Background Women’s empowerment has always remained a contested issue in the complex socio-demogra... more Background Women’s empowerment has always remained a contested issue in the complex socio-demographic and cultural milieu of Pakistani society. Women are ranked lower than men on all vital human development indicators. Therefore, studying various determinants of women’s empowerment is urgently needed in the Pakistani context. Methods The study empirically operationalized the concept of women’s empowerment and investigated its determinants through representative secondary data taken from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys among women at reproductive age (15–49 years) in 2012–13 (n = 13,558) and 2017–18 (n = 15,068). The study used simple binary logistic and multivariable regression analyses. Results The results of the binary logistic regression highlighted that almost all of the selected demographic, economic, social, and access to information variables were significantly associated with women’s empowerment (p
With the very high incident of tuberculosis, Pakistan ranks fifth globally among the 22 high tube... more With the very high incident of tuberculosis, Pakistan ranks fifth globally among the 22 high tuberculosis risk countries. Amongst other factors, socio-demographic factors play a significant role in determining “knowledge of tuberculosis” Objectives: This study used secondary data from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey to estimate the impact of socio-demographic factors determining the knowledge of tuberculosis and conception on how it is spread. Data Source: The relevant variables and the other parameters were extracted from the both pdf and SPSS files of PDHS. Study Design: Bi-variant cross tabulation was used to determine the level of association between the hypothesized variables using the Pearson chi-square statistic. Results: Age and wealth index showed a highly significant relationship (p<0.0001) in determining the knowledge of tuberculosis. Moreover, the increasing level of education showed a decreasing trend of misconception about the spread of TB. Conclusions: T...
Sufi shrines hold great importance in Pakistani society. Followers of the shrines consider it sac... more Sufi shrines hold great importance in Pakistani society. Followers of the shrines consider it sacred place and they perform different rituals there. The role of Sufis has been considered as intermediary who lead towards the path of God and success. Present study deployed qualitative research technique whereby data was drawn from 19 in-depth interviews at the Hazrat Mian Mir's Shrine in Lahore. Findings of the study revealed that majority of the people have strong belief upon the blessings of Sufis and they visit shrine to fulfill their social, economic, physical, and spiritual needs. They believed that the late Sufis of shrine could listen, correspond and help them in multiple ways. However, some people thought otherwise. They believed the Sufi of shrine as pious ones but they did not believe upon the intermediary role of Sufis between human beings and Allah. Perceptions about myths and superstitions varied with regard to gender and level of education but majority of visitors did not believe in myths and superstitions.
Background: Child marriage (<18 years) is prevalent in Pakistan which is associated with negative... more Background: Child marriage (<18 years) is prevalent in Pakistan which is associated with negative health outcomes including intimate partner violence (IPV). Our aim is to describe the types and circumstances of IPV against women who were married as children in urban slums of Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: Women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who were married prior to 18 years, for at least 5 years were recruited from most populous slum areas of Lahore, Pakistan. Themes for the interview guide were developed using published literature and everyday observations of the researchers. Interviews were conducted by trained interviewers in Urdu language and were translated into English. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, analyzed and categorized into themes. Results: All 19 participants were married between 11 and 17 years. Most respondents were uneducated, poor and were working as housemaids. Majority of participants experienced verbal abuse, and threatened, attempted and completed physical violence by their husbands. A sizeable number of women reported unwanted sexual encounters by their husbands. Family affairs particularly issues with in-laws, poor house management, lack of proper care of children, bringing insufficient dowry, financial problems, an act against the will of husband, and inability to give birth to a male child were some of the reasons narrated by the participants which led to IPV against women. Conclusions: Women married as children are vulnerable to IPV. Concerted efforts are needed from all sectors of society including academia, public health experts, policy makers and civil society to end the child marriage practice in Pakistan.
Background: Child marriage (<18 years) is prevalent in Pakistan which is associated with negative... more Background: Child marriage (<18 years) is prevalent in Pakistan which is associated with negative health outcomes. Our aim is to describe women's knowledge and attitude towards child marriage practice who themselves were married as children. Methods: Women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who were married prior to 18 years, for at least 5 years and had at least one child birth were recruited from most populous slum areas of Lahore, Pakistan. Themes for the interview were developed using published literature and everyday observations of the researchers. Interviews were conducted by trained interviewers in Urdu language and were translated into English. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, analyzed and categorized into themes. Results: Nineteen of 20 participants who agreed to participate were married between 11-17 years. Most respondents were uneducated, poor and were working as housemaids. The majority participants were unaware of the negative health outcomes of child marriages. They appeared satisfied by the decision of their parents of marrying them before 18 years, and even condemned banning child marriages in Pakistan. Strong influence of culture and community perceptions, varying interpretation of religion, and protecting family honor are some of the reasons that were narrated by the participants, which seems playing a role in continuation of child marriage practice in Pakistan. Conclusion: Raising awareness of the negative health outcomes of child marriage, implementing and enforcing strict laws against child marriage practice, promoting civil, sexual and reproductive health rights for women, can help eliminate child marriages in Pakistan.
