Virtual Manifestations of Patriarchy: Digital Experience of Pakistani Women

Introduction

The massive impact of social media on its users has drawn researchers’ attention to the phenomenon, especially in developing regions of the world (Dini & Sæbø, 2016). Developing countries with rampant poverty, gender disparities, and traditional cultures have low literacy rates and limited/slow access to the Internet (Chuang & Schechter, 2015). Nevertheless, the globalization of social media has also palpably transformed relationships and culture in these low-income countries (Chukwuere & Chukwuere, 2017). The bulk of academic research into social media in developing countries is primarily focused on its social and political use. However, social media’s impact on gender, education, health, and its economic effects in developing countries, particularly in regions with conservative cultures, requires more attention from researchers (Sultana, 2012). Research on social media use as an emerging experience is still in its infancy, although it offers significant scope for research, particularly centering on female users in their social and cultural contexts (Boulianne, 2015). This paper is an early attempt at addressing this gap by exploring women’s social media use within the cultural context of Pakistan’s patriarchal social structure.

Although social media was and still is expected to empower women, recurring incidents of online violence against women and cyber harassment in Pakistan have proven otherwise. A survey conducted by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) (2017) found that almost 70% of Pakistani women have experienced online harassment and are reluctant to post their photographs on social media (DRF, 2017) . This figure highlights the unfortunate fact that online harassment often goes unnoticed, a problem further aggravated by patriarchal cultural norms, leaving Pakistani women highly vulnerable to cyber harassment (Hassan & Unwin, 2018). Common forms of cyber harassment in Pakistan include, but are not limited to, blackmailing, non-consensual access and distribution of personal information, impersonation, defamation, threats, and gender-based bullying (DRF, 2018b). While children and minorities are also victimized online, the most conspicuous targets are women. Although, there is no available official record, according to a report published in Pakistan’s leading newspaper Dawn (2017), 45% of reported cases to police evolve around women’s complaints about electronic violence against them. The report further revealed that social media exacerbates the victimization of women in the name of honor, i.e., to preserve a family or a tribe’s honor; a women believed to be behaving “dishonorably” must receive severe punishment, which can include death. Cases in point are the murder of YouTube star Qandeel Baloch¹ and a Kohistan leaked video² showing women dancing in the presence of men—these women were later killed in the name of honor. The “domestication of technology” and “digital purdah” are both keenly observed in Pakistan (Schoemaker, 2016), where social media use follows “established gender lines,” further contributing to gender segregation in an already highly segregated society.

Pakistani women face issues online due to embedded patriarchal attitudes and norms, namely purdah (veiling) and izaat (honor). Given that in many conservative cultures, new social media penetration occurs alongside continued observance of old patriarchal traditions, it is important that social media research explores the cultural nuances of women’s digital experiences, particularly within patriarchal societies. Hence, this paper aims to explore women’s digital experience vis-à-vis patriarchal cultural influences. To the extent that purdah and izzat are highly valued within Pakistani patriarchal culture, this paper will focus on these two notions that simultaneously define family and gender relations as well as restrict women’s conduct. Thus, the current study was conducted an in-depth analysis of Pakistani women’s digital experience in the context of the country’s patriarchal society. The objective was to examine how these dominant aspects of patriarchy, purdah, and izzat, affect women’s virtual social experiences. The study contributes to the on-going debate on “online patriarchy” and social media research which revolves around women, particularly in the South Asian region.

Online Patriarchy

The term “patriarchy” originated from the Greek word “patriarkhē,” which means “chief or father of race.” The patriarchal system, therefore, means “the rule of the father.” Some scholars have also mentioned that the term “patriarchy” is a combination of two Latin words: “pater (father) and arch (rule)” (Ademiluka, 2018). Patriarchy as a system gives a supreme and advantageous position to the father or male and a subordinated role to females. Although women are working on a par with men in all fields of life, the patriarchal system creates obstacles in their way to progress (Sultana, 2012).

Pakistan is a patriarchal society with men dominant and women subordinated (Chauhan, 2016). Similar social patriarchal norms exist in online communities with men pre-eminent and women in a vulnerable situation. In Pakistan, various barriers hamper the use of social media among women, with patriarchal forces being the strongest of all the factors which restrict women’s socialization and communication.

Most of the studies conducted to date have described Internet and social media use among females as a “futile” activity (Nowacka & Estelle, 2015; Hicks et al., 2012). According to them, women mostly indulge in online shopping, sharing of photos and cross-commenting rather than doing something productive. The positive elements and the positive outcomes, however, have been overlooked in these studies. It is important to recognize that in a culturally restricted society, women find respite in the Internet and social media platforms (Dayal & Chaudhry, 2017), a way to develop their online identities, and a means to challenge sexist cultural orientations (Mendes, Ringrose, & Keller, 2018). The “online patriarchy,” however, is a perpetual hurdle for women in the digital world (Murtiningsih, Advenita, & Ikom, 2017), and this predominant aspect of social media also promotes hegemonic and traditional power relations (Demirhan & Çakir-Demirhan, 2015).

