An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Areo Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers: A Corpus-Based Discourse Study

Abstract

This research examines women's rights framing within Pakistani Englishnewspapers with a focus on how the media shapes popular perception and social norms. While the media can work to further gender equality, it tends to offer one-sided and sometimes contradictorydepictions of women's rights based on cultural, political, and ideological variables. Past studies have had the tendency of studying English media in isolation, overlooking a dedicated examination of English- language newspapers in Pakistan. This study rectifies this by drawing on an integrated model of analysis that combines Goffman’s micro-level framing theory and Entman’s macro-level framing framework. Drawing on corpus-based discours  analysis, the study examines the linguistic and rhetorical strategies of framing women's rights, with a view to identif ing the cultural and ideological constituents that influence these narratives. This study shows that there are different framing patterns employed in Pakistani English dailies, echoing wider society-based divisions. This study makes a contribution to media and gender studies by providing a better understanding of how women’s rights are framed within the English-language media and generates practical recommendations for policymakers and activists seeking to pr mote more balanced and inclusive portrayals of women's rights. This rese rch highlights the role of media framing in generating social awareness and promoting gender equality interventions.