Constructing Narratives: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Media Coverage on a College Rape Allegation

Abstract

Media discourse has the power to construct multiple narratives. This paper presented a critical discourse analysis of how the media masked an alleged rape case involving a female victim at one of the colleges in a developing country. It investigated the role of media outlets, ARY News and Geo News, constructing the incident, while framing an account of power and marginalising the victim’s voices. This study employed a qualitative research design. The three-dimensional model of Fairclough’s is selected to comprehend news reports. This research analysed events from October 12 to October 18, 2024, especially the primary report of the rape allegation, consequential student protests, and the response of government officials. This study revealed that both news channels consistently manipulated the issue through repetition, vague referencing, assertive sentences, loaded/neutral sentences and intertextuality. Moreover, the paper exposed hidden power dynamics, oppressed voices, and the role of media in presenting the incident as fake news. The research proclaimed that media outlets should promote balanced reporting to uphold transparency while reporting controversial issues.

References

Akbar, S., Farid, A., & Khan, A. A. (2025). English print media reporting on domestic violence against women in Pakistan: A critical discourse analysis. Global Sociological Review, X (3), 36–46. https://doi.org/10.31703/gsr.2025(X-III).04.

Akram, N. & Yasmin, M. (2023). Sexual violence against women: Global interventions and evidence from Pakistan. Women’s Studies International Forum. 97, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2023.102691

Akram, N. & Yasmin, M. (2024). Media portrayal of sexual violence in Pakistan: A critical discourse analysis of the -Sialkot motorway incident. Women's Studies International Forum, 106, 102955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2024.102955

Akram, N. & Yasmin, M. (2025). Perpetuation of rape myths through news reporting on intimate partner violence: A transitivity analysis of the Asma Aziz case. Women's Studies International Forum, 109, 103038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2024.103038

Basow, S. A. y Minieri, A. (2011). “You owe me”: Effects of date cost, who pays, participant gender, and rape myth beliefs on perceptions of rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 479-497. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260510363421 

Dougan, K. (2013). My reads of the year 2013. Glasgow Review of Books. http://glasgowreviewofbooks.com/2013/12/31/my-reads-of-the-year-2013

Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Routledge.

Fairclough, N. (1995). Media discourse. Edward Arnold.

Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Policy Studies. Critical Policy Studies, 7, 177–197.

Fowler, R. (1991). Language in the news: Discourse and ideology in the press. Routledge.

Frese, B., Moya, M., & Megías, J. L. (2004). Social perception of rape: How rape myth acceptance modulates the influence of situational factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19(2), 143-161.

Gavey, N. (2019). Just sex? The cultural scaffolding of rape (2nd ed.). Routledge. 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2013.798239

Irshad, I. & Yasmin, M. (2022). Translating Eloped Women: A Critical Analysis of the Selected English Translations of the Urdu Novel Aangan by Mastoor. Asia Pacific Translation And Intercultural Studies, 9(3), 314–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/23306343.2022.2133310

Irshad, I. & Yasmin, M. (2023). Translating Harassment: Cross-Cultural Reconstruction of the Feminist Identity in Translated Fiction. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02306-5

Irshad, I. & Yasmin, M. (2025). Positive Self-Representation and Negative Othering: A Critical Discourse Study of a Pakistani Political Press Briefing. Journal of Social Sciences Review (JSSR). DOI:  https://doi.org/10.62843/jssr.v5i2.552.

Khan, F. (2020). Framing protests in Pakistani media: A comparative analysis. Journal of Media Studies, 35(1), 15–30.

Safdar, M. & Yasmin, M. (2023). Love and Marriage: Reimagining Muslim female subjectivity in Kamila Shamsie's Salt and Saffron. Cultural Dynamics, 35(3), 201–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/09213740231183426

Safdar, M. Yasmin, M. (2022). Muslim Female Subjectivity in Mohsin Hamid’s How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia: Disrupting the Binary of the Religious and the Secular in Pakistan. Journal of Gender Studies. 31(6), 701–711. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1930523  

Saleem, S.& Irshad, I. (2025). Power, Ideology, and Rhetoric: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2024 UN Speech. Journal of Applied Linguistics and TESOL, Vol. 8 (3). DOI:  https://doi.org/10.63878/jalt1085.

The News. (2024, October 20). 7-member panel report says alleged rape was fake news. The News International. https://www.thenews.com.pk.

Tribune. (2024, October 19). Punjab govt report clears sexual assault claims in college case. The Express Tribune. https://tribune.com.pk.

van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse & Society, 4(2), 249–283.

Yasmin, M. Tahira Jabeen, Sania Noor, S. (2025). Examining Digital Hate: Gendered discursive strategies in online harassment of Pakistani influencers, Computers in Human Behaviour Reports, 19, 100759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100759

Yasmin, M., Naseem, F. & Sohail, A. (2019). Religious and Socio-cultural Influences on the Pakistani Wedding Invitation. Open Linguistics, 5, 354–368. https://doi.org/10.1515/opli-2019-0019

Zia, A. (2017). Media representation of gender-based violence in Pakistan. Asian Journal of Communication, 27(5), 486–502.

Zia, A. (2019). Reporting rape in Pakistan: An analysis of media narratives. Pakistan Journal of Gender Studies, 16(1), 65–84.