A recent example of online patriarchy can be clearly observed when a women’s march turned online spaces into virtual war zones. The Aurat March was organized by women activists to celebrate International Women’s Day in Pakistan in 2018 and 2019. The marches were held in the metropolises of Pakistan where thousands of women from all walks of life joined in and raised voices for their fundamental rights. They held posters with different slogans calling for an end to gender discrimination, the provision of equality at the national level, and an acceptance of shared responsibilities at the domestic level. The activity provoked a negative reaction in the country and male members of society opposed it with sexist comments on social media and termed it as Mard (men) March. A Facebook page, “FHM Pakistan” was created, which posted pictures of men carrying placards with messages like “Ladies First, gents first kab ayega?” (Ladies First, when will we have Men First?), and “Moza choro, dupatta dhundo” (Quit the sock, find your scarf). A clear tide of hatred started pouring in against women on social media and their slogans were mocked by men. Various statements made by women were strongly criticized by men and a few female participants in the activity also received death threats (Daily Dawn, 2019), a development that cannot be ignored in a country like Pakistan which the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security Index (2017) has identified as the fourth most unsafe country for women. The march conducted on Women’s Day was a peaceful demonstration for equality, but it was followed by great turmoil. Men filed court cases against this march. It was also criticized by celebrities and intellectuals, who described it as being against Pakistan’s culture and traditions.

In Pakistan’s traditional patriarchal society, as mentioned earlier, women are controlled by two notions: purdah (veiling) and izzat (honor) (Roomi & Parrott, 2008). Purdah is meant to segregate and exclude women from social activities (Papanek, 1973), while izzat is supposedly gained and maintained through women’s chastity and good reputation (Gull Tarar & Pulla, 2014).

In line with the debate focusing on social affordances, researchers have extended their work to culture and gender (Vatrapu, 2009), revealing that online social interaction is determined by culture and that communication practices are suggested by gender (Ellison, Vitak, Gray, & Lampe, 2014). In traditionally patriarchal societies in particular, women’s social interactions and communication practices (offline and online) are defined by cultural forces. The offline culture is exhibited in online spaces and similar social practices and behaviors are followed in the virtual world. Consequently, the patriarchal culture and gender inequalities create more challenges for women in accessing technologies and result in a strongly negative online experience. The fact that women represent only a small minority (27%) of Internet users in Pakistan reflects the cultural attitude toward women’s use of new media technologies. The conceptual model below represents women’s online experience of patriarchy, with various factors resulting in women’s online victimization. The literature has revealed numerous reasons for this victimization; however, the current study, grounded in a social media affordance approach, explores the real-life interactions of women with social media in the patriarchal culture of Pakistan.

Figure 1.

Conceptual Model of Online Patriarchy

Purdah (Veiling)

Purdah (veiling), the covering of a woman’s head, face, and body, is associated with Islam; however, these practices can also be traced back to pre-Islamic eras and therefore do not hold exclusively religious connotations. The veil was considered as a symbol of status and was treated as way of distinguishing respectable women from the rest (Slininger, 2014). Islam emphasized the covering of the head and body and advised both men and women to keep their eyes down, which is the real purdah. However, culturally, the veil is associated with a physical covering of the face and is only associated with women in order to exclude them from social dynamics (Papanek, 1973). In South Asian countries, purdah is an important feature of the social system to limit the interaction between men and women and to restrict women’s socio-economic mobility outside the sphere of the home. This physical segregation of women excludes them from social, economic, and political activities and tries to confirm their second-class status (Yusuf, 2014).

The purdah system functions as an institution in Pakistan to govern the lives of women. The regime of Zia-ul-Haq (1977–1988) imposed “Islamization” in Pakistan, which added more severity to women’s lives. He banned the participation of women in public gatherings on the basis of purdah. The ideology of purdah resulted in restrictions on women’s mobility, socialization, education, and workforce participation.

Two forms of purdah are practiced in Pakistan: one that is operational in the segregation of sexes and a second that is intrinsically ingrained in social attitudes to control the lives of women (Haque, 2010). The social and cultural disparities faced by Pakistani women are quite evident in their everyday lives. The rule of purdah has, in fact, deprived women of their basic rights to education, health, and employment (W. Ahmad et al., 2012). This purdah is not really practiced as a religious belief but is tied to concepts of honor, chastity, and family respect. The extreme extent to which the norms of purdah are followed for the honor of the family restricts the mobility and freedom of women and adversely influences their education and employment opportunities.

