I am, therefore, we are: A narrative inquiry into the stories of experience of three women teachers of Balochistan and the northern areas of Pakistan

摘要

In Pakistan, recent and dramatic shifts in the economic, political, and social contexts of teachers' lives have significantly affected their personal and professional horizons. These teachers, in turn, are now in a position to extend and expand these horizons. My research, entitled, I Am, Therefore, We Are: A Narrative inquiry into the Stories of Experience of Three Women Teachers of Balochistan and Northern Pakistan, deals with the stories of experience of three remarkable Pakistani women teachers: Dr. Naghmana Ansari, Shahida Sultan Shah, and Shama Ali.;What they have in common is their heroic struggle to acquire an education and to earn higher degrees, which they achieved only through great personal sacrifice and despite improbable odds. Narrating their unique stories; showing how their lives have been shaped by Pakistan's geographical, historical, economic, political, and social legacy; describing the significance that Karachi, Balochistan, and the Northern Areas (the three research sites) have held for the women; and, finally, interpreting their stories within the frameworks of narrative inquiry, on the one hand, and feminist theory and praxis, on the other (the 'interpenetration' of which has resulted in the formulation of a new concept, "narrative feminism"), constitute the four major aims of this thesis.