Violence against women in politics The case of Pakistani women's activism

This paper explores the protest claims of Pakistani women against the everyday oppression of traditional gender roles and the complex backlash they provoke as an instance of violence against women in politics. Taking the annual Aurat March (Women's March) as a focal point, I analyze the provocative placards and slogans that have gone viral in both traditional and digital media and investigate the misogynistic counter attacks launched by conservatives, men's rights advocates, and anti-feminists. Contesting narrow definitions of the political in mainstream research, I argue that Aurat March protesters and activists are women in politics and that counter-discourses, designed to delegitimize the protest and the women's issues it represents, constitute a mode of discursive violence that should be included in scholarly and activist discussions of violence against women in politics.