In South Asian developing nations, the predominant socio-cultural tendency for male dominanceimpairs women’s circumstances. Women face numerous challenges related to identity formation andgender-based discrimination under patriarchal hegemony. Pakistani society preserves deeplyingrained patriarchal traditions where women’s identities are frequently defined through theirrelationships with men, rendering them constrained, voiceless and marginalized position. However,the awakening of feminist consciousness has brought significant changes in Pakistan concerningwomen’s rights and social status, although the progress remains minimal in comparison to the West.Furthermore, feminist organizations such as the All-Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA) havepaved pathways for downtrodden women to reclaim their identity and contest patriarchal advances inall spheres of life. Notable contemporary female writers in Pakistani Fiction, including Bapsi Sidhwa,Sara Suleri, Kamila Shamsie, Qaisra Shahraz, Kishwar Naheed, Feryal Ali Gauhar, etc., have initiated afeminist stream in the last few decades. These writers advocate for women’s agency, with an emphasison proactive engagement rather than passive acceptance. This paper examines the feminist struggle foridentity and resistance against various predominant socio-economic factors that support patriarchalideology within urban, educated communities of contemporary Pakistan as depicted in the novel,Trespassing by Uzma Aslam Khan. Moreover, this paper aims to expose how selective modernizationprimarily benefits male-dominated sectors and leadership structures while deliberately maintainingtraditional gender hierarchies and excluding women from key opportunities.
Wahida Firdous (Sat,) studied this question.