A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF GENDER REPRESENTATION IN THE PAKISTANI DRAMA SERIAL DR. BAHU (2026)

Abstract

This study examines the discursive construction of gender identities, gender roles, and patriarchal ideologies in the contemporary Pakistani television drama Dr. Bahu (2026) through Norman Fairclough's Three-Dimensional Model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Employing a qualitative research design, the study analyses purposively selected dialogues from the drama to investigate how language constructs, reproduces, negotiates, and transforms gendered power relations within familial and professional contexts. The findings reveal that Dr. Bahu constructs professional femininity through education, competence, ethical responsibility, resilience, and agency while simultaneously portraying the challenges women face in balancing professional aspirations with traditional family expectations. The analysis further demonstrates that patriarchal authority is reproduced through everyday family discourse, cultural norms, and gendered expectations, yet these dominant ideologies are continuously negotiated through female agency, professional identity, and dialogic interaction. Moreover, the drama reconstructs masculinity by moving from hierarchical authority towards partnership, empathy, and shared responsibility, ultimately promoting more egalitarian gender relations. The study concludes that Dr. Bahu functions as a significant contemporary cultural text that reflects and shapes evolving perceptions of gender, power, and family relationships in Pakistani society. It also confirms the effectiveness of Fairclough's Three-Dimensional Model in revealing the complex relationship between discourse, ideology, and social change in media texts. The study contributes to the growing scholarship on Critical Discourse Analysis, gender representation, and Pakistani television discourse by providing a discourse-oriented examination of a recent and underexplored television drama.