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Essay on Gender Discrimination

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  • Updated on  
  • Jul 14, 2022

gender discrimination essay pdf

One of the challenges present in today’s society is gender discrimination. Gender discrimination is when someone is treated unequally based on their gender. Gender discrimination is not just present in the workplace but in schools, colleges and communities as well. As per the Civil Rights Act of 1964,  gender discrimination is illegal in India. This is also an important and common essay topic in schools and competitive exams such as IELTS , TOEFL , SAT , UPSC , etc. Let’s explore some samples of essay on gender discrimination and tips for writing an impactful essay.

Tips for Writing an Impactful Essay

If you want to write a scoring and deep impact essay, here are some tips for writing a perfect informative essay:

  • The most important and first step is to write an introduction and background information about and related to the topic
  • Then you are also required to use the formal style of writing and avoid using slang language
  • To make an essay more impactful, write dates, quotations, and names to provide a better understanding
  • You can use jargon wherever it is necessary as it sometimes makes an essay complicated
  • To make an essay more creative, you can also add information in bulleted points wherever possible
  • Always remember to add a conclusion where you need to summarise crucial points
  • Once you are done read through the lines and check spelling and grammar mistakes before submission

Essay on Gender Discrimination in 200 Words

One of the important aspects of a democratic society is the elimination of gender discrimination. The root cause of this vigorous disease is the stereotypical society itself. When a child is born, the discrimination begins; if the child is male, he is given a car, bat and ball with blue, and red colour clothes, whereas when a child is female, she is given barbie dolls with pink clothes. We all are raised with a mentality that boys are good at sports and messy, but girls are not good at sports and are well organised. This discriminatory mentality has a deeper impact when girls are told not to work while boys are allowed to do much work. This categorising males and females into different categories discriminating based on gender are known as gender discrimination. Further, this discriminatory behaviour in society leads to hatred, injustice and much more. This gender discrimination is evident in every woman’s life at the workplace, in educational institutions, in sports, etc., where young girls and women are deprived of their rights and undervalued. This major issue prevailing in society can be solved only by providing equality to women and giving them all rights as given to men.

Essay on Gender Discrimination in 300 Words 

Gender Discrimination, as the term signifies, is discrimination or discriminatory behaviour based on gender. The stereotypical mindset of people in the past has led to the discrimination that women face today. According to Kahle Wolfe, in 2015, women earned 83% of the income paid to men by working the same hours. Almost all women are not only discriminated against based on their salaries but also on their looks.

Further, most women are allowed to follow a certain dress code depending upon the work field and the dress women wear also decides their future career.

This dominant male society teaches males that women are weak and innocent. Thus women are mostly victims and are targeted in crimes. For example, In a large portion of the globe, women are blamed for rapes despite being victims because of their clothes. This society also portrays women as weaker and not eligible enough to take a stand for themselves, leading to the major destruction of women’s personalities as men are taught to let women down. This mindset of people nowadays is a major social justice issue leading to gender discrimination in society.

Further, gender-based discrimination is evident across the globe in a plethora of things, including sports, education, health and law. Every 1 out of 3 women in the world is abused in various forms at some point in their lives by men. This social evil is present in most parts of the world; in India, women are burnt to death if they are incapable of affording financial requirements; in Egypt, women are killed by society if they are sensed doing something unclean in or out of their families, whereas in South Africa baby girls are abandoned or killed as they are considered as burden for the family. Thus gender discrimination can be only eliminated from society by educating people about giving equal rights and respect to every gender.

Top Universities for Gender Studies Abroad

UK, Canada and USA are the top three countries to study gender studies abroad. Here’s the list of top universities you can consider if you planning to pursue gender studies course abroad: 

We hope this blog has helped you in structuring a terrific essay on gender discrimination. Planning to ace your IELTS, get expert tips from coaches at Leverage Live by Leverage Edu .

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  • Open access
  • Published: 01 November 2022

A qualitative study on gender inequality and gender-based violence in Nepal

  • Pranab Dahal 1 ,
  • Sunil Kumar Joshi 2 &
  • Katarina Swahnberg 1  

BMC Public Health volume  22 , Article number:  2005 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

63k Accesses

12 Citations

Metrics details

Gender inequality and violence are not mutually exclusive phenomena but complex loops affecting each other. Women in Nepal face several inequalities and violence. The causes are diverse, but most of these results are due to socially assigned lower positioning of women. The hierarchies based on power make women face subordination and violence in Nepal. The study aims to explore participants' understanding and experience to identify the status of inequality for women and how violence emerges as one of its consequences. Furthermore, it explores the causes of sex trafficking as an example of an outcome of inequality and violence.