Background Women’s empowerment has always remained a contested issue in the complex socio-demogra... more Background Women’s empowerment has always remained a contested issue in the complex socio-demographic and cultural milieu of Pakistani society. Women are ranked lower than men on all vital human development indicators. Therefore, studying various determinants of women’s empowerment is urgently needed in the Pakistani context. Methods The study empirically operationalized the concept of women’s empowerment and investigated its determinants through representative secondary data taken from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys among women at reproductive age (15–49 years) in 2012–13 (n = 13,558) and 2017–18 (n = 15,068). The study used simple binary logistic and multivariable regression analyses. Results The results of the binary logistic regression highlighted that almost all of the selected demographic, economic, social, and access to information variables were significantly associated with women’s empowerment (p
With the very high incident of tuberculosis, Pakistan ranks fifth globally among the 22 high tube... more With the very high incident of tuberculosis, Pakistan ranks fifth globally among the 22 high tuberculosis risk countries. Amongst other factors, socio-demographic factors play a significant role in determining “knowledge of tuberculosis” Objectives: This study used secondary data from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey to estimate the impact of socio-demographic factors determining the knowledge of tuberculosis and conception on how it is spread. Data Source: The relevant variables and the other parameters were extracted from the both pdf and SPSS files of PDHS. Study Design: Bi-variant cross tabulation was used to determine the level of association between the hypothesized variables using the Pearson chi-square statistic. Results: Age and wealth index showed a highly significant relationship (p<0.0001) in determining the knowledge of tuberculosis. Moreover, the increasing level of education showed a decreasing trend of misconception about the spread of TB. Conclusions: T...
Sufi shrines hold great importance in Pakistani society. Followers of the shrines consider it sac... more Sufi shrines hold great importance in Pakistani society. Followers of the shrines consider it sacred place and they perform different rituals there. The role of Sufis has been considered as intermediary who lead towards the path of God and success. Present study deployed qualitative research technique whereby data was drawn from 19 in-depth interviews at the Hazrat Mian Mir's Shrine in Lahore. Findings of the study revealed that majority of the people have strong belief upon the blessings of Sufis and they visit shrine to fulfill their social, economic, physical, and spiritual needs. They believed that the late Sufis of shrine could listen, correspond and help them in multiple ways. However, some people thought otherwise. They believed the Sufi of shrine as pious ones but they did not believe upon the intermediary role of Sufis between human beings and Allah. Perceptions about myths and superstitions varied with regard to gender and level of education but majority of visitors did not believe in myths and superstitions.
Background: Child marriage (<18 years) is prevalent in Pakistan which is associated with negative... more Background: Child marriage (<18 years) is prevalent in Pakistan which is associated with negative health outcomes including intimate partner violence (IPV). Our aim is to describe the types and circumstances of IPV against women who were married as children in urban slums of Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: Women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who were married prior to 18 years, for at least 5 years were recruited from most populous slum areas of Lahore, Pakistan. Themes for the interview guide were developed using published literature and everyday observations of the researchers. Interviews were conducted by trained interviewers in Urdu language and were translated into English. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, analyzed and categorized into themes. Results: All 19 participants were married between 11 and 17 years. Most respondents were uneducated, poor and were working as housemaids. Majority of participants experienced verbal abuse, and threatened, attempted and completed physical violence by their husbands. A sizeable number of women reported unwanted sexual encounters by their husbands. Family affairs particularly issues with in-laws, poor house management, lack of proper care of children, bringing insufficient dowry, financial problems, an act against the will of husband, and inability to give birth to a male child were some of the reasons narrated by the participants which led to IPV against women. Conclusions: Women married as children are vulnerable to IPV. Concerted efforts are needed from all sectors of society including academia, public health experts, policy makers and civil society to end the child marriage practice in Pakistan.
Background: Child marriage (<18 years) is prevalent in Pakistan which is associated with negative... more Background: Child marriage (<18 years) is prevalent in Pakistan which is associated with negative health outcomes. Our aim is to describe women's knowledge and attitude towards child marriage practice who themselves were married as children. Methods: Women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who were married prior to 18 years, for at least 5 years and had at least one child birth were recruited from most populous slum areas of Lahore, Pakistan. Themes for the interview were developed using published literature and everyday observations of the researchers. Interviews were conducted by trained interviewers in Urdu language and were translated into English. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, analyzed and categorized into themes. Results: Nineteen of 20 participants who agreed to participate were married between 11-17 years. Most respondents were uneducated, poor and were working as housemaids. The majority participants were unaware of the negative health outcomes of child marriages. They appeared satisfied by the decision of their parents of marrying them before 18 years, and even condemned banning child marriages in Pakistan. Strong influence of culture and community perceptions, varying interpretation of religion, and protecting family honor are some of the reasons that were narrated by the participants, which seems playing a role in continuation of child marriage practice in Pakistan. Conclusion: Raising awareness of the negative health outcomes of child marriage, implementing and enforcing strict laws against child marriage practice, promoting civil, sexual and reproductive health rights for women, can help eliminate child marriages in Pakistan.
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