UNSPOKEN BOUNDARIES:A SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABILITY OF TABOOS IN PAKISTANI SOCIETY

Abstract

This study investigates the sustainability of taboos in Pakistani society through symbolic interactionism, exploring how cultural prohibitions are socially constructed, transmitted and internalized. Guided by the questions of how taboos are maintained through everyday symbolic interaction and how culture keeps them in place, the research involved 13 participants selected through purposive sampling from academia, industry and civil society. Data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically with NVivo software to find recurring patterns of meaning and symbolic practice. The findings show four main mechanisms that sustain taboos: discursive disenfranchisement, self-regulatory practices, generational transmission, and socially induced extremism. Results show that taboos persist not through doctrinal clarity but through symbolic acts like silence, ritualized speech and embodied restraint. The study concludes that these micro-level processes ensure the continuity of taboos even with socio-legal reforms but also points to generational shifts and grassroots challenges as possible ways to change culture.