Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the impact of violence on young men living in Lyari, one of Karachi’s oldest and most conflict-ridden areas. It explores how this violence, which involves rival gangs, political parties, and state actors, impacts on young men’s experiences of fear and insecurity.

Paper long abstract:

With one of the highest murder rates per capita in the world, Karachi has been described as the world's most violent mega-city. By and large it is young men who both perpetuate and are victims of this violence. However, very little research has been conducted on how young men articulate and experience this violence and how it effects their everyday lives. This paper explores the impact of this violence on young men living in the area of Lyari. As one of the oldest and most diverse settlements in the city, Lyari is also one of its most volatile and has been the site of an on-going conflict between rival gangs, political parties and state security forces over the past decade. Many of the residents of this area express a sense of isolation and marginalisation from the rest of the city, which they trace back to the time before Partition, but which is described as having increased over the past ten years. Not only have Lyari's residents faced heightened insecurity as a result of violence within their locality, but they also face discrimination in terms of education and employment outside of Lyari, which has contributed to a growing sense of frustration amongst the area's young men in particular. These narratives of fear and insecurity will be placed within the wider socio-political context of Karachi, where the fear of violence increasingly permeates all areas of the city.