An Analysis of How Women's Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers: A Corpus-Based Discourse Study

Linguistic Forum Published by MARS Publishers Published by Licensee MARS Publishers. Copyright: © the author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers: A Corpus - Correspondence: Nosheen Akhter < [email protected] Dr. Syed Kazim Shah < [email protected]> Received: October 30, 202x Abstract This research examines women's rights framing within Pakistani English newspapers with a focus on how the media shapes popular perception and social norms. While the media can work to further gender equality, it tends to offer one women's rights based on cultural, political, and ideological variables. Past studies have had the tendency of studying English media in isolation, overlooking a dedicated examination of English language newspapers in Pakistan. This s analysis that combines Goffman’s micro framework. Drawing on corpusbased discourse analysis, the study examines the linguistic and rhetorical st rategies of framing women's rights, with a view to identifying the cultural and ideological constituents that influence these narratives. Th framing patterns employed in Pakistani English dailies, echoing wider society study makes a contribution to media and gender studies by providing a better understanding of how women’s rights are framed within the English recommendations for policymakers and activists seek ISSN (Online) 2707 Volume http://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo. Published by Licensee MARS Publishers. Copyright: © the author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers: A - Based Discourse Study Research Article [email protected] > PhD Scholar, Department of Linguistics, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Dr. Syed Kazim Shah [email protected]> Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Publication Details Accepted: November 28, 202x Published: This research examines women's rights framing within Pakistani English newspapers with a focus on how the media shapes popular perception and social norms. While the media can work to further gender equality, it tends to offer one -sided and sometimes contr adictory depictions of women's rights based on cultural, political, and ideological variables. Past studies have had the tendency of studying English media in isolation, overlooking a dedicated examination of English language newspapers in Pakistan. This s tudy rectifies this by drawing on an integrated model of analysis that combines Goffman’s micro - level framing theory and Entman’s macro based discourse analysis, the study examines the linguistic and rategies of framing women's rights, with a view to identifying the cultural and ideological constituents that influence these narratives. Th is study shows that there are different framing patterns employed in Pakistani English dailies, echoing wider society - based divisions. This study makes a contribution to media and gender studies by providing a better understanding of how women’s rights are framed within the English - language media and generates practical recommendations for policymakers and activists seek ing to promote more balanced and inclusive ISSN (Online) 2707 -5273 Volume 6, Issue 4, 2024 10.5281/zenodo. 17768308 Pages 60-78 Published by Licensee MARS Publishers. Copyright: © the author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers: A Based Discourse Study Department of Applied Linguistics, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, Government College University Punjab, Pakistan. Published: December 30, 202x This research examines women's rights framing within Pakistani English newspapers with a focus on how the media shapes popular perception and social norms. While the media can work to adictory depictions of women's rights based on cultural, political, and ideological variables. Past studies have had the tendency of studying English media in isolation, overlooking a dedicated examination of English - tudy rectifies this by drawing on an integrated model of level framing theory and Entman’s macro -level framing based discourse analysis, the study examines the linguistic and rategies of framing women's rights, with a view to identifying the cultural and study shows that there are different based divisions. This study makes a contribution to media and gender studies by providing a better understanding of language media and generates practical ing to promote more balanced and inclusive An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 61 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 portrayals of women's rights. This research highlights the role of media framing in generating social awareness and promoting gender equality interventions. Keywords: women’s rights, Pakistani Print media, corpus-based study, discourse analysis, framing 1. Introduction 1.1 Background and Context 1.1.1 Importance of Women’s Rights Discourse in Pakistan Women's rights in Pakistan continue to be a pivotal concern, intricately intertwined with the country's social, cultural, and economic order (Narlı et al., 2019; Asghar & Akhter, 2022). Although progress has been made in some areas, gender inequality is a reality, where women continue to experience obstacles of restricted access to education, gender-based violence, and social expectations that uphold patriarchal norms (Noureen, 2024; Thomas & Shukul, 2016). The cases