Background
Gender discrimination is any unequal treatment of a person based on their sex. Women and girls are most likely to experience the negative impact of gender discrimination. The aim of this study is to assess the factors that influence gender discrimination in Pakistan, and its impact on women’s life.
Methods
A mixed method approach was used in the study in which a systematic review was done in phase one to explore the themes on gender discrimination, and qualitative interviews were conducted in phase two to explore the perception of people regarding gender discrimination. The qualitative interviews (in-depth interviews and focus group discussions) were conducted from married men and women, adolescent boys and girls, Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) and Community Midwives (CMWs). The qualitative interviews were analyzed both manually and electronically through QSR NVivo 10. The triangulation of data from the systematic review and qualitative interviews were done to explore the gender discrimination related issues in Pakistan.
Results
The six major themes have emerged from the systematic review and qualitative interviews. It includes (1) Status of a woman in the society (2) Gender inequality in health (3) Gender inequality in education (4) Gender inequality in employment (5) Gender biased social norms and cultural practices and (6) Micro and macro level recommendations. In addition, a woman is often viewed as a sexual object and dependent being who lacks self identity unless being married. Furthermore, women are restricted to household and child rearing responsibilities and are often neglected and forced to suppress self-expression. Likewise, men are viewed as dominant figures in lives of women who usually makes all family decisions. They are considered as financial providers and source of protection. Moreover, women face gender discrimination in many aspects of life including education and access to health care.
Conclusion
Gender discrimination is deeply rooted in the Pakistani society. To prevent gender discrimination, the entire society, especially women should be educated and gendered sensitized to improve the status of women in Pakistan.
The study focus on investigating the perceptions and practices of fathers and its impact on children's development. It attempts to establish the effect of father's involvement in children life. Very few studies to date could be found on this subject area. In recent days, people are more learned and want to educate their selves on how they should deal their children and at the same time best practices for fathers should also be established by researches and studies. This study was done to involvement of fathers in child care as their involvement effects socio economic development of a child. Fathers are usually preoccupied in earning bread for the family however they should play their role in child carePurposive sampling was done for the purpose of this search after which focused group discussion (FGD) were conducted on 5 different locations to address all the socio economical classes of fathers. Father of a given sample were accumulated at a single place for the purpose of the research study and interviews/discussion were conducted in presence of a note taker and a principal investigator, prior consent was taken from all the fathers before the focused group discussion. According to the study it has been proved that fathers involvement had a great influence on children development. Children were good at schools and interaction with other where father's involvement was high. Usually, fathers are ideal for child but studies shows that paternal involvement has been low in comparison to maternal but this perception is changingwith time. The research identified that fathers are usually busy in earning bread for their family due to which they have fairly less stake in the child development however there is an increasing trend in fathers who understands the importance of their role in child care and child development and also they try to give maximum contribution in the upbringing of their children.
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