The study formulated separate male and female groups using a purposive sampling method. The study used a multistage focus group discussion, where the same groups met at different intervals. Six focus group discussions, three times each with male and female groups, were conducted in a year. Thirty-six individuals, including sixteen males and twenty females, were involved in the discussions. The study used constructivist grounded theory for the data analysis.

The study participants identify that a power play between men and women reinforce inequality and increases the likelihood of violence for women. The findings suggest that the subjugation of women occurs due to practices based on gender differences, constricted life opportunities, and internalization of constructed differences among women. The study identifies that interpersonal and socio-cultural violence can result due to established differences between men and women. Sex trafficking, as an example of the outcome of inequality and violence, occurs due to the disadvantageous position of women compounded by poverty and illiteracy. The study has developed a concept of power-play which is identified as a cause and consequence of women's subordination and violence. This power play is found operative at various levels with social approval for men to use violence and maintain/produce inequality.

The theoretical concept of power play shows that there are inequitable power relations between men and women. The male-centric socio-cultural norms and practices have endowed men with privilege, power, and an opportunity to exploit women. This lowers the status of women and the power-play help to produce and sustain inequality. The power-play exposes women to violence and manifests itself as one of the worst expressions used by men.

Peer Review reports

Violence against women is identified as an attempt by men to maintain power and control over women [ 1 ] and is manifested as a form of structural inequality. This structural inequality is apparent with greater agency among men [ 2 ]. The differences between sexes are exhibited in the attainment of education and professional jobs, ownership of assets, the feminization of poverty, etc., and these differences increase the risk of violence towards women [ 3 ]. The global estimate identifies that thirty percent of women experience physical and/or sexual violence during their lifetime, illustrating the enormity of this problem [ 4 ]. From a feminist perspective, lending ideas of patriarchy [ 5 ] and gender performativity [ 6 ], the understanding of gender roles prescribed by male-dominated social structures and processes helps further explore the violence and abuse faced by women [ 7 ]. According to Heise [ 8 ], men who adhere to traditional, rigid, and misogynistic views on gender norms, attitudes, and behaviors are more likely to use violence towards women. The individual and collective attitudes of men toward different established gender norms, and their reproduction explain men’s use of violence toward women [ 9 ]. It is known that gender norms influence violence, but at the same time violence also directs and dictates gender performance with fear, sanction, and corrective measures for enacting respective prescribed gender functions [ 10 ].

It is difficult for women subjected to violence to enjoy legitimate rights, as most of the infringement of their rights and violence takes place inside a private sphere of the home [ 11 , 12 ]. Violence against women is the major cause of death and disability for women [ 13 ] and globally a major public health concern [ 14 ]. Establishing gender equality is fundamental for fostering justice and attaining sustainable development [ 15 ]; moreover, violence against women has to be acknowledged as a fundamental abuse of human rights [ 16 ]. A report on global violence has identified that violence against women exists at all levels of the family, community, and state. The report recommended the development of frameworks for respecting, protecting, and fulfilling women’s rights [ 17 ]. Fifteen years later, a review of the same identifies that violence continues with impunity, reaffirming violence as a major obstacle to the attainment of justice [ 18 ].

The inclusion of the gender lens to violence against women has provided more contextual evidence to explore these processes of violence. This requires the identification of unequal power relationships and an inquiry into the differences-producing various gender stereotypes [ 19 ]. This analysis of violence requires an understanding of behaviors that promote women’s subordination and factors that favor men to sustain these malpractices [ 8 ]. A closer look at the male-centric structural arrangements embedded in the social, political, and economic organization of life reveals that these structures provide lesser access and lower accountability toward women, promote systemic subordination, and create hierarchies, resulting in the increase of violence against women [ 20 ]. This unequal gender power relationship reinforced and manifested by social approval of men’s authority over women is found operative at multiple levels and helps to produce diversities of inequalities and violence [ 21 , 22 ].

The inequalities faced by women in Nepal majorly stem from socio-cultural, economic, and religious factors and influencers that define traditional roles and responsibilities between men and women [ 23 ]. The inequalities are more evident and pronounced in settings exhibiting prominent patriarchal norms restricting advantages and opportunities for the majority of women [ 24 ]. Women in Nepal are restricted inside their homes, have lesser access to life opportunities, and have limited or no involvement in decision-making on important issues directly affecting their lives [ 25 , 26 ]. Figures indicative of women’s inequalities in Nepal suggest that one-third of women have no education, fifty-two percent of women are involved in non-paid jobs, and women are less likely than men to own a home or land [ 27 ]. The men in Nepalese society are positioned higher and are expected to be the breadwinner and protectors of their families. Most of these men intend to earn respect and obedience from women and are socially expected to discipline women to achieve it [ 28 ]. Many societies across the world including Nepal, recognizes violence as a private affair requiring discussion only within a family. This has led to a serious underreporting of violence committed toward women in Nepal [ 29 ]. The national gender data in Nepal is scarce, the available Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2016 identifies that since the age of fifteen, twenty-two percent of women and seven percent of women experience physical and sexual violence, respectively in the past twelve months [ 27 ].

