With a focus on the way the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in Pakistan, this book casts a critical light on the unique experiences and responses of individuals, community and government. It critically examines how these diverse actors made sense of and navigated the outbreak of disease.
With a focus on the way the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in Pakistan, this book casts a critical light on the unique experiences and responses of individuals, community and government. It critically examines how these diverse actors made sense of and navigated the outbreak of disease. The author reveals differing perspectives and multiple narratives that emerged at various levels. The chapters situate the spread of rumors, conspiracy theories, and new social rituals within micro- and/or macro-contexts, and describe the interplay between the virus and various institutionalized forms of inequities and structural vulnerabilities. Touching on socio-cultural, economic and (geo-)political contexts that make Pakistan a unique case study, the book relates to the past, describes and analyzes the Covidian present, and offers futuristic implications. It enlists distinct imaginaries based on current understandings of an extraordinary challenge that holds significant importance for our human future. Constructing the Pandemic in Pakistan will interest scholars of anthropology, sociology, and the Global South as well as those working in the domains of global and public health.
Arvustused
"This fascinating book, based on detailed anthropological research and informed by cultural theory, shines a light on of the COVID-19 pandemic as it has unfolded in Pakistan. It demonstrates how lived experiences are refracted through cultural norms and the specific socioeconomic and political contexts of each nation and region."
- Professor Deborah Lupton, Centre for Social Research in Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney
This excellent book offers timely and deep insights into the experience of how a deeply ideologically divided nation understood and dealt with the pandemic. Constructing the Pandemic in Pakistan is a convincing call to action, advocating for evidence-based, inclusive, and equitable responses to public health crises worldwide.
- Dr. Sadiq Bhanbhro, Senior Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
On the basis of first class ethnography Inayat Ali provides the reader with a vivid picture of the dynamics of the infection, the myths and narratives surrounding it, the governmental responses and the subsequent vaccination programs. His analysis involves a wide range of theoretical insights and includes important debates that have not been covered in the research on COVID-19 so far. An important book for both anthropologists as well as practitioners and anyone interested in South Asian studies.
- Professor Gabriele Alex, University of Tübingen, Germany
Acknowledgements Preface Introduction Inayat Ali
1. Remasking Structured
Disparities: A Tale of Fate, New Untouchables, Unequal Effects, and the
"Viral Coup" Inayat Ali
2. Rituals of Containment: Many Pandemics, Body
Politics, and Social Dramas during COVID-19 in Pakistan Inayat Ali
3. New
Virus, Old Narratives: Contextualizing Rumors, Conspiracy Theories, and Fear
Inayat Ali
4. Maternal Health and Systematic Disparities: Multiple Impacts of
the Pandemic on Mothers Inayat Ali, Salma Sadique and Shahbaz Ali
5. Birthing
Between the Traditional and the Modern: Di Practices and Childbearing
Womens Choices during COVID-19 in Pakistan Inayat Ali, Salma Saddique,
Shahbaz Ali, and Robbie Davis-Floyd
6. Between Responsibility and Risk:
Experiences, Perceptions, Fears, and Responsibilities of Frontline Healthcare
Providers Dealing with COVID-19 Inayat Ali, Salma Saddique and Shahbaz Ali
7.
Experiencing and Surviving a Pandemic: Live Experiences of COVID-19 Survivors
from Pakistan Inayat Ali, Salma Sadique, Shahbaz Ali and Sania Zehra
8.
COVID-19 and vaccination campaigns as Western plots in Pakistan: Government
policies, (geo-)politics and local perceptions and beliefs Inayat Ali,
Shahbaz Ali, and Salma Sadique
9. COVID-19 Child Vaccination in Pakistan:
Exploring Factors Affecting Parental Choices Inayat Ali, Nida Gulshan Nawaz,
and Sania Zahra
10. COVID-19, Multiple Emergencies, and Moral Entanglements:
Extraordinary and Transcendental Moral Worlds as a New Way Forward Inayat Ali
Conclusions Inayat Ali. Index
Inayat Ali is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Founding Incharge of the Department of Public Health & Allied Sciences at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan. He also serves as a Research Fellow in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna, Austria.
