School Teaching As A Feminine Profession: The Legitimization And Naturalization Discourses In Pakistani Context

School teaching has long been associated with women. There has been an ideological link between women’s domestic role and their career as school teacher. Taking care of younger children in school is traditionally seen as an “extension of motherhood” and therefore considered a “natural” job for women. Keeping in view this firmly rooted global phenomenon, I focus to examine what ideology idealizes and legitimizes school teaching as the best career for women in Pakistan? The study is informed by social constructionist understanding of gender and therefore draws on feminist post-structuralist. Drawing on insights from feminist post-structuralist, I give particular consideration to the discourses embedded into school textbooks and the people who author and approve school knowledge. Employing qualitative methodology, I focus on two key questions: what ideology informs school textbooks? How do school textbooks legitimize school teaching as the only appropriate job for women? The study findings suggest that school textbooks in Pakistan have been used to naturalize and legitimize school teaching as the best career for women

Post-Primary Girls Education in the Newly Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Girls’ education in general and their education beyond primary level in particular is one of the serious concerns for national and international organizations in the context of developing countries, including Pakistan. The ratio of girls’ post primary education in rural Pakistan in general and in the rural areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), including the newly merged districts, in particular is very low. The issue of girls’ education beyond primary level in the newly merged districts, including District Bajaur, is very dismaying. The aim of this study, thus, is to explore guardians’ decision about girls’ education beyond primary level in District Bajaur. We have attempted to explore the prevailing beliefs and practices about girls’ education and unpack the factors that affect girls’ education beyond primary level. The data for the study come from in-depth qualitative interviews with 18 male guardians/respondents. The respondents consisted of diverse socio-economic and education background. The respondents were selected by employing purposive sampling technique. The collected data were processed and analyzed in line with thematic analysis technique. The analyses are informed by “Equality of Opportunity in Education” and “Equity of Opportunity in Education” debate in sociology of education. The study’s findings reveal that the people of district Bajaur are not against girls’ education beyond primary level provided that their daughters and sisters are provided education in conformity with the cultural norms and in the nearby vicinity and transportation facility. The study findings suggest Purdah (veil) is an opportunity for girls’ education rather than a barrier

Women’s Lived Experience of Pregnancy and Child Birth: Narratives from Pakistan

In Pakistan there are unique socio-cultural factors that contribute to women’s experiences of pregnancy and childbirth. This study explores Pakistani women’s experiences of pregnancy and childbirth an area that remains under researched in the country. Qualitative research was employed for data collection by using an un-structured interview guide. The informants included twelve women who had recently been through the childbirth process for the first and second time. The collected data reveals that women were unaware of the use of multi vitamins during pregnancy. They delayed physical check-ups with a gynaecologist. Women encountered challenges at work during pregnancy and encountered work family conflict after childbirth. Support from intimate relations including husbands and in-laws were reported by the respondents. Attitude of colleagues at work was not always positive during pregnancy. The working women reported being overburdened at work. It is suggested that women friendly policies are required for working women giving birth. Facilities including rest rooms, medical centres need to be provided to the women at work. Women need to be educated about the importance of health care during pregnancy

Girls Underperforming in Science: Evidences from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Evidences from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan show girls’ out-performance and boys’ under-performance in school and colleges level examinations. Despite of girls' outstanding performance in school and college examination, they are not catching up with boys in science subjects in terms of achieving high grades. This paper aims to unpack the prevailing reasons of girls' under-performance in science subjects in elementary, secondary and higher secondary schools examinations in the capital city of Peshawar- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). It focuses on girls' underperformance in Elementary, Secondary School Certificate and Higher Secondary School Certificate Annual examinations of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar, KP. The article uses secondary and primary data. The secondary data consist of results records of BISE, Peshawar KP and primary data come from qualitative interviews with 20 school and college teachers (10 males & 10 females). The selection of teachers was done with the help of purposive sampling technique. The study comes up with diverse explanation for girls’ underperformance and boys’ outperformance in science subjects. The explanation encompasses the traditional beliefs in science subjects as masculine domain, gender stereotypes among parents, teachers, and the gendered belief about jobs opportunities available to boys and girls in socio-cultural context of KP. The findings of the study recommends that girls can do well in science subjects if they are given favorable and conducive environment.Keywords:Education, Outperformance, Purposive Sampling, Science, Thematic analysi

