[11] According to Afiya S. Ziya, this cultural orthodoxy is produced and sponsored by state, the government, and its agency the ISPR as propaganda engineered to influence the public in its own pre-decided way, and censor what it considers to be unsuitable.
They mobilised support, leading to the passage of the Muslim Personal Law of Sharia in 1948, which recognised a woman's right to inherit all forms of property.
The 1961 Muslim Family Laws Ordinance covering marriage and divorce, the most important sociolegal reform to have had Feminist drive in Pakistan, is still widely regarded as empowering to women.
Jinnah later founded a secret radio station, and, in 1965, came out of her self-imposed political retirement to participate in the presidential election against military dictator Ayub Khan.
Begum Ra'na Liaquat Ali Khan helped the refugees who fled India during partition and also organised the All Pakistan Women's Association in 1949,[17] two years after the creation of her country.
These reforms replaced parts of the British-era Pakistan Penal Code, making adultery and fornication criminal offences, and introducing the punishments of whipping, amputation, and stoning to death.
They campaigned through various mediums, such as newspaper articles, art, poetry, and song[19] Since the end of General Zia's rule, Pakistan elected its first female prime minister - Benazir Bhutto.
[20] They have also produced some of the first Pakistani research and awareness-raising material on the sexual and reproductive rights of women,[21] environmental issues,[22] and citizen-based initiatives for peace between India and Pakistan.
The movement has faced some criticism for preaching Islamic rights and accepting what other secular feminist groups call the 'Islamic patriarchal structure of Pakistan'.
[27] According to Shahbaz Ahmad Cheema, the Pakistani patriarchy produces literature and art with the ultimate goal of making women accept, internalize, and promote patriarchal discourse as an ideal.
[27] S.S. Sirajuddin in the Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literature in English, expresses reservations about the availability of free space for feminism in Pakistan, and feels that the nation is still much affected by religious fervor.
Pakistani poets like Maki Kureishi, Hina Faisal Imam, Alamgir Hashmi, and Taufiq Rafat have been considered to be sensitive but restrained in their portrayal.
Womansplaining: Navigating Activism, Politics and Modernity in Pakistan is 2021 collection of feminist essays edited by Sherry Rehman consisting of essays by Hina Jilani, Khawar Mumtaz, Afiya Shehrbano Zia and others narrating the history of the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, Women's Action Forum and various legislative changes in Pakistan's history.
[31][32] Beginning in the 1930s, Ismat Chughtai wrote extensively on themes including female sexuality and femininity, middle-class gentility, and class conflict, often from a Marxist perspective.
In academic collaboration with the School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures at the University of Edinburgh, Khan is currently working on a project that examines the complexities of women residing in the red-light districts and brothel quarters in Pakistan, positioning her as a pioneer in addressing this often-taboo subject in the country.