Sindhi Women’s Leadership in Pakistan’s Federal Landscape: A Gender-Based Analysis on Challenges and Opportunities

Authors

  • Asad Raza Talpur Lecturer, Sukkur Institute of Business Administration, University, Sukkur, Sindh, Pakistan.
  • Muhammad Asim Mahar MS Scholar, Faculty of Law, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy.
  • Jalil Ahmed Assistant Professor, Mehran University, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Campus, Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55737/qjssh.431204385

Keywords:

Federalism, Gender, Politics, Leadership, Political Participation, Women Empowerment

Abstract

This study aims to address the role of women as leaders in Pakistan’s federal landscape. Since the inception of Pakistan, women have been playing a dynamic role in the federal unit of Pakistan. Women like Fatima Jinnah, Begum Shaista Ikramullah, and Begum Rana Liaqat Ali Khan had initially participated in the federal landscape of the country. Later, federal leaders such as Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto remained a famous political leader of the federating unit in Pakistan. Currently, Sindhi women such as Shazia Marri, Nafeesa Shah, Shagufta Jumani, Musarrat Naz Baloch, Nusrat Bhutto, Abida Hussain, and Fahmida Mirza, Shahida Rehmani are just a few mentions from Sindh province who served as federal ministers in Pakistan. However, the participation of women in the federal unit involves a range of hurdles associated with culture, society, and other factors in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh. Women in Sindh have always been underrepresented in policymaking in Pakistan. Therefore, the study seeks to address a gendered approach to Sindhi women’s political participation at the federal level coupled with the obstacles and possibilities for Sindhi women's political participation in federal Pakistan, as well as the implications of such participation on women's well-being.

References

abbasi, M. U. R., Khan, N. R., Sabir, M., Awan, T. A., & Quadri, S. S. A. (2023). Reclaiming Political And Religious Authority: A Critical Study Of Women’s Participation In Mainstream Politics In Pakistan. Russian Law Journal, 11(10s). https://doi.org/10.52783/rlj.v11i10s.1663

Afkhami, M. (1995). Faith and freedom: Women’s human rights in the Muslim world. Syracuse University Press.

Agha, N. (2021). Kinship, patriarchal structure, and women’s bargaining with patriarchy in rural Sindh, Pakistan. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6859-3

Alavi, H. (1988). Pakistan and Islam: Ethnicity and ideology. State and Ideology in the Middle East and Pakistan, 64–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-19029-4_4

Awan, M. A. (2016). Political participation of women in Pakistan. Frankfurter Forschungszentrum Globaler Islam, 1–2. https://www.ffgi.net/files/dossier/polpart-pakistan-awan.pdf

Bari, F. (2023). Women's empowerment in Pakistan: Challenges and prospects. In Gender and development in Pakistan: Current challenges and future directions (pp. 123-145). Springer.

Fazal, S., Naz, S., Khan, M. I., & Pedder, D. (2019). Barriers and enablers of women’s academic careers in Pakistan. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 25(2), 217–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2019.1607467

Haleem, I. A. (2001). Women’s legal rights, military regimes, and political legitimacy in Pakistan. Boston University.

Inglehart, R. F., Basanez, M., & Moreno, A. (1998). Human values and beliefs: A cross-cultural sourcebook. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.14858

Khan, M. Z. (2022). Women in Islam. Islam International Publications Limited. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.497

Mayer, A. E. (1993). Universal versus Islamic human rights: A clash of cultures or clash with a construct. Mich. J. Int’l L., 15, 307. https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1562&context=mjil

Mufti, M., & Jalalzai, F. (2021). The importance of gender quotas in patriarchal and Clientelistic polities: The case of Pakistan. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 42(2), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554477x.2021.1882826

Nasreen, N., Sanauddin, N., & Gul, S. (2016). Patriarchal Politics: Factors Limiting Women’s Participation in Local Government in Pakistan. Putaj Humanities & Social Sciences, 23(2),

Obermeyer, C. M. (1992). Islam, women, and politics: The demography of Arab countries. Population and Development Review, 18(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.2307/1971858

Perveen, A. (2016). The Constitution Of Pakistan (1973) and women's rights: An interpretation. Pakistan Journal of Gender Studies, 13(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.46568/pjgs.v13i1.182

Sen, G., George, A., Ostlin, P., & Ramos, S. (2007). Unequal, Unfair, Ineffective and Inefficient Gender Inequity in Health: Why it exists and how we can change it. https://eurohealth.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Unequal-Unfair-Ineffective-and-Inefficient-Gender-Inequity-in-Health.pdf

Shahid, J. (2012). Position of Pakistani women in the 21st century: A long way to go. The Journal of Political Science, 30, 69-98. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1441696599

Wasim, M. P., Herani, G. M., Farooqui, W., & Qureshi, M. (2008). Family types, authority structure and women workers in Sindh labor force: Problems and prospects. 2(1), 29-49. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6602882.pdf

Published

2023-12-30

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Talpur, A. R., Mahar, M. A., & Ahmed, J. (2023). Sindhi Women’s Leadership in Pakistan’s Federal Landscape: A Gender-Based Analysis on Challenges and Opportunities. Qlantic Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(4), 176-182. https://doi.org/10.55737/qjssh.431204385

Similar Articles

1-10 of 61

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)