Focusing on the pursuit of fun and enjoyment as an area of academic inquiry can be an important way to show how women push against and challenge patriarchal boundaries. By highlighting women’s and girls’ own creative navigations and engagements with their locality and the city, this paper brings new insights into discussions of gender and urban marginalisation more generally.
`In' analytical NoteSouth Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies Vol. 43, No.2; Apr 2020: p.319-331
Journal SourceSouth Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 2020-04 43, 2
Key WordsKarachi ;  Pakistan ;  Feminism ;  Resistance ;  Marginality ;  Gender Studies ;  Urban Violence ;  Urban Studies ;  Fun