Marital Life: A Challenge for Pursuing Higher Education by Women in Pakistan

Abstract

Misapprehensions of culture and religion are used for the early marriages of women in Pakistan, which generates few significant challenges for women to pursue their higher education. The present study identifies such challenges for married women in higher education. These challenges are relevant to women’s post-marriage lifespan in rural Pakistan. Building upon Fredrickson’s (2001) and Hobfoll’s (2001) theories focused on post marriages issues, the study has developed open-ended questions for collecting in-depth information. Therefore, 43 in-depth interviews with married women were conducted and through qualitative data analysis using NVIVO software, the study has highlighted that early marriages of girls have become a cultural norm, and education priorities of the girls are insignificant for parents to decide the marriage date. Married women pursuing education at marriage do not get any support from husbands and in-laws as the patriarchal norms prohibit women from stepping out from home. In these circumstances, women may get subject to the victim of many unlawful practices, including intimate partner violence (IPV). Thus, the present study findings imply that married women's participation in higher education is negligible due to weak legislation on women’s rights and strong illegitimate tribal practices.

Differentiation of Self and Life Satisfaction in Married Women: Moderating Role of Mental Wellbeing

“…Moreover, these events and experiences, which continue to make women feel more and more inferior and less important member of the family leads to the negative evaluation of life by women and thus they may report greater dissatisfaction in life. Consequently, a transition in the status of married women in Pakistan is reportedly being observed as more and more women are now continuing their education, developing their careers, which has prompted an overall transition in how women cope with their lives (Munir et al, 2022). Thus, they are able to become differentiated individuals, capable of handling complex tasks and situations, and having a positive outlook on their lives.…”