Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies: Alam-e-Niswan

CHALLENGES FACED BY LADY HEALTH WORKERS IN PERFORMING DUTIES: A CASE STUDY FROM LAHORE

2023-06-22T14:56:18+00:00

Lady Health Workers (LHWs), known elsewhere as Community Health Workers, form a core team of community-based health workers in Pakistan’s reproductive and primary healthcare system catering to women and children. This article aims to identify the challenges experienced by LHWs when providing services to communities. With the help of a quantitative research method, primary data was collected from 262 respondents, randomly selected from a list of LHWs employed in the Lahore District. An interview schedule was implemented for gathering data. The study's findings showed that the majority of respondents experienced issues at the community level as a result of gender-based cultural constraints, disrespect towards working women, poor infrastructural health service and conflicts between women’s family responsibilities and paid work. The study’s findings, based on the respondents’ interviews, suggest ways to increase the effectiveness of the LHWs’ functioning. The study recommends that for LHWs to be able to carry out their jobs more successfully, they must prioritize and find solutions to their difficulties.

DIVORCE AND DISSOLUTION OF MUSLIM MARRIAGES: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE POSITION OF A MUSLIM WIFE SEEKING DIVORCE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN LEGAL CONTEXT

2023-06-22T14:56:18+00:00

South African Muslims constitute approximately 1.7 % of the national population. The government of South Africa has not enacted any legislation concerning Islamic marriage, divorce, and related matters. Drawing upon a fictitious case of dissolution of marriage, this article analyses the position of Kashifa, who married Uthman, both South African Muslims, in terms of Islamic law in 1980 in Cape Town. Under the marriage terms, Uthman agreed to pay Kashifa a prompt dower at the time of the Islamic marriage, a deferred dower due on 10 January 1990, and provide for Kashifa’s maintenance in terms of Islamic law. As Uthman has not been maintaining Kashifa since 1 January 2000, Kashifa has asked Uthman on several occasions to issue her with an Islamic divorce. Uthman, however, has not been forthcoming about issuing an Islamic divorce. This article investigates the position of Kashifa regarding three matters (1) the dissolution of her Islamic marriage, (2) the status of her unpaid deferred dower, and (3) the status of her unpaid maintenance. This article investigates the position of Islamic marriages before the enactment of the South African constitutions. The impact of the South African constitutions on the status of Islamic marriages in South Africa is then looked at with a focus on the scenario at hand. The impact is looked at regarding both litigation and legislation. The article concludes with an analysis of the findings and a few recommendations to ensure the accommodation of Muslim Islamic Law in the existing legal system of South Africa.

WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: A CASE STUDY FROM KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

2023-06-22T14:56:19+00:00

Women’s participation through their direct representation in law-making is imperative for their empowerment. The paper evaluates the political participation of women in Pakistan after seventy-five years of its creation as an independent country. The paper has selected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because patriarchal norms are deeply entrenched here. It draws on a study conducted in June 2021-August 2022 from six districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. with the help of 384 women selected by applying the probability method. The findings suggest that less political awareness among women is the fundamental cause of their low political activism. The findings also demonstrate that restrictive social and cultural norms, religious dogmas, and the absence of a vibrant movement upholding a democratic setup are some of the factors restraining women from political participation. The conclusion of the article offers some recommendations for the government and society to work for an increase in women’s political participation.

WOMEN’S DISASTER MANAGEMENT CAPACITIES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF FLOOD-AFFECTED AREAS OF SINDH, PAKISTAN

2023-06-22T14:56:19+00:00

Climate-induced disaster frequency has increased over time. Pakistan experiences abnormal rainfall that causes riverine and flash flooding. A flood-hit country’s disaster management mainly depends on the coping capacities of its population. Women are disadvantaged and considered an afterthought during disaster management planning. This article critically reflects on the barriers women in Pakistan face during disaster management, their roles and the assistance they need to improve their coping capacity. The study was conducted in two flood-affected districts of the province of Sindh. Twenty women were interviewed. NVIVO software and an Excel spreadsheet helped in the thematic analysis of the primary data generated by the interviews. According to the findings of the study, women consider a lack of knowledge, skills and social norms as the main barriers to their coping capacity. Women also perceive their role as caregivers, need providers, and helpers in the repairing and reconstructing of ruined homes and other infrastructures during disaster management as significant. The conclusion discusses the implications of the findings about policy planners and institutions for disaster management and the dire need for early warning systems and improvement in institutional aid distribution systems that are equally accessible to women as men.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIOLINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE IN CONDUCTING RESEARCH: ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGLISH MAJOR FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN

2023-06-22T14:56:20+00:00

Sociolinguistic knowledge is vital in shaping student scholars into successful social scientists. This paper attempts to explain the impact of sociolinguistic knowledge on English Major Female University Students (EMFUS) in Pakistan in conducting research in the sociolinguistics domain. Moving from the proficiency they acquire due to sociolinguistic knowledge in their communication and its effectiveness, there is a research need to see the practical implications of this at the prime point of their academic life, viz., conducting research. This article explores the research opportunities for the EMFUS in Pakistan by evaluating answers to the questions in the online survey. The study hypothesised researcher's identity is central to sociolinguistic education and training. The scope of sociolinguistics is widening with time, and so is the case with the research in sociolinguistic domains. Under several situations, researchers with specific identities give better results. Understanding this can lead to the success of research programs. Employing a researcher or interviewer in the context of this knowledge can take research to another height of perfection. In this article, we have discussed the significance of sociolinguistics for an EMFUS in Pakistan. We have tried to discover how a researcher's identity as an EMFUS affects the research results.