The contributing factors for violence against women in Nepal include the lower social status of women, illiteracy, economic dependency, patriarchal society, sex trafficking, alcohol-related abuse, dowry-related violence, infidelity, extramarital affairs of husband, unemployment, and denial of sex with husband [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Nepalese women have been repressing violence with silence due to the fear of breaking relationships, receiving less love and affection from family, fear of social norms by going against men, lack of faith in the justice system, and the threat of increased violence [ 33 ]. Women and girls in Nepal are sex trafficked to various countries. Sex trafficking in Nepal is prevalent due to persistent gender inequality, violence, stigma, and discriminatory socio-cultural structures; however, the actual extent of sex trafficking is still undetermined [ 17 , 34 , 35 ].

The recent trends in Nepal with the increasing number of out-migration of men for employment have provided women with temporary autonomy, and a shift in the gender roles. Earlier research has identified that migration of male spouses has provided a resistance to the power dynamics for women on the other hand it has limited their mobility, required them to share decision-making with household structures, face continued social vigilance on the money received from remittance, and get central attention with their personal sexual lives [ 36 , 37 ].

Morang district lies in the eastern region of Nepal. A district profile report based on a census survey [ 38 ] identifies that the place is inhabited by a close to a million population, out of which ethnic groups ( close to forty percent) live in the district with a majority (seventy-eight percent) of its population living in the rural areas. Tharu an ethnic group is one of the dominant population in the study area and all study participants for this study were from same Tharu population. A close to thirty-six percent of women in the district are illiterate and the average age of marriage is eighteen years. The report identifies that only twenty-three percent of women engage in economic activities apart from agricultural work and less than fourteen percent of women head the household. Almost eighty percent of the population in the district practice Hinduism.

This study is a part of a large intervention project and it was focused to establish a qualitative baseline of the gender status in the study area. This study aimed to explore participants’ experiences and understanding of gender inequality, violence against women, and information on sex trafficking in the Morang district of eastern Nepal. The selection of sex trafficking topic was motivated to assess the respondents’ general understanding of one of the consequences of inequality and violence faced by women. The study focused to explore factors that help to produce and sustain the practice of gender inequality and violence against women in the local community.

Participants

This study was part of a larger control-comparison project that used Forum Theatre interventions to promote gender equality, reduce violence against women, and increase awareness of sex trafficking [ 39 , 40 ]. The participants for the focus group discussion included the intervention population from one of the randomly sampled intervention sites. A multistage focus group discussion [ 41 ] was used involving the same participants discussing various emerging topics at different periods. The participants were recruited voluntarily during an earlier quantitative data collection for the project. The study used a purposive sampling method for the selection of participants. The local field staff at the study site facilitated the recruitment of the participants. The study formulated separate male and female groups. A total of six focus groups, three each with male and female groups were conducted over twelve months. Two inclusion criteria were set for participation. First, the participants had to be part of the population of the larger study. Secondly, they had to witness and/or participate in the Forum Theatre interventions conducted in between the study. The set inclusion criteria served a dual purpose of understanding the causes of inequality and violence and further helped to develop and determine the efficacy of participatory Forum Theater intervention for awareness-raising among the study intervention groups [ 39 ].

A total of thirty-six participants consisting of sixteen males and twenty females joined the discussions. The first discussion consisted of eight participants each from groups while the second and the third discussion missed two female and four male participants respectively. The majority of the participants were 20–29 years old. Tharu, an ethnic community of Nepal, is a dominant population in the study area, and all the participants belonged to the same Tharu community. Only one female participant was unmarried, and a single married male participated in the discussions. All participants were literate, with four males completing a bachelor's level of education. Seven female participants had education below the high school level. The nuclear family with parents and their children was the major family type identified in both male and female groups. Table 1 provides the detail of the participants.

The focus group discussions were conducted in January 2017, April–May 2017, and January 2018. The discussions were conducted in a place recommended by the participants. An isolated place in an open setting at the premise of a local temple was used for conducting all discussions. The participants were briefed about the objectives of the discussion and written consent was obtained for their participation. Verbal consent was taken for the audio recording of the discussions. Each participant was assigned a unique numerical code before the discussions to ensure anonymity during recording, note-taking, and analysis. The discussions averaged ninety minutes during each session. The discussions were conducted with the same participants and no new participants were added during the follow-ups. A single male and female participant were missing in the second follow up and two male participants missed the final follow-up. The reason for missing participants was due to their unavailability as they were out of the village due to personal reasons.

