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Abstract

Despite the reference to the ‘long Partition,’ the idea of Pakistan has a hurried history: the word originated in the 1930s, the Lahore Resolution of 1940 pledged to realize the Two-Nation Theory and shortly after, in 1947, Pakistan was created. Seventy-five years on, unresolved questions of national identities and the ‘woman question’ remain large and elusive and I propose, the palimpsest city of Lahore is deeply and symbolically representative of these irresolute matters. Regardless of the veracity of the claim that Lahore is Pakistan, the core struggles, victories and losses of the country’s her-story can easily be recalled through the spatial, temporal and socio-political events and symbolism of Lahore. This essay attempts a heuristic reading of the city that encapsulates the feminine pantheism and feminist activism that have inspired pluralism and progress, but which are subject to alarming political reversals, if not already poised for near-defeat.

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