of honor killings, child marriages, and workplace discriminatory practices also highlight the compelling need to discuss women's rights in Pakistan (Prendergast & Quinn, 2020). Media, as a powerful forum, contributes to shaping both popular opinion and discussion regarding these salient issues, but its coverage does also differ based on the newspaper or media outlet as well as the audience it caters to. 1.1.2 Media’s Role in Shaping Public Opinion and Societal Norms The media are pivotal in influencing societal attitudes, especially on gender matters, by shaping public opinion and defining societal norms (Kigula, 2024; Khalil & Shafiq, 2021). Newspapers, being significant information carriers, are powerful in defining narratives about women's rights and can reach broad and diverse audiences (Oh et al., 2020; Musa & Waseem, 2015). Specifically, editorial pages are a central battleground for expressing and influencing the ideological positions of media. Editorials not only play a major role in shaping public opinion but also help frame policy discussions. In Pakistan's pluralistic media culture, English-language newspapers constitute a unique audience, frequently holding divergent political, social, and cultural ideologies than their Urdu equivalents (Adewunmi & Aleshinloye, 2024). The representation of women's rights in the newspapers, thus, captures the particular linguistic and ideological fault lines within the wider society. 1.2 Research Problem 1.2.1 Inconsistent and Biased Framing of Women’s Rights in Pakistani English Newspapers While media can contribute to gender equality, women's rights in Pakistani English newspapers are usually characterized by bias and inconsistency (Asghar & Akhter, 2022). Editorials might present these themes through conceptual frames such as victimhood, moral conservatism, or empowerment, determined by larger cultural and political ideologies (Noureen, 2024; Narlı et al., 2019). This inconsistency prevents a unified discourse on women's rights, reinforcing stereotypes and inhibiting healthy discourse (Thomas & Shukul, 2016). The power of these biased frames is not merely within the media, but also influences the general societal attitudes towards gender equality. An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 62 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 1.2.2 Lack of Comprehensive Analytical Models to Study Framing in Multilingual Contexts Past studies on media framing in Pakistan generally cover English or Urdu media only, with little use of comparative or multilingual approaches (Noureen, 2024; Kigula, 2024). Moreover, theories used in past studies do not often embed the different levels of framing and ignore the dynamic relationship between micro-level framing devices and macro-level functions (Oh et al., 2020). This analytical gap requires a more integrated method of study of media framing, particularly in the case of multilingual societies such as Pakistan, where framing an issue like women's rights can vary significantly from one linguistic group to another. 1.3 Research Objectives This study aims to: 1. Identify the predominant framing strategies used in English editorials on women’s rights in Pakistani newspapers. 2. Propose an integrated framing model that merges Goffman’s micro-level framing theory with Entman’s macro-level framing model to better explain the framing strategies in English-language media. 3. Investigate the cultural and ideological factors influencing how women’s rights are framed in Pakistani English newspapers. 1.4 Research Questions The key research questions addressed in this study are: 1. What are the predominant framing strategies used in English-language editorials on women’s rights in Pakistani newspapers? 2. How can an integrated framing model better explain these framing strategies? 3. What cultural and ideological factors influence the framing of women’s rights in Pakistani English newspapers? 1.5 Significance of the Study This study advances the discipline of media and gender research by proposing an integrated analytical model that bridges micro and macro framing approaches (Thomas & Shukul, 2016; Asghar & Akhter, 2022). Through its application to corpus-based analysis of English-language Pakistani newspaper editorials, the research yields new understanding of the framing of women's rights narratives in the Pakistani media. The results carry important implications for gender advocates, policymakers, and media practitioners (Khalil & Shafiq, 2021; Narlı et al., 2019). Knowledge of the framing strategies and the cultural dynamics involved in English-language media can inform attempts to enable more balanced and inclusive accounts, raising societal awareness and affirming gender equality policy (Adewunmi & Aleshinloye, 2024; Kigula, 2024). An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 63 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 2. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction to Framing and Discourse Analysis in Media Studies In media research, "framing" is how the media frames an issue by deciding which aspects of a story to report on and which to leave out. This helps the audience comprehend an issue in some way (Entman, 1993). For instance, when the media speaks about women's rights, it may speak about them in terms of some aspects such as women's victimhood or empowerment. The manner in which these frames are presented shapes the way individuals perceive and feel about the issue. Discourse analysis, especially Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), examines how language in the media represents and constitutes social attitudes. The language in the media does not merely represent reality but actually constructs the way the world is perceived, says Fairclough (1995). Thus, media can reinforce or counter the prevalent power relationships in society. In the case of women's rights, framing in the media will reinforce the traditional gender roles, or it will subvert them by portraying women as independent and strong. Feminist Media Theory (FMT) also is concerned with the way women are most frequently represented in stereotypical roles, such as being victimized, instead of demonstrating their accomplishments or leadership (Mendes, 2011). In societies such as Pakistan, where political and cultural influences have a large part to play in media messages, these frames are particularly critical in the consideration of how women's rights are presented. Moreover, it is informative to consider how Pakistani media frames women's rights globally. While international media tends to depict women's rights as a common global concern, Pakistani media oscillates between conservative local perceptions and international demands for gender equality. Through a comparison of how gender concerns are framed in Pakistan and globally, we are able to observe how ideas in the world shape or challenge local presentations of women (Thomas & Shukul, 2016). 2.2 Theoretical Frameworks and Key Concepts 2.2.1 Framing Theory Framing Theory, developed by Goffman (1974), discusses how the media frame some elements of an issue and omit others. The frames assist the audience in comprehending a subject and determining their opinions. Frames, Goffman explained, function as "interpretative schemata," which define the manner in which individuals comprehend intricate issues (Goffman, 1974). For instance, when the media reports on women's rights, frames may emphasize issues such as gender violence or inequality at the workplace, shaping the public's interpretation of the matter. Entman (1993) extended Goffman's theory to state that framing determines the problem, illustrates the causes, and posits solutions. This theory is highly applicable in examining the construction of women's rights by the media and the influence it has on public opinion, particularly in Pakistan, where media generally reports about women's issues in a manner that either supports or subverts conventional gender roles. An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 64 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 2.2.2 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is an approach applied to research the language of media and how it indexes power relationships in society. According to Fairclough (1995), language in media not only reflects reality, but also actually constructs the way we think and what we believe. CDA enables us to analyze the way the language of media can reaffirm or challenge norms of society. For instance, media may employ discourse where women are described as weak or victimized, reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes. For Pakistani English newspapers, CDA is able to demonstrate how language use reinforces or subverts gender biases (Mowri & Bailey, 2022). 2.2.3 Feminist Theory in Media Studies Feminist Media Theory (FMT) examines the way media portrays women and their roles in society. FMT contends that media tends to marginalize women by describing them in terms of their body or presenting them as victims, instead of depicting them as active actors with power and accomplishments (Mendes, 2011). FMT is crucial in Pakistan to understand the way women are represented in the media, particularly in the light of local cultural and societal norms. Media has the power to reinforce these traditional roles or subvert them by presenting women as leaders or agents of change (Lerner, 1986). 2.3 Framing Women’s Rights in Pakistani English Media 2.3.1 Local Framing Strategies In Pakistan, English newspaper framing of women's rights tends to be based on local social and cultural norms. Asghar and Akhter (2022) research identified that women are frequently not covered in the news, but when they are, it is on how they are victimized. This is a mirror of wider social stereotypes in which women are viewed as passive, not as active members of society. Parallel to this, Noureen (2024) examined the ways in which language in media reporting of violence against women tends to employ passive voice, perpetuating the notion that women are powerless victims. These tendencies underscore the importance of more positive and empowering narratives of women's rights in Pakistani English newspapers. 