The discussions were conducted in the Nepali language. The first author moderated all six discussions, a support field staff member took the notes, and the last author observed the discussions. The audio recordings were translated into English, and the transcriptions were checked with the recordings to verify accuracy. The field and the discussion notes were used during various stages of data analysis. The notes provided information on the discussion setting, as well as the verbal and nonverbal expressions of the participants. The notes helped to assess the impressions, emphasis, and feelings of the participants during the discussions.

The discussions used pre-formulated discussion guides with open-ended questions on inequalities, gender practices, violence, and sex trafficking. The guiding questions were based on the theoretical premise of discrimination, patriarchy, oppression, hegemony, and participation of women. Three separate discussion guides were developed for each of discussions. The guides were developed by the first and last authors. Probing was done on several occasions during the discussion to gain more clarity on the issue. Cross-checking among the participants and between the groups was done to triangulate received information. Any topic deemed appropriate for discussions and/or any unclear issues identified during the initial data analysis came up subsequently in the discussion guide during the follow-ups.

Data analysis

This study used the constructivist grounded theory method. This method adheres to a constructivist philosophical approach wherein both researchers and participants mutually co-construct the meaning of a phenomenon [ 42 ]. This interaction is important since it helps to impart the meaning of shared experiences [ 42 ]. The constructivist grounded theory made it possible to (re) discover gender issues, important for both the researcher and the study participants. This method allowed the study to progress with responsiveness to emerging issues with an in-depth exploration of the identified issues. This clarity was achieved through repeated interactive discussions, analysis of explanations, and sharing of emergent findings with the study participants.

The audio recordings were translated and transcribed into English. Six transcripts from discussions were initially analyzed using a line-by-line coding process. The coding process helped with the fragmentation of data through interactive comparisons. Fifty-two initial codes such as gender differences, restricting women, alcohol-related violence, underreporting of sexual violence, coping, etc. were identified. The later stage of focused coding helped to achieve categorized data, providing logical sense to the developed initial codes. Three focused codes, namely, the subjugation of women, violence, and chasing dreams were formulated during the analysis. The abductive reasoning from the codes, memos, and discussion notes helped to develop the theoretical concept. The development of conceptual abstraction involved an iterative comparison of the data, codes, categories, memos, and discussion notes.

The constant communication between the authors during the stages of data analysis such as the formulation of codes, explanations of concepts, and categories helped to refine the analysis. The shared experiences of the participants and the description of the data collection and analysis included substantial details, enabling comparisons for future research and application to other similar contexts. The reliability of the study is warranted by the theoretical saturation [ 42 ] achieved by this study. This is supported by prolonged engagement with the study participants with communication on the emerging findings, and triangulation.

Reflexivity has a greater significance for the constructivist approach. The first and the second author of Nepalese origin were aware of the socio-cultural norms, stereotypes, values, and stigmas associated with gender in the local context. This helped the study to ascertain the depth of inquiry within the acceptable local normative limits. The non-Nepalese author, familiar with the study participants and Nepalese contexts, witnessed the discussions as an observer. The prior knowledge of the authors helped to critically assess different schemas, perspectives, and explanations shared by the participants. The universality of gender inequality and violence against women and its re-examination in the local context helped the authors to build upon existing knowledge by providing contextual explanations. The diversities among the authors and research participants established a basis for co-creating the perceived and observed realities.

The section below describes the participants’ perceptions and understanding of inequality and violence. The section contains subheadings that were derived as themes in the data analysis. The first theme subjugation of women; discusses how norms, beliefs, and practices produce inferior status and positions for women. The second theme domestic and gender violence; provides a narrative of interpersonal and socio-cultural violence present in the study area. The theme of chasing dreams; discusses the process of sex trafficking as an outcome of violence. The theoretically abstracted concept of power-play identifies the cause for the generation of power imbalance producing inequality and the use of violence by men.

Subjugation of women

The subjugation of women reflected practices and beliefs imparting positional differences for women and their social situation compared to men. The participants shared a common understanding that belief systems adhering to male supremacy have positioned women in a lower status. They provided examples of social practices of male supremacy such as males being considered as the carrier of a family name, legacy, and heritage, while women were referred to as someone else’s property. The socialization of the idea that girls will be married off to a husband and relocate themselves to their homes was identified as the major reason for instilling and perpetuating early gender differences. The participants mentioned that discriminatory practices and seclusion have situated women at the bottom rung of the gender hierarchy, establishing them as socially incompetent individuals or groups. Moreover, they inferred that selective preferences provided preparatory grounds for inequalities, and they remain attached to women throughout their lives. The participants provided examples of unequal access to education and life opportunities as a practice of selective preferences occurring in the community. They mentioned that socialization with these discriminatory beliefs and their practice helped to develop specialized gender roles from an early age. The participants provided an example of how gender intersected with mobility and resource generation in the community, it was clear from the discussions that this has restricted women inside homes but provided freedom and opportunities for men. A female participant expressed,

A woman from a poor family is more than willing to work and support her family. But she is not allowed by the men in the family to work outside of the home.