Male Hegemony through Education: Construction of Gendered Identities

The fundamental presupposition of this paper is that ‘gender’ is a social category, hence a social construction, which can be negotiated and left fluid instead of something fixed and eternal. To examine the gendered social order, this study focuses on how hegemonic masculinity and feminine subordination are naturalized by positioning men as physically strong and women as weak on the ground of biological differences between the sexes. The study is informed by social constructionist understandings of gender. The main focus of the paper is to highlight how gendered discourses in Pakistan inform textbooks as objective and true knowledge. The data for the study comes from 28 educationists (11 females and 17 males). The study’s findings revealed that, despite prevailing claims to establishing gender equality and equity education, educationists are active in the production of gender/sexual identities and hierarchies in a ways that reinforces hegemonic ‘masculinity’ and a fixed notion of ‘femininity’. The paper concludes that what ends up as school knowledge arises from gendered power/knowledge relations

Male Hegemony through Education: Construction of Gendered Identities

The fundamental presupposition of this paper is that ‘gender’ is a social category, hence a social construction, which can be negotiated and left fluid instead of something fixed and eternal. To examine the gendered social order, this study focuses on how hegemonic masculinity and feminine subordination are naturalized by positioning men as physically strong and women as weak on the ground of biological differences between the sexes. The study is informed by social constructionist understandings of gender. The main focus of the paper is to highlight how gendered discourses in Pakistan inform textbooks as objective and true knowledge. The data for the study comes from 28 educationists (11 females and 17 males). The study’s findings revealed that, despite prevailing claims to establishing gender equality and equity education, educationists are active in the production of gender/sexual identities and hierarchies in a ways that reinforces hegemonic ‘masculinity’ and a fixed notion of ‘femininity’. The paper concludes that what ends up as school knowledge arises from gendered power/knowledge relations

Girls Academic Performance in Science Subjects: Evidences from the Industrializing and Least Industrialized Countries

The study reviewed the published empirical evidence on girls’ academic performance in science subjects in Industrializing and Least Industrialized Countries. Empirical evidences suggest that girls have been outperforming boys in education across the globe. Policy makers and academics have extensively studied this gender reverse change in the context of technologically advanced countries. The issue is an emerging phenomena in the context of industrializing and least industrialized countries and has received some academic attention in the last two decades. This gender reversal change in academic performance is an interesting trend in the context of industrializing and least industrialized countries. Nevertheless, girls as compared to boys, are not doing well in science subjects: technology, engineering and math (STEM). This review paper seeks to give a succinct picture of gender differences in academic performance in STEM subjects in the socio-cultural contexts industrializing and least industrialized.  The findings of our umbrella review of different studies in the developing countries show girls’ underperformance in STEM subjects in the industrializing and least industrialized countries. Findings (skimmed from a number of empirical studies) suggest boys’ outperformance in STEM subjects

ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIAL OF ALKALOIDS AND FLAVONOIDS EXTRACTED FROM TAMARIX APHYLLA LEAVES AGAINST COMMON HUMAN PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

Background: Alkaloids and flavonoids are secondary metabolites extracted from different medicinal plants. Tamarix aphylla a traditionally valuable medicinal plant; was used for the extraction of alkaloids and flavonoids in order to evaluate their antibacterial activity. Methodology: The leaves of the plant were collected from district Kohat, Pakistan, and their alkaloids and flavonoids were extracted with ethanol and methanol, respectively. Four bacteria i.e. Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were selected for the biological screening of these phyto-constituents. Results: The concentration of alkaloids was found to be more in the leaves of Tamarix aphylla than flavonoids. The extracted phytochemicals showed varied inhibition zones against tested bacterial isolates. Alkaloids showed highest inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus (14±0.6 mm) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13±0.7 mm). Conversely, flavonoids showed the highest inhibitory affect against Salmonella typhi (17±0.7 mm) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (14±0.7 mm). However, both extracts showed the lowest inhibitory effects against Escherichia coli. Conclusions: It was concluded that the alkaloids and flavonoids from Tamarix aphylla leaves have antimicrobial potential against common human bacterial pathogens. However, flavonoids were found to be more active phytochemical against tested bacterial strains as compared to alkaloids

Teachers’ Perspectives on Boys’ Underperformance in Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This article is an attempt to explore possible causes of boys’ underperformance in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Annual examinations of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar, KP, Pakistan. The aim of the study is to explore the issue of boys’ underperformance from the perspectives of school and college teachers. Thus, the data for the study come from qualitative interviews with 30 school and college teachers (15 male and 15 female). We employed purposive sampling technique for including teachers. The findings of the study recommend that evidence-based strategies need to be adopted to improve boys’ academic performance and attitudes to learning