2.3.2 Representation of Gender Roles How gender roles are depicted in Pakistani media tends to reinforce the conventional notion of women as passive and reliant. Research conducted by Noureen (2024) and Asghar and Akhter (2022) reveals that women tend to be depicted as victims of abuse or secondary roles in society compared to men. This traditional representation confines women from actualizing their potential and perpetuates stereotypes. Yet, there are exceptions to this. For example, Musa and Waseem (2015) discovered that women journalists in Pakistani English dailies are more likely to depict women as being empowered, portraying them as agents in society. This discrepancy indicates that the journalist's gender may have an impact on framing women's rights within media. An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 65 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 2.3.3 Regional vs. National Media Perspectives There are also variations in the reporting of women's issues by regional and national Pakistani newspapers. Khalil and Shafiq (2020) established that regional newspapers such as Daily Kawish tend to report women's rights in more detailed and sensitive matter compared to the national newspapers such as Dawn. This variation could be because regional newspapers are more integrated into local communities and may be more sensitive to the gender concerns that are important to those readers. National newspapers tend to be more interested in wide-ranging, mainstream accounts that are likely to be more conservative and less challenging to conventional gender beliefs. 2.4 International Perspectives on Framing Women’s Rights 2.4.1 Comparative Framing Studies Examining how other nations construct women's rights can provide insight into how media coverage is constructed differently across cultures. For instance, Prendergast and Quinn (2020) contrasted the framing of sexual violence in Spanish and Irish media. Spanish media framed more about the social consequences of sexual violence, whereas Irish media framed it primarily in terms of individual cases. This demonstrates the way the cultural environment media exists in can shape the framing of women's rights. In a similar vein, Narlı, Ozascılar, and Ipek (2018) discovered that Turkish media tends to frame gender problems in terms of victimhood, a trend that also occurs in Pakistani media. 2.4.2 Cultural Stereotypes and Orientalism Cultural stereotypes, particularly those rooted in Western conceptions of the East, are central to how women's rights are constructed within media. For example, Muslim women are commonly presented by Western media as oppressed and in need of salvation. This Orientalist construction can be witnessed in media representations of Saudi women, where they are frequently presented as victims of a traditional society (Bashatah, 2017). This kind of representation also appears in the Pakistani media, in which women are stereotypically presented in passive roles, constricting their agency and perpetuating cultural prejudice (McDonald & Charlesworth, 2013). 2.5 Cross-Cultural Insights and Comparative Analysis 2.5.1 Similarities in Framing Patterns Both domestic and foreign media tend to present women as passive victims, reinforcing cultural gender roles. Media studies conducted by Noureen (2024) and McDonald and Charlesworth (2013) reveal that media tends to apply victimization-orientated language when describing women, instead of emphasizing their strength or leadership capabilities. This trend exists across most nations and reveals a global trend where media restricts the representation of women's agency. An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 66 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 2.5.2 Differences in Cultural Contexts Though there are shared patterns, cultural context has a significant influence on how women's rights are framed. In Pakistan, the media tends to reflect more conservative cultural values, while in Western nations, individual empowerment and social movements could be the focus. This divergence underlines the need to understand the local context when examining how gender concerns are framed in media (Ethomas & Shukul, 2016; Prendergast & Quinn, 2020). 2.6 Conclusion and Research Gaps 2.6.1 Synthesis of Key Findings Research indicates that Pakistani media commonly frames women's rights in terms of affirming gender-based traditional roles. Women are commonly portrayed as passive victims, while their agency is rarely portrayed. These trends follow similar trends in international media, where women's issues are frequently framed around victimhood. Yet, local Pakistani newspapers such as Daily Kawish provide a more liberal and compassionate representation of women's rights, indicating that there is scope for more integrated representation in the local media. 2.6.2 Identified Research Gaps There are still areas of ignorance regarding how women's rights are constructed in various forms of media in Pakistan, especially in Urdu-newspapers. Most of the studies are biased toward Englishlanguage media and leave out the important role of Urdu media. Future research should examine these areas of ignorance to better understand the construction of women's rights in Pakistani media. 2.6.3 Implications for Future Research Subsequent studies will involve comparative analysis of gendered media representations within English and Urdu dailies in Pakistan, conducted through mixed-methods studies for acquiring more in-depth knowledge regarding framing practices. These studies can facilitate more gendersensitive media representations and enable the development of more balanced and empowering stories on women's rights. 