What does feminism mean for Pakistani women? How do these meanings change, mould, detract and attract within and between generations? And how do we bridge the cracks that emerge through these varying formations? Through reflective conversations of the joys and conflicts of mother-daughter relationships, the contributions in Feminisms of Our Mothers bring forth individual experiences and interpretations of how feminisms are understood and navigated by Pakistani women, within the intergenerational context of a shared struggle.
Some of our mothers marched the streets in the 1980s, demanding the emancipation of women. Three decades later, they accompanied their daughters to Aurat March, reflecting on past formations, present collectives and feminist futures. Some of our mothers made concessions in their acceptance of traditional gender roles, forming conflictual relationships with daughters who pushed the boundaries of propriety. Some of our mothers may not refer to themselves as feminist, differing from their daughters about the significance and implications of labels. Yet, the subtleties of our mothers' adaptabilities are centered on women's empowerment. Situated amongst these subtleties are moments of consciousness and self-determination that we, as daughters, navigate through, as we limn the contours of our own feminist formations.