Beyond the veil in Pakistan

Pakistan became highly visible to the West after September 11, 2001, through the many images in the media of women as veiled, submissive, and oppressed by Islam. Most analyses of women in Pakistan have failed to capture the complexity of historical, social, political, and regional factors that bear on gender relations. Through a comprehensive review of the literature and data on human development, the author presents a critical multidimensional analysis of gender issues in Pakistan, with the goal of challenging stereotypes and deepening professional knowledge of global gender issues.