Breaking the silence: three Pakistani women academics’ accounts of being bullied

AbstractWomen in Pakistan’s higher education face barriers that silence their voices from reporting experiences of being bullied by colleagues and superiors. This situation contradicts universities’ role as houses of learning and agents of progressively improving culture and society. This group autoethnography presents three accounts by women academics challenging this taboo against speaking out. Without the silence being repeatedly broken, this toxic social phenomenon continues. Studies of women’s personal stories of being ostracised and bullied complement the emerging quantitative literature about bullying against women academics in higher education institutions. The present narratives about being the targets of bullying individuals are framed within national and international literature. Chronicling such bullying episodes increases recognition of personal, family, and career trauma for women academics. More qualitative accounts will further document the conduct by which women are ostracised, disrespected, and burdened with unfair extra work. Naming such behaviors overcomes the current silence, which leaves this conduct unacknowledged.Keywords: Academic womenharassmenthigher educationostracismteacher-targeted bullying Disclosure statementThe authors report there are no competing interests to declare.Additional informationFundingNo funding was received in the preparation of this article.Notes on contributorsRoshana KamranRoshana Kamran is currently undertaking Ph.D. research to contribute to the emerging evidence about Pakistan’s bullying culture, especially against women academics. Her publications address teacher education, gender, and language teaching issues. She has previously taught in different sectors of the Pakistan educational sector.Edgar A. BurnsEdgar A. Burns has taught in the polytechnic and university tertiary sectors in Australia and New Zealand. He takes an interdisciplinary approach starting from his core sociology teaching and research in education, professions, and environment. His recent book Theorising Professions: A Sociological Introduction is published with Palgrave Macmillan.Sheba SultanSheba Sultan is currently undertaking research studies to contribute to the justice discourse in Pakistan. She is a university lecturer and has worked in school administration and teacher education. She writes short stories on social issues, which have been published in English and Urdu.Sana TahirSana Tahir is currently working as a lecturer at one of the leading universities in Pakistan. She has been religiously associated with the teaching profession for the last 9 years. Her versatile experience and extensive research interests lie in the areas of TESOL, ELT, Second Language Acquisition, and Discourse Analysis.Sumaira AshrafSumaira Ashraf works as a lecturer at Iqra University in the field of business administration. She has completed her MSc in Applied Mathematics and MBA in Finance. She has an experience of almost 13 years. She is a dedicated educationalist.