3. Research Methodology 3.1 Research Design and Approach This research takes a corpus-based discourse analysis approach to investigate the framing of women's rights and empowerment in Pakistani English newspaper editorials. More particularly, the analysis targets editorials published near "International Women's Day" for the previous five years. This method supports the systematic exploration of language patterns and framing strategies employed in media discourse. Through an examination of English newspaper editorial content, this research seeks to find out the recurring themes, rhetorical strategies, and ideological positions employed in representing women's rights, thereby lending insight into media framing in Pakistan. An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 67 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 3.2 Data Collection 3.2.1 Corpus Construction In order to gather data, 200 editorials were chosen from two prominent Pakistani English-language dailies: Dawn News and The News International. Various keywords related to women's rights, e.g., "women's rights," "women empowerment," "women's education," and "women's health," were employed to search for the relevant editorials. These editorials were chosen from February 25 to April 20 over the past five years (2021-2025), specifically those published near International Women's Day. 3.2.2 Time Frame and Sample Size The data collection included editorials that appeared between February 25 and April 15 of the last five years, a time frame that covers both the preand post-event narrative on International Women's Day. 200 editorials were identified to provide a balanced number of viewpoints of both Dawn News and The News International regarding women's rights issues. 3.2.3 Data Extraction Procedures Editorials were retrieved from Dawn News and The News International using the pre-determined list of keywords related to women's rights issues. Relevant editorial content was used and noneditorial articles like advertisements or opinion pieces not related to the issue were avoided. Highlighting editorials helped ensure that the data captured the opinion and editorial position of the newspapers and showed how women's rights are constructed in the Pakistani English-language press. 3.2.4 Data Size and Distribution The same number of editorials (100 each) were gathered from Dawn News and The News International. This split enables comparative analysis of framing techniques and topical matter between two top English-language dailies in Pakistan. 3.2.5 Data Processing and Preparation The editorials were preprocessed by eliminating non-editorial material and non-relevant articles so that the corpus reflected the editorial discussion on women's rights. The preprocessed data was then analyzed in a machine-readable format after ensuring all texts were formatted in an identical way so that it could be utilized in corpus analysis tools. 3.2.6 Procedure of Data Collection The procedure of data collection started by collecting 200 editorials that had been published within five years from February 25 to April 15. Utilizing predetermined keywords ensured that the articles collected were relevant to the themes of women's rights and empowerment. Upon removal of noneditorial items, the final corpus was cleaned and processed for analysis. The study endeavored to An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 68 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 determine recurring linguistic patterns, framing devices, and thematic configurations employed to portray women's rights in Pakistani English-media. 3.3 Analytical Framework 3.3.1 Discourse Analysis Framework This research applies two main theoretical models of discourse analysis: Entman's media framing theory and Goffman's framing theory. They offer the basis for the identification of important framing strategies including empowerment, victimization, and gender equality in the editorial texts. Through a combination of the two theories, the research aims to analyze how framing strategies shape the audience's perception of issues of women's rights in Pakistani media. Alongside these well-established frameworks, the research also offers a novel model for corpus linguistics analysis of women's rights discourse. The model combines linguistic features of lexical optionality, modality, and syntactic patterns to detect and classify framing mechanisms employed in the press. The framework is aimed at capturing the cognitive, discursive, and interactional dimensions of language employed to frame women's rights stories in editorials. 3.3.2 Corpus Linguistic Tools and Techniques In order to analyze the data, corpus linguistic techniques like AntConc were used. Corpus linguistic techniques facilitated keyword analysis, collocation analysis, and concordance analysis, which helped the researcher to detect patterns of language use, collocates, and the frequency of particular words related to women's rights. Using such methods, the research examined how various lexical words and phrases are employed to frame women's rights issues, which assisted in the detection of shared frames and motifs in Pakistani English-language media. 