The system of purdah in Pakistan varies with regional and cultural values. Norms, values, and attitudes toward women are culture-specific in each province of Pakistan. Pakhtoon in KPK Province and Baloch from Baluchistan area are more conservative and observe a strict form of purdah in which women are supposed to cover the whole body and face with a burqa. Another division in the implementation of purdah in Pakistan can be seen between rural and urban settings. In rural areas, the molvi (religious scholar) enjoys the supreme power. He confines women to domestic chores, curbing their freedom and denying them their basic rights, teachings that are blindly followed by the men of the communities (Zubair, 2016). This culturally imposed and socially defined system hampers the inclusion of women in national growth and development.

Izzat (Honor)

The notion of izzat (honor) is also gendered in the sub-continent’s male-oriented culture (Vishwanath & Palakonda, 2011) and women are a repository of izzat for the family. In regions with traditional patriarchal cultural traditions, honor is always associated with men and shame belongs to women. To safeguard the prestigious status of men in society, women are controlled by men to ensure the protection of their sexual purity, their modesty, and their obedience to men. Since the concept of patriarchy is based on an imbalance of power in society, man uses his power to rein in woman. The culture subtly dictates that daughters behave like “good” girls. They are trained in household chores and expected to be “good” wives in the future. This expected behavior psychologically prepares a girl to maintain the izzat of the family, specifically the izzat of her father and brothers, and afterward that of her husband and sons.

The concept of izzat specifically allied with modesty and the sexual purity of women indicates the subordinated role of women. The patriarchal rules expect women to preserve their virginity, marry according to family wishes, only give birth to sons, and remain obedient to their men. All these commandments are meant to maintain the izzat of the family. Disobeying such cultural codes can result in “honor killing”. Honor killing justifies the murder of a woman due to her disobeying family norms and is a crime that usually goes unpunished.

Although Pakistan is a Muslim country, it follows the South Asian patriarchal culture. The ideology of izzat in Pakistan means that a woman as a daughter, sister, wife, or mother is controlled by her father, brother, husband, and son as the custodians of her honor. Socializing by women outside the home, particularly with men, is not tolerated, and attempts by women to seek such freedom are considered disrespectful of family honor.

Methodology

The present study adopted a qualitative in-depth interview methodology to explore formulated research questions. The interview method was appropriate to the aim of the study, which was to examine women’s actual use, experience, and perception of social media, which cannot be otherwise documented with observations and instruments. The study sample comprised seven Pakistani females selected through purposive sampling. The selection criteria were based on their daily use of social media (at least three hours per day). All research participants were Ph.D. scholars at the University of Malaya (Malaysia) and aged between 27 and 35. They had completed 18 years of education and were pursuing careers as university lecturers. All the participants were from the province of Punjab in Pakistan and belonged to the upper-middle class. Only one of these participants was unmarried.

Before a semi-structured interview, basic background information about the participants was collected, which included age, the field of study, duration of social media use, and number of SNSs, for its significance in identifying themes. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews lasted for 45 to 60 minutes with each participant. Since the participants were highly educated and spoke good English, the interviews were mostly in English. However, a few variations occurred in the language used when the participants felt more comfortable explaining their feelings and experiences in their native language—Urdu. To avoid prejudice in translation, the participants were encouraged to express themselves in English. Each interview was recorded on an audio device and these recordings were then transcribed by the researcher. Each transcribed interview was mailed to the respondent for checking to ensure accuracy.

The participants were generally asked the following questions:

• 1. How do you present yourself on social media?
• 2. What are the advantages of social media for females in Pakistan?
• 3. What are the factors that influence your social media use?
• 4. Do you feel free or restricted in posting items on social media?

Each notable issue, event, and incident that occurred during the interview was recorded in a notebook. Participants’ reactions, expressions, and emotions were also recorded in note book. The first author, who is an Urdu-speaking woman from Pakistan and pursuing her Ph.D. in the same university, conducted the interviews. This in-group attribute of the first author positively contributed to rapport-building and understanding of cultural references.

The researcher thoroughly explained the purpose of the study and assured the participants of the confidentiality of their identities. All seven interviews were conducted individually as per the availability of the participants. These interviews were recorded and later transcribed. Each interview was analyzed line by line, and at the first stage, significant information was coded. At the second stage, both the first and second researchers identified the themes by grouping the codes together.

At the first step, the primary researcher used bracketing to highlight and identify interview extracts related to social media use and harassment within the participants’ patriarchal culture without mentioning her personal perspective or applying her judgment. Extracts with the same meanings and codes were grouped and then data were reviewed for recurring themes and categories. Finally, two main themes, each with sub-themes, were analyzed.

