Animals as Metaphors: An Analysis of Gender Representation in Pashto Proverbs

Pashto proverbs are a significant genre in the Pashto folklore and communication. The proverbs play an important role in framing the social cognition of the Pashtun community. Few past studies have been carried out on the various social aspects of Pashto proverbs. However, limited studies have been conducted on the social significance and linguistic richness of Pashto proverbs, and no studies have been directed at the gender representation of animal-based metaphors in Pashto proverbs. Therefore, this study identified the use of cultural animals as metaphors to represent gender in Pashto proverbs. Specifically, this study employed the conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) proposed and practised by Zoltan Kovecses (2010) to address the representation of genders in Pashto proverbs during interactional processes. After analysing 24 animal-based Pashto proverbs, this study concludes the existence of three categories: superior men, mediocre men, and inferior women, in the Pashtun community, represented through animals like horses, [he] donkeys and [she] donkeys. This study also confirms that Pashto proverbs can be further explored for other functions they perform in communication through modern critical approaches.