ABSTRACT
Through an examination of episodes from the first season of the Pakistani children’s television program, Burka Avenger, this chapter argues that the show can be read as offering critical commentary on the current sociopolitical realities of Pakistan, and in particular, gendered imaginings of the Pakistani nation. The chapter begins with a brief survey of the theoretical literature on gender and nationalism and then offers a brief discussion of gender in Pakistan. Burka Avenger, it is argued, not only reframes women as the “biological reproducers” of the nation, but also as active members of the nation, entitled to the same rights and privileges as men.
