Research Project

Working titel: Negotiating Age, Identity, and Body Image: The Lived Experiences of Mastectomy Patients Across Adulthood and Later Life Phases in Pakistan

Pakistan, like many South Asian countries, has a deeply gendered healthcare system where women's health concerns are often overlooked or subject to social stigma. Mastectomy, a life-altering surgical intervention, reshapes not only the physical body but also social identity, aging transitions, and material engagements with the self and society.

Tauheed Zahra's research explores how women who undergo mastectomy in Pakistan negotiate their age, identity, body image, and material realities across two distinct life phases—early adulthood and later life (fourth and fifth age groups)—through the lens of transition. The study examines how bodily changes, social roles, and cultural expectations interact to redefine femininity and aging experiences post-mastectomy.

Her research critically examines the transitions in body image and self-perception that mastectomy patients experience, how these transitions are shaped by medical discourse and societal expectations, and how women reconstruct their identities within these transitions. Drawing from phenomenology, feminist body theory, and aging studies, she investigates the lived realities of mastectomy patients and the absence of psychosocial support in Pakistan's healthcare system. The study also engages with material-discursive practices to explore how bodily transformations mediate the social construction of identity across different life phases.