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This study is an attempt to estimate the incidence, severity, depth, and determinants of poverty in Jhang district, Punjab, Pakistan. For this purpose, the data were collected from 1,000 households through a specifically designed questionnaire using multistages sampling technique in all four subdistricts of Jhang district. The study used both income-regression model and logistic regression to assess the impact of demographic and socioeconomic factors on poverty incidence. The results show that 54.3% of households are below the poverty line, including 16% extremely poor. Poverty measures including headcount index, severity, and depth of poverty are worse among the households headed by farmers, daily-wagers, and illiterates. Moreover, the results confirm that the household's livestock population, landholding, ownership of agricultural land, total assets, and earners per household considerably reduced the poverty incidence in Jhang district. While household size, age of household head, economic dependency ratio, and total dependency ratio significantly increased the level of poverty. The study concludes that demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the households are of greater importance in alleviating poverty generally in Pakistan but particularly in rural areas. Hence, it is suggested that governments should increase public spending on socioeconomic programs and services with a particular focus on education, women's empowerment, family planning, employment opportunity, pro-agriculture policies, and equitable distribution of land and wealth to alleviate poverty in rural areas of Pakistan. Further research can be conducted by selecting large sample size and analyzing the household characteristics at the disaggregated level incorporating time variations to develop a more impactful policy framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exists comprehensive literature on women's empowerment; however, studies on the measurement of empowerment in the agricultural context are scarce, particularly in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Pakistan. In this paper, we used the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), which includes five domains, i.e. resources, production, income, leadership, and time, to measure women's empowerment in the agriculture sector. A survey of 600 rural women and 18 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted by using multi-stage sampling. The results show that about 72% of the women are disempowered, and attribute to low socio-economic conditions, i.e. they have limited access to resources and little leadership skills as rural women in AJK are not free to speak in public. The results further reveal that women are also disempowered in some other indicators, such as autonomy in production, income, and leisure time. So, based on the current findings, it is proposed that government should strengthen these areas through effective policies to improve the status of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the intersection of work with access to and use of digital technologies and the resulting impact on women's empowerment. Drawing on detailed in-depth interviews across Pakistan with low-literate, low-income women employed in three categories of work – domestic, factory, and home-based – we map how women's work intersects with their access to digital technologies to affect their economic and social lives. Our paper highlights the barriers that women face and explores whether and how in a patriarchal, religious context with restricted physical mobility and limited access to the internet, women circumnavigate their constraints by leveraging digital technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to make a contribution to the discussion on the consequences of social change brought about by relief programs in humanitarian contexts. It examines the extent to which the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program (2014–2016) in the Pakistani tribal district of North Waziristan (NW) has influenced patriarchal gender norms in the region, in transforming perceptions about what men and women can do and on changing gender relations. Through interviews conducted in the field between 2017 and 2019, we examine the positive, albeit limited, impact on society and conclude that our study enabled a better understanding of micro practices and processes that challenge the patriarchal structure of society and the norms that sustain it. We illustrate how such processes have started to influence patriarchal norms by improving women's status both at home and in the community, eventually leading to a shift in traditional perceptions and constructions of gender relations. Although these changes do appear significant, gender equality will continue to face tough challenges in the region and its consolidation depends on the collective efforts of development stakeholders to support unconditional, gender sensitive relief programs that transcend immediate humanitarian and post-humanitarian concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degraded urban environments disproportionately affect marginalized populations, and especially impoverished women in South Asia's informal settlements, where climate change vulnerabilities and gender inequalities are extreme. A comparative analysis was conducted of three neighboring countries, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, where urban environments, climate risks, and gender relations exhibit significant variances. With original survey data from 12 informal settlements across New Delhi, Dhaka, Islamabad, and Lahore, it was found that women are less empowered than men in all three countries, but their determinants related to environmental degradation and climate change vary. Qualitative data from key informants reveals several explanatory mechanisms of observed differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empowerment of women is an essential objective to fully engage them in economic life and achieve sustainable growth throughout the world. Providing basic facilities to women is one form of empowerment. This paper examines the extent of women's empowerment in Punjab, Pakistan and its divisions, along with rural and urban regions. In addition, we check the effect of the gender wage differential on the current dilemma by implementing Alkire et al.'s [2013.The women's empowerment in agriculture index (Working Paper No. 58). Oxford, UK: Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. Retrieved from .] indexing on HIES 2013–14 datasets. Our results show that 34.91% of women are empowered in Punjab overall, with independence being the highest dimensional contributor, and ownership of assets being the least. Women are 31.43% more empowered in urban regions. The results indicate that Islamabad has significantly more women's empowerment, while Dera Ghazi Khan has the lowest percentage of empowered women. To assess particular impacts of different socio-economic and demographic variables on women's empowerment, logistic regression model is applied, revealing that most socio-economic and demographic variables have significant impacts on the current scenario, and variation in any variable causes significant variations in the status of women's empowerment, with increased wage differential in particular, decreasing the probability of women being empowered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake that struck Pakistan-administered Kashmir an unprecedented number of development actors arrived in the region. Their impact influenced men's perceptions of change in the gendered division of labour, as they claimed this arrival had increased women's access to work in public spaces. Across urban and rural bazaars, a wide spectrum of male voices used this perceived increase to either try to further enhance women's access or to curtail it. The struggle for women's access to work in public spaces was visible in the stories these men told publicly. Although it pre-dated the earthquake, its aftermath made it more visible. Men's narratives around women's access to work post-earthquake also reflects a crisis of masculinity. The earthquake's aftermath gave an opportunity for some men to reinforce the region's classical patriarchy and others to challenge it; while doing so, men were also staking a claim at redefining what it meant to be a man. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The women's movement in Pakistan strategically used the courts to fight for rights-based empowerment over the last 40 years. Its demand to hold the state and judiciary accountable for delivering on its constitutional promise of fundamental rights has led to landmark public interest litigation jurisprudence. This paper presents for the first time the movement's full history of litigation in its key areas of concern: sexual and reproductive rights, protection from discriminatory laws and informal justice mechanisms, socio-economic and environmental rights and political rights. Achievements include positive verdicts, sensitizing judges, progressive legislation and increased public awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examined the effectiveness of a social protection program in Pakistan to control poverty and enhance women empowerment. Topics covered include the impact of the cash transfers on the intra-household decision-making of the women, the ways in which women are empowered after accepting the grant, and whether the program has achieved its goals.

This article presents a critical feminist political economy of women's entrepreneurship promotion in Pakistan. Women's entrepreneurship is the new development mantra that has captured the imagination of global institutions, policymakers, business organizations, and academia alike. We argue in this article that this focus on entrepreneurship should be located, on one hand, within the gendered political economy of Pakistan, and on the other hand, as part of the broader project of transnational business feminism, which works to frame gender equality as "smart economics" and as compatible with the neoliberal agenda of privatization, deregulation, and financialization. Drawing on primary research conducted on a women's entrepreneurship training program in Pakistan, this article goes on to evidence how one such program is designed and delivered and critically interrogates the impacts of this program on those it is supposed to empower. The findings of our research point to tensions between the global discourses that explicitly inform projects like the one we study and the implementation of programs in specific local contexts, troubling the assertion that there is a smooth equation between entrepreneurship, economic growth, and women's empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of education in Pakistani women's empowerment and self-determination. According to the author, the elements of women's empowerment include the ability to make decisions, access to resources, and free mobility. It is suggested that education offers women increased self-confidence and awareness of gender equity, as well as a better chance at financial independence. Other topics include Muslim identity and gender relations within families.