Findings

The participants shared their perceptions, uses, and real-life experiences of social media. Social media is widely used for socialization and communication purposes, and the experience varies from participant to participant. A few participants shared as to how their social media use is dictated by family, mainly by the husband. As members of a male-dominated society, all of them follow “social norms” while using social media. Overall, all the participants observed the patriarchal cultural values, trying to avoid exposure and self-presentation by not posting anything which might become an issue for themselves and their families. The social structure, family norms, and marital relations directly influence Internet usage patterns. The rules, not directly communicated but defined in society, are a must for women to follow. For example, a participant stated: “being women, we have to follow some rules in Pakistan how society or family expects us to behave, we have to follow⋯ if we don’t follow, we are not considered good women.” While sharing personal experience, another participant said that that “being expressive in Pakistan is not tolerated and it becomes more dangerous if a woman raises [her] voice for her right[s]”. In-depth analysis of data revealed the two themes and eight sub-themes.

Figure 2.

Theme Map

Discussion and Conclusion

This study recorded the digital experiences of females and the influence of cultural notions of purdah and izzat on their online practices. Grounded in the concept of social affordances, the findings suggest that online interactions are highly reflective of dominant traditional values and culture. The interviews revealed that offline culture (patriarchy) influences online culture and practices, and this constitutes an online patriarchal environment. The study concluded that the use of social media and the socio-cultural context are mutually shaped and interrelated. The researchers keenly observed during the interview how participants make everyday choices in posting and sharing online and how the women’s narrative manifested the strict observation of digital purdah and the maintenance of izzat on social media. The study also exposes a growing digital inequality in relation to culture and gender in a conservative developing country. The accounts of participants from within a patriarchal social structure reaffirm that despite a technology revolution and globalization, which created the “information society and knowledge economy,” there is a need to address the culture of conservative societies and gender relations while assessing the benefits offered by technologies (Selwyn & Facer, 2009).

Because most research concerning social media is conducted in Western countries, studies related to its use in collectivist cultures are limited (Peters, Winschiers-Theophilus, & Mennecke, 2015). Although new media technologies have removed geographical barriers, gender “barriers” still exist in the form of attitudes and practices, specifically in developing countries (Antonio & Tuffley, 2014). Paradoxically, the “digital society” borrows offline cultural values and rules for women’s online interactions and experiences. In collectivist patriarchal cultures, women are considered as the custodians of their families’ honor (A. Ahmad & Nawaz Anwar, 2018); so their social media use is not only limited but also quite restrictive. The current study was conducted in a non-Western culture (Pakistan) where the two concepts of purdah and izzat are deep-rooted in a male-oriented society in which a woman’s worth is centered around her role as the family’s “repository of honor” (Vishwanath & Palakonda, 2011). The use of social media is more “sensitive” where women not only have to compete in the digital world but at the same time have to follow the cultural obligation of safeguarding family honor through purdah.

Four out of every five women reside in developing countries (Hilbert, 2011), and along with other severe discriminatory behaviors and practices, they also lack the digital skills that could otherwise help them explore their potential (Chadwick, Wesson, & Fullwood, 2013). This study also observed that women’s lack of knowledge regarding security settings and technical skills to ensure protection and privacy constitutes a loophole exposing them to online harassment. The online patriarchal attitude forbids women from being expressive on controversial issues and reinforces the suppression of women. A few dare to raise their voices but do not reveal their identities while expressing their views. The traditional forces control the online spaces, which claim to be open for all. The culture clearly defines “feminine and masculine” online behavior (Dueñas-Cid, Pontón-Merino, Belzunegui-Eraso, & Pastor-Gosálbez, 2016), and the current study has tried to expose the digital experience of women in such settings.

The cultural gender segregation is evident in the findings and highlights the digital gender divide in Pakistan. So far, in collectivist and patriarchal societies, social media have not been successful in bridging gender differences and bringing about desired societal changes specifically related to gender. Although women are using social media, their online behavior manifests traditional norms and values. Women in Pakistan are facing challenges from all walks of life. One of these challenges is to establish their online identity, which is emphatically undermined and defined by patriarchal forces. The isolation and exclusion of women (offline and online) in the name of izzat and purdah deprives them of the opportunity to realize their needs for self-expression. The presence of an “online patriarchy” (Murtiningsih et al., 2017) and “hegemonic and traditional power relations” (Demirhan & Çakir-Demirhan, 2015) in online cultures is clearly evident in Pakistan. Digital purdah and izzat restrict the online socialization and mobility of women, but more importantly, they increase gender segregation, excluding women from public and private domains and further reinforcing the “online patriarchy.” Social media affordances are not, and in fact cannot be, equal for both males and females, as the culture has defined their roles and powers. Social media may disseminate equal information regardless of geographical barriers, but it is the cultural filters that decide access to and the uses of that information.

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