The participants informed that differences between the sexes were visible for women from a young age. Sharing practical examples from the community, the participants from both groups stated that girls received education mostly in low-cost government and community schools, while boys were enrolled in expensive private schools. They raised concerns that this selective investment for education, cited as the ‘building block of life’ by the participants, installed lesser capacity, and negotiating abilities in girls. A female participant stated,

There are differences in educational opportunities for boys and girls in our community. Family provides more support for a boy’s education by enrolling him in private schools, while a girl mostly gets her education in a community school together with engagement in household work.

The discussions revealed that women required several male anchors for their survival during their various stages of life. The participants provided examples of the shift of anchors for women which traversed from a father to a husband during marriage and later to the male child during her old age. They believed that this tradition of transferring women’s identity established men as a higher social category and stripped women of their individuality and identity. A male participant added,

Women have to remain dependent on men throughout their lives, first with their fathers and later with their husbands. They remain completely dependent as they are not economically active. This makes men believe that they have higher authority.

The female participants provided an example of marriage to illustrate how someone else’s decision-making had been affecting women’s lives. A participant explained that women were held responsible for household activities after marriage and any support for career progression or education was restricted despite her desire for its continuation. It was inferred that women had to drop their hopes and aspirations as the husband and his family made decisions for them. The female participants agreed that this continuous exposure to the ideas of male supremacy makes them start to believe and internalize the idea that women have lesser cognitive abilities and intelligence compared to men. A female participant stated,

Men and women certainly have different mental abilities. Men think and act differently often in a smart way compared to women.

The participants from both groups expressed that youth in the community were developing flexible attitudes and beliefs towards gender roles and responsibilities. They agreed that both young men and women were observed altering their roles and responsibilities shifting from traditional gender ideologies. The participants expressed that instilling these fluidity and flexible approaches in the older generation was impossible as they strictly followed traditional beliefs and practices. Few of the female participants admitted that at times young women also fail to accommodate the situation and reap benefits from available opportunities. The discussions revealed that a few of the women in the community received opportunities for independence and economic empowerment. These women had received entrepreneurial training and various skill development activities for sustaining livelihoods with practical skill-based training in tailoring, beautician, and doll-making. The female participants expressed that opportunities for independence and growth slipped away from them due to a lack of family support, financial constraints, and self-passivity. They explained that starting a business required approval from a family which was difficult to obtain. Moreover, if women made a self-decision to start up on their own, they lacked the initial capital and had to rely on men for obtaining resources. The participants further explained that the denial of men to support women were majorly due to the fear that norms of staying indoors for women will be breached and economic independence may enable women to have a similar financial footing as men. The participants stated that self-passivity in women emerged due to their engagement in household multiple roles, dependency upon males, and lack of decision-making power and abilities. A female participant summed it up by stating,

Some of us women in the community have received entrepreneurial skills training, but we have not been able to use our skills for our growth and development. Once the training finishes, we get back to our household chores and taking care of the children.

The female participants admitted that acceptance of belief systems requiring women to be docile, unseen, and unheard were the reasons for this self-passivity. The female participants resonated that the external controlling and unfavorable environment influenced by practices of discriminatory norms and beliefs developed self-passivity for women. A female participant expressed the cause and consequence of self-passivity as,

Women have inhibitions to speaking their minds; something stops us from making our position clear, making us lose all the time.

The discussions identified that gender norms were deeply engraved in various social interactions and daily life, and any deviance received strict criticism. The participants shared common examples of sanctions for women based on rigid norms like restrictive movements for women, social gossiping when women communicated with outsider men, prohibition for opinion giving in public, and lesser involvement during key decision-making at home. The participants shared that norms dictating gender roles were in place for both men and women with social sanctions and approval for their performance. A male discussion participant who occasionally got involved with cooking which was a so-called “women’s job” faced outright disapproval from his female relatives and neighbors. The male participant stated,

If I cook or get engaged in any household jobs, it is mostly females from the home and neighborhood who make fun of me and remind me that I am a man and that I should not be doing a woman’s job.

