Gendered Contentious Politics: Examining Women’s Protest against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in Karachi Port Fishing Communities, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18415/41bjrx47Keywords:
Contentious Politics; Women’s Collective Action; Fishing Communities; Karachi Port; China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); Gender; Protest MobilizationAbstract
What conditions lead women from Karachi Port's fishing communities to participate in protest? Although a substantial body of research has examined China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Karachi Port, comparatively little attention has been paid to women’s mobilization and protests. Drawing on the framework of contentious politics, the present study examines women's perceptions and lived experiences of large- scale development and how communities, and especially women, organize collectively in response to these developments. The findings suggest that women's experiences remain insufficiently documented while they support local fishing communities and the surrounding economy through multiple forms of work and have also been adversely affected by the sector's recent decline. Women frequently take leading positions in fisher-folk protests and and their presence can help reduce the likelihood of violent escalation. Overall, the research extends the wider scholarship on CPEC and Karachi Port by focusing on the experiences of women of the fishing communities of Karachi Port.
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