Author: Alina Noor Pasha
Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between gender and crime in director Shoaib Mansoor’s work by focusing on two of his films; Khuda Kay Liye/In the name of God (2007) and Bol/Speak (2011). This study, therefore, is an exploration into the ways in which crime is presented in these films, the importance of crime in the narrative of the specific film and the ideologies that are conveyed through the portrayal of crimes such as murder, rape, prostitution and domestic violence. By applying a gender lens to the study of crime in film, this paper argues that crimes committed by women are seen as a reaction to their conditions and circumstances and questions the notions of crime being linked to specific ideas of masculinity. By drawing attention to the events that lead up to the crime being committed in these films, the characters involved in the crime and the social milieu that allows the event to occur, this paper examines whether the director is trying to convey a social message through the portrayal of women as criminals in his films.
Keywords
Crime and Gender, Morality in Film, Crime Cinema, Violence and Revenge, Gender Based Violence