The foreign migration of youth looking for job opportunities has affected the Tharu community. It was known that a large number of men were absent from the community. The participants stated that women in such households with absent men had gained authority and control over resources, moreover, these women have been taking some of the men’s roles. The participants disclosed that these women had greater access and control over resources and were involved in the key decision-making positioning them in a relatively higher position compared to other women. It was known that this higher position for women came with a price, they were under higher social vigilance and at higher risk of abuse and violence due to the absence of ‘protective men’. It was known that women's foreign employment was associated with myths and sexist remarks. The participants shared that women had to face strict social criticisms and that their plans for livelihood and independence were related to an issue of sexual immorality and chastity. The participants from both groups strictly opposed the norms that associated women with sexual immorality but lamented that it continues. A male participant provided an insight into the social remarks received by women if she dares to go for foreign employment,

If a woman wants to go for a foreign job, she is considered to be of loose character. The idea that she is corrupt and will get involved in bad work will be her first impression of anyone.

Although the participant did not explicitly describe what bad work referred to as but it was inferred that he was relating it to sex work.

Domestic and gender violence

The participants identified violence as control, coercion, and use of force against someone will occurring due to unequal status. They primarily identified men as the perpetrators and women as the victims of violence. They explained that two types of violence were observed in the community. The first type occurred in an interpersonal relationship identified as physical, emotional, and sexual violence. The second type, as explained by the participants had its roots in socio-cultural belief systems. They provided examples of dowry exchange and witchcraft accusations for the latter type. The participants identified women as primary victims and listed both men and women as the perpetrators of both types of violence. They reported that physical violence against women by men under the influence of alcohol was the most commonly occurring violence in the community. The participants from both groups confirmed that wife-beating, verbal abuse, and quarrel frequently occurred in the community. It was known from discussions that alcohol consumption among men was widespread, and its cultural acceptance was also increasing episodes of violence. One of the female participants clarified further,

The most common violence occurring in our society is wife-beating by a husband under the influence of alcohol. We see it every day.

The participants reported the occurrence of sexual violence in the community but also pointed out that people refrained from discussing it considering it a taboo and private affair. The participants had hesitation to discuss freely on sexual violence. During the discussions, participants from both groups informed only of rape and attempted rape of women by men as sexual violence present in the community. Despite repeated probing, on several occasions, none of the participants from either group brought up issues and discussions about any other forms of sexual violence. Participants from both groups confirmed that stories about incidents of rape or attempted rape emerged only after cases were registered with the local police. The participants presumed that incidents of rape and attempted rape were not known to the wider community. A female participant stated,

Sexual violence does occur in our community, but people mostly do not report or disclose it, but they tend to keep it amongst themselves and their families.

The participants explained the identity of the rape perpetrator and victim. They identified the perpetrator as a rich, influential, and relatively powerful man from the community. The victim was portrayed as a poor and isolated woman which lesser social ties. It was known from the discussions that most of the rape cases in the community were settled with financial negotiations and monetary compensations for the victim rather than finding legal remedies. It can be inferred that the victimization of women intersects with gender, wealth, social stature, and affluence. The participants feared that this practice of settlement of rape with money could make rape a commodity available for the powerful, rich, and affluent men to exploit and victimize women. A male participant clarifies,

Recently, a man in his sixties raped a young girl near our village. The victim's family was ready to settle with monetary compensation offered by the rapist, but the involvement of the community stopped it and the rapist was handed over to the police.

The participants shared available coping mechanisms against violence practiced in the community by women. It was learned that the victim of household violence mostly used community consultation and police reporting to evade further violence. They divulged that community consultation and police reporting resulted in decisions in favor of victim women, directing abusive husbands to show decency and stop committing violence. The fear of legal repercussions such as spending time in police custody and getting charged under domestic violence cases was understood as the reasons for husbands to stop abuse and violence. The discussions revealed that women who file a formal complaint about their husband’s violent behavior could face an increased risk of violence. The participants disclosed that sharing such incidents publicly brought shame to some of the men and increased their anger, and often backlashed with increased violence. The participants in both groups stated that not all women in the community reported violence. They identified that women tend to be quiet despite facing continuous violence due to the fear of encountering more violence and to keeping their families together. A female participant clarifies,

Lodging public complaints against the abusive husband can sometimes escalate the violence. The husband’s anger for being humiliated in public must be faced by the woman inside the closed doors of the house with more violence and the men’s threat of abandoning the relationship.

