Deconstructing the Malala Effect. Gender, Race, and Religion in Transnational Contexts
Huntsman Hall, Room 350
Penn Pakistan Society Presents Dr. Shenila Khoja-Moolji, Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism; Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Program
This lecture examines the dominant ways in which the figure of Malala Yousafzai is interpreted in Western contexts, where she is primarily read as a rescused-subject. Her example is often used to mark Pakistan/Pakistanis/Muslims as backward, unsympathetic towards women and their concerns. This lecture engages in a re-reading of Malala to excavate a different genealogy of Muslims, Pakistan, and Pakistanis. Relatedly, it explores the ways in which Malala's dominant reading as victim/rescued-subject hinders the broader feminist project of structural change for/by Pakistani women.
Optional reading: Khoja-Moolji, S. (2015). Reading Malala.
Penn Pakistan Society Presents Dr. Shenila Khoja-Moolji, Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism; Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Program
This lecture examines the dominant ways in which the figure of Malala Yousafzai is interpreted in Western contexts, where she is primarily read as a rescused-subject. Her example is often used to mark Pakistan/Pakistanis/Muslims as backward, unsympathetic towards women and their concerns. This lecture engages in a re-reading of Malala to excavate a different genealogy of Muslims, Pakistan, and Pakistanis. Relatedly, it explores the ways in which Malala's dominant reading as victim/rescued-subject hinders the broader feminist project of structural change for/by Pakistani women.
Optional reading: Khoja-Moolji, S. (2015). Reading Malala.