The paper articulates findings of an autoethnographic research study by three Pakistani self-identified feminist activists who were born in the Zia-ul-Haq era (1980s). All three have spent the last ten years working as feminist activists in Pakistan. The focus of their inquiry is on feminist identity construction in the contemporary context of Pakistan amongst their own generation. Using a transnational feminist analytical lens, the authors draw on their experiences, observations and discourse, exploring multifaceted identities and choices as Pakistanis and as feminists analyzed through narratives. Challenging the boundaries of research and researcher, the study involves overt critical subjectivity as their narratives are deconstructed. Exploring the emerging feminist perspectives as well as the social transformation of thought, ideology and practices, the collective analysis suggests that the last decade’s complexity of social and geopolitical circumstances and the multitude of actors projecting their mutated versions of feminism and empowerment are key contributing factors to the current situation.

The study also asserts that although 9/11 left an indelible mark on the course of events in Pakistan it cannot be seen, nor must it be built up as the only defining moment of the decade. 9/11 was only one such manifestation which re-fuelled the perennial debate between the orient and the occident; the subject and other. Their analysis demonstrates that forces of Imperialism morph and reappear in different guises making the path for activism murky and fraught with challenges very different from what feminists in the generation before them had to encounter. In Pakistan today, feminist ideological analysis and debates seem to have fewer spaces for discussions and visibility. Feminists today, stand cautious and threatened by increasing intolerance amid fears of accusations of being pro-west. The study concludes that a paradigmatic shift is required by feminists of their generation if they are to assume leadership positions in the movement. This shift requires being self-critical and conscious of the choices they make both at a theoretical and at a pragmatic level.