The participants stated that socio-cultural violence against women in dowry-related cases was widespread and increasing. The dowry exchange was explained as a traditional practice with the family of the bride paying cash and kind to the groom's family. The participants clarified that the practice of dowry in the earlier days must have been an emergency fund for the newly wedded bride in a newer setting. According to the participants, the system of dowry has now developed and evolved as a practice of forced involuntary transfer of goods and cash demanded by the groom’s family. The discussions disclosed that the demands for dowry were increasing with time and failing to provide as promised immediately resulted in violence for the newly wedded bride. The participants described that dowry-related violence starts with taunts and progresses to withholding of food, verbal abuse, and finally, physical violence. They added that perpetrators of such violence were both men and women from the groom’s family. They stated that due to poverty not all bride families in the community were able to supply all demanded dowry which has exposed a large number of women to face dowry-related abuse and violence. The discussions also informed of a newer trend among girls by demanding goods during their wedding. It was shared that this new emerging trend had increased a two-fold financial burden on the bride’s family with heavy marriage debts. The male participants when questioned about the dowry demands cunningly shifted the responsibilities towards family and stated that it was not the groom but their families who were making such dowry demands. The discussions verified that dowry practice was so engraved in the community that it was impossible to even imagine a marriage without any dowry. A male participant reflected,

If I marry without any dowry, my family, neighbors, and all whom I know would consider that I am insane.

The participants also discussed and identified harmful traditional practices present in the community. The participants informed a common practice of accusing women of as witches existed in the community. It was mentioned that women faced witchcraft allegations in different situations. They provided examples of witchcraft allegations in common situations such as when someone’s cow stops producing milk when a child has a sore eye, when someone is bedridden due to sickness for days, or when a woman undergoes a miscarriage, etc. The participants stated that women accused of witch were always elderly/single women living in seclusion, poverty, and with fewer social ties. They also shared that the witch doctors, who ascertain whether a woman is a witch or not, were surprisingly mostly always men and hold higher status, respect, and social recognition. The consequences of being labeled as a witch, as explained by the participants, haunted victim women with torture, name-calling, social boycott, and extremes of physical violence. The participants informed that inhumane practices such as forceful feeding of human excreta prevailed during the witch cleansing sessions. A female participant explaining the witchcraft situation stated,

Witchcraft accusation is very real in our community; I know someone who has tortured his mother, citing reasons for his wife being childless. The old woman was called names, beaten, and later thrown out of the home.

The participants felt that men’s use of violence and its legitimization primarily existed due to gender hierarchy and internalization of the belief that violence was the best method to resolve any conflict. They inferred that men’s use of violence was further reinforced by women's acceptance and belief that violence had occurred due to their faults and carelessness. The female participants shared examples of common household situations that could result in an episode of violence such as women cooking distasteful food, failing to provide timely care to children and the elderly due to workload, and forgetting to clean rooms. These incidents make women believe that violence majorly occurred due to their mistakes. Furthermore, the participants believed that this self-blaming of the victim resulted due to constant exposure to violence and a non-negotiable social positioning of women for raising questions. The participants stated that beliefs instilled by religion increased the likelihood of victimization for women. They explained that religious practices and ideologies required women to refer to their husbands as godly figures, and a religious belief that anything said or done against husbands was a disgrace bringing sin upon her and family positioned women in an inferior position. A male participant added,

We belong to a culture where females worship their husbands as a god, and this might be an important reason for men to feel powerful as a god to exploit and abuse women.

The discussions put forward the idea that the existence of discriminatory beliefs, reinforcement of such beliefs, and a blind following of such practices produced differences and violence. The male participants acknowledged that the idea of male supremacy not only produced violence but also established a belief system that considered violence as an indispensable way to treat deviated women. One male participant stated this idea of male supremacy and privilege as,

The language of the feet is essential when words fail.

The participants also discussed violence committed toward men by women. The male participants burst into laughter when they stated that some men were beaten by their wives when they were drunk. The male participants admitted that intoxication reduced their strength and they got beaten. The female participants, on the other hand, assumed that women hit intoxicated men due to frustration and helplessness. They further clarified that the act of husband beating was a situational reaction towards men who had spent all of their daily earnings on alcohol. They stated that women with the responsibility to cook and feed family find themselves in an utterly helpless situation by the irresponsible drinking behavior of men. The male participants shared incidences of violence against men due to foreign migration. It was revealed in the discussions that some of the migrating men’s wives had run away with remitted money, abandoning marriage, and breaking up the family. The male participants identified this as a form of victimization of men, furthermore, the spreading of rumors and gossip caused emotional instability in those men. The female participants confirmed that some returning men failed to find their homes, property, money, and/or their wives. The discussion participants in both groups identified that this practice was on the rise in the community. It became apparent from the discussions that this increasing trend of women running away with the money and breaking away from family was a personal issue requiring social remedies.

