Socio-Cultural Determinants of Women’s Homelessness: A Study of Dar-ul-Aman, Multan

Home is an integral element of the Pakistani family system, and the idea of home is deeply embedded in Pakistani women’s consciousness. The prime objective of this study is to explore the socio-cultural factors responsible for women’s homelessness. This study highlights various determinants that lead women to leave their homes. The issue of women fleeing from their homes is a matter of disregard in Pakistan’s culture, such an action is considered as an issue of family’s self-image, respect, and honour. In the present study, Marxist and feminist lenses have been used to indicate women’s secondary status that is responsible for their homelessness. Interviews of twenty-five women were conducted in Government Dar-ul-Aman[1]Multan, Pakistan. Purposive sampling was used to select the respondents. The age range of informants was 14 to 55. All married, unmarried and single women, widows and divorcees were part of the sample. Analysis was conducted following the assortment of information from the field thematic analysis. This study uncovers the variables liable for women\u27s displacement like gender-based violence, which is an intense issue globally and has a significant role in the secondary status of women in Pakistan. Some other important factors like poor financial status, forced marriages, absence of education, parents’ discriminatory behaviour and various kinds of violence affect women physically, socially and emotionally [1] Dar-ul-Aman is an asylum that provides refuge, protection and security to homeless women

Analysis of Glass Ceiling Factors Thwarting Professional Development of Women: A Case Study of Private and Public Institutions of Multan District

The research article presents a quantitative study and analysis of the various glass ceiling factors which hinder the personal and professional development of women in the public and private sector organizations of district Multan. The respondents were selected through a purposive sampling technique and the hypothesis was confirmed by the use of tabulation analysis. The hypotheses of the study were positively tested through the tabulation table. The findings of the study suggest that social mobility, nepotism, sexism, male dominance, gender stereotyping, wage gap, marital status, and age of women are major contributing glass ceiling factors keeping women from realizing their professional potential. These glass ceiling factors prevail in both public and private institutions with multifaceted manifestations. The research findings further suggest that with increasing economic pressures on household income in Pakistan these factors affect the professional performances of women despite higher economic engagement rates of women in economic spheres. Reviewing policing making on national and local levels can aid in breaking these glass ceiling factors

Be a Man, do not Cry like a Woman: Analyzing Gender Dynamics in Pakistan

Contrary to the view that gender is fluid, as concurred by several social scientists, in traditional Pakistani understanding, gender is seen in fixed binaries, i.e., either you are a man or a woman. The third category is known as the third gender in Pakistan. It is interesting to note that although gender is seen as fixed in Pakistani cultures, in informal discussions, varied shades of gender are highlighted by informants based on gender performativity. By drawing on the postmodern feminist theory of gender performativity, this paper does a discourse analysis of informant’s views about gender construction and dynamics in rural Sindh. Ethnographic fieldnotes have been used as primary data to analyze gender nuances implicit in Pakistani men's informal discourse. This paper argues that contrary to unchanging gender identities as endorsed by Pakistan society's patriarchal structure, men dismiss these fixed identities during an informal discussion. Instead, they shuffle gender identities by branding men and women as feminine men and masculine women, respectively, based on their gender performativity. We conclude that irrespective of physical outlook, the power lies in hegemonic forms of agency. Gender relationships and gender performance shape the sexual and gender identity of subjects