An Analytical Study of Feminist Resistance in Pakistani Women’s Travelogues

Abstract

The concept of “resistance,” derived from Arabic, signifies the human response against oppression, coercion, injustice, and tyranny. Within feminist discourse, resistance becomes a central pillar of women’s struggle for identity, autonomy, and equality. Feminist theory views women not as passive or subordinate figures but as active, conscious, and resistant agents who challenge restrictive social norms and patriarchal structures. In Pakistani women’s travelogues, this resistance emerges through their encounters with social limitations, gender-based inequalities, cultural expectations, and power hierarchies. This study aims to conduct an analytical examination of feminist resistance as reflected in Pakistani women’s travel writing. It explores the literary representation of women’s agency, voice, and struggle, while also analyzing diverse female experiences in travel narratives related to Islamic, Western, and Asian contexts. Adopting an analytical methodology, the research draws upon selected travelogues authored by Pakistani women to assess the forms, expressions, and dimensions of resistance. Findings reveal that women articulate resistance in multiple ways through legal struggle, vocal critique of societal constraints, intellectual assertion, or resilience during conflict and crisis. These travelogues portray resistance not as an abstract idea but as a dynamic, lived, and evolving experience. The study concludes that Pakistani women travel writers present the female subject as empowered, self-aware, and resilient someone who continually asserts her identity, rights, and freedom within diverse socio-cultural settings.