Chasing dreams

The participants referred to sex trafficking as the exploitation of women, arising from poverty, illiteracy, and deceit. Explaining the causes of trafficking, the participants stated that women living in poverty, having dreams of prosperity and abundance were tricked by the traffickers making them victims of sex trafficking. The participants mentioned that women who had dreams larger than life and yearned for a comfortable and luxurious life in a short time were at a greater risk for sex trafficking. The participants from both groups resonated that the traffickers had been manipulating the dreams of poor women and deceiving them into trafficking. A female participant elaborated,

Women in poverty can be fooled easily with dreams. She can be tricked by a trafficker by saying I will find you employment with good pay abroad, and she gets into the trap easily.

A male participant further clarified,

Women readily fall into fraud and trickery shown by the traffickers who assure of luxurious life with foreign employment and this bait often leads to sex trafficking.

They identified that false hopes for foreign jobs were primarily used as an entry point by the traffickers to trap potential victims. Besides, they stated that some traffickers tricked women with false romantic relationships and marriages to win over their trust enabling traffickers to maneuver women as they wished.

It was identified that traffickers were not always strangers but known and familiar faces from the community, allowing the traffickers to gain the victim’s trust. The discussions divulged that traffickers strategically chose women who were less educated and poor. The participants explained that sex trafficking mostly occurred among women from a lower caste (the caste system is hierarchy-based in Hindu society which is determined by birth and unchangeable). They further explained that if one of these lower caste women went missing, it seldom raised any serious concerns in society, making these women easy targets for the traffickers. The discussions revealed that life for the survivors of sex trafficking was difficult. They identified that the survivor had to face strong stigmas and stereotypes which further increased their risk for re-victimization. The participants explained that the social acceptance of the trafficking survivors was minimal and finding a job for survival was very difficult. It was reported that social beliefs, norms, and practices were rigid for sex trafficking survivors and provided lesser opportunities for complete social integration. A female participant stated,

The story of a sex-trafficked woman does not end after her rescue. It is difficult for her to live in society, and this increases her chances of being a further victim.

The discussions in both groups highlighted that education and awareness were important for reducing sex trafficking. The participants felt that securing a livelihood for women was essential, but they identified it as a major challenge. The female participants recommended the use of education and awareness for reducing sex trafficking. They demanded effective legal actions and stringent enforcement of the law with maximum punishment for offending sex traffickers. They mentioned that the fear of law with maximum punishment for culprits could help decrease cases of trafficking.

The theoretical concept of power play

The discussions identified that gender inequality and violence against women occurred as men possessed and exercised greater authority. The participants explained that the authority emerging from male-centric beliefs was reinforced through established socio-cultural institutions. It was known that oppressive practices toward women in both public and private life have led to the domination and devaluation of women. The differences between men and women were known to be instilled by evoking discriminatory beliefs and due to internalization of them as fundamental truths by women which further helps to sustain these created differences.

The concept of power-play developed from the study has its roots in the belief systems and was found constantly used by men to maintain created differences. The power-play rise due to patriarchy, guiding discriminatory norms and unequal gender practices. These norms and practices in the canopy of patriarchy positions women inferior to men and impose control and restrictions. The power play possessed multi-dimensional effects on women such as creating further barriers, restricted life opportunities, the need for men-centered anchoring systems, and exclusion from the public arena. The power play gains its strength from the strict enforcement of stereotypical practices and committed adherence to gender performances. This leads to internalization of subordination as a natural occurrence by women. These further isolate women putting them into several non-negotiating positions. The power play at an individual level provides restrictive movement for women, barring them from quality education and other life opportunities, and is exhibited in alcohol-related assault and sexual violence. At the structural level, this power play limits women from economic opportunities, access to resources, and decision-making, and induces socio-cultural inequality exhibited in dowry and cases of witchcraft. The socio-cultural acceptance of power-play allows men to use violence as a misuse of power and use it as an effort to maintain authority. The use of power-play for committing violence was identified as the worst display of exercised power play.

Figure  1 describes the concept of power-play developed from the study. The power-play model is based on discussions and inferences made from data analysis. The model provides a description and explanation of how women are subjected to inequality and face violence. The concept of power play derives its strength from the subjugated status of women which are based on selective treatment, self-embodiment of inferiority, imposed restrictions and due to lesser life opportunities. The power play gain legitimacy through social approval of the status differences between men and women and through social systems and institutions majorly developed and favoring men. The status difference between men and women and its approval by developed social institutions and processes give rise to the concept of powerplay. It identifies that status differences allow men to gain and (mis)use power play not only to maintain differences but also enable men to use violence. The use of power-play exists at both interpersonal and cultural levels. Further, the model elaborates on influencers causing subjugation of women, display of power-play, and violence. The model identified that lodging public complaints and seeking legal remedies are the influencers that suppress violence against women. The influence of Forum Theater was perceived to have greater influence for victim, perpetrator, and bystanders. The influencers that aggravate violence are fear of further violence, the nature of the interpersonal relationship, alcohol-related abuse, