Article Details
  • Published Online:
    September  2025
  • Product Name:
    The IUP Journal of English Studies
  • Product Type:
    Article
  • Product Code:
    IJES010925
  • DOI:
    10.71329/IUPJES/2025.20.3.5-14
  • Author Name:
    R Mohammed Anish* and J Michael Raj
  • Availability:
    YES
  • Subject/Domain:
    Arts and Humanities
  • Download Format:
    PDF
  • Pages:
    5-14
Volume 20, Issue 3, July-September 2025
‘On [Your Marriage] Depends My Honor’: A Study of Patriarchal Power Politics and Honor Killing with Reference to Bapsi Sidhwa’s The Pakistani Bride
Abstract

Femicide in the name of “honor” is a cultural phenomenon prevalent in all communities. This issue is the outcome of patriarchal power politics that makes women custodians of family honor. Recent data indicates that Pakistan has the highest rate of gender-based honor killings among countries. This paper examines the psychological and cultural elements of the patriarchal power politics that victimizes women in the name of family honor, with reference to Bapsi Sidhwa’s novel The Pakistani Bride.

Introduction

A subset of the intricate and global epidemic of “honor killing” is interfamilial femicide perpetrated in the guise of “family honor” (Faqir, 2001). Most of the time, these kinds of gender-related homicides tend not to be isolated incidents that arise instantly and unexpectedly; instead, these instances often represent the ultimate act in a continuum of gender-based violence and discrimination against women (Jiwani, 2014, p. 122).