3.4 Sampling and Data Analysis Procedures 3.4.1 Keyword and Collocation Analysis Keyword analysis was used to determine the most common words related to women's rights in the editorials. Analysis of collocates of the keywords led the research to discover frequent phrases and patterns that express the way media outlets present women's rights. Collocations including "empowerment," "gender equality," and "women's health" were investigated in order to determine how these ideas are presented in the context of International Women's Day. 3.4.2 Qualitative Analysis of Frames A qualitative content analysis of the editorials was performed to interpret the identified frames in the research questions. The analysis centered on how the discussion of women's rights and empowerment vary, as well as how the framing varies with the context of International Women's Day. Furthermore, the study explored how various kinds of editorial strategies (e.g., passive vs. active voice, the use of evaluative language, and thematic structures) operate in order to deliver specific ideological positions on women's rights. An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 75 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 attention of the audience towards the key issues at stake, determining how women's rights are framed. In line with Goffman's (1974) theory of framing, these thematic keywords frame how issues are viewed, leading the audience to perceive women's rights in a particular ideological way. 5. Conclusion This research offers a detailed examination of the framing of women's rights in English-language media outlets in Pakistan, namely Dawn News and The News International. Through this research, it is found that English editorials uniformly frame women's rights in empowermentoriented frames, highlighting women as agents of change and stressing themes of equality, justice, and institutional reform. These editorials are in keeping with an advanced, globalized conceptualization of women's rights, consistent with wider international gender equality discourses, stressing the potential for women's self-empowerment. The combined analytical model applied in the study, as it fuses Goffman's micro-level framing theory with Entman's macro-level framing model, effectively explains how English editorials' linguistic options help frame women's rights. The research determines particular patterns of language, for example, the prevalence of modal verbs ("will" and "should"), evaluative adjectives ("empowered"), and active voice structures that create the feeling of urgency and possibility of change in society. These textual features are consistent with a framing approach that locates women's rights as possible and worthwhile, highlighting the possibility of advancement and the ethical responsibility to intervene. The conclusions of this research highlight the important place occupied by cultural and ideological determinants in the construction of media narratives about women's rights. British papers in Pakistan, through their framing, contribute to the global debate on gender equality by emphasizing women's agency and the structural transformation required for gender justice. But although these accounts are empowerment-oriented and forward-looking, they also mirror the complicated intersection between political issues within the local context and international feminist ideologies. Highlighting women's rights as a more overarching movement for gender equality makes gender issues more prominent, but the research also urges greater complexity in accounts that consider the more general socio-cultural and political considerations that shape women's lived realities. This study confirms that media framing is instrumental in influencing popular opinions of women's rights. Media framing of women's rights in English-language editorials in Pakistan focuses on empowerment, justice, and institutional reform and makes a positive contribution to gender equality discourse. Nonetheless, it points towards the necessity for diverse and more inclusive narratives reflecting the nuances of women's lives, their struggles, and triumphs. In depicting women as victims of structural imbalances as well as agents of transformation, the media have the potential to promote a more holistic awareness of gender issues. In summary, this research promotes ongoing perfection of media representations of women's rights so that framing tactics reflect the richness of women's experiences. Future research would do well to examine how these media representations shape public opinion, policymaking, and societal attitudes toward gender equality. By fostering more representative and empowering narratives, An Analysis of How Women’s Rights Are Framed in Pakistani English Newspapers:. . . LinFo www.linguisticforum.com 76 Linguistic Forum 6(4), 2024 media can help drive gender equality in Pakistan and set a model for global action on women's rights issues. Funding: This study was not funded in any shape or form by any party. Conflict of Interest: The author declares that he has no conflict of interest. Bio-note: Nosheen Akhter is a PhD scholar in the Department of Applied Linguistics at Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Her research interests include corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, English language teaching (ELT), and natural language processing (NLP). She is actively engaged in exploring the intersections of language, technology, and pedagogy within applied linguistics. Dr. Syed Kazim Shah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics at Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. His academic interests encompass critical discourse analysis, critical thinking, language policy, and broader areas within applied linguistics. He has contributed significantly to these fields through impactful research publications and continues to advance scholarship in language-related social and educational issues. References Adewunmi, O. E., & Oluwaseun, S. A. (2024). 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