A Mare Wearing a Scarlet Bridle: A Feminist Critique of Gender Based Animal Imagery in Punjabi Proverbs

Abstract

This research aims at animal imagery found in Punjabi proverbs related to gender and to reveal if it is ideologically patriarchal. Here, Punjabi proverbs with the mention of animals and gender are selected through the technique of quota purposive sampling from a collection of 8500 Punjabi proverbs Saaday Akhaan, (Our Proverbs) (Shahbaz 2004). Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (Lazar, 2007) provided the theoretical background. Furthermore, proverbs with female gender and male gender are divided into thematic categories on the base of the gender and the animals targeted. ‘Gender Relationality’ is assured by selecting the animal images related to both male and female genders. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods has been used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that 53.95% of animal-based Punjabi proverbs target females, whereas, only 1.69% of proverbs target males. Here, a higher number of proverbs present females in a face-threatening manner as compared to the one mentioning males in a face-saving and glorifying manner. Additionally, only 1 proverb (0.28%) is found that shows a comparatively soft attitude towards daughters by comparing them to sparrows. This study contends that animal imagery in Punjabi proverbs strengthens patriarchal social tendencies. These animal images do not only reflect but also promulgate gender bias. This research also suggests that linguists should pay attention to these proverbs. Further research can be done on the actual use of Punjabi proverbs to investigate how much they are still holding fast to the beliefs of perpetuating gender bias.