Socio-Cultural, Religious, And Political Aspects of the Status of Women in Pakistan (Gender Issues) (Report‪)‬

An overview of socio-cultural, religious, and political background of Pakistani women is presented in this paper. Some social indicators, such as education of women, employment of women, participation in domestic and child related decisions, mobility of women, religion and family planning, communication about family planning, initiation of idea of decision-making about family planning and use of contraception have been examined from Pakistan Fertility and Family Planning Survey (1996-97) to see the current status of women. Literature reveals that male dominance and prevailing traditional Islamic and cultural restrictions on women are major factors affecting the status of women in Pakistan. Data presented in this paper show that there is a little improvement in the social indicators of status of women with special reference to their decisions about household matters, interpersonal discussions and use of family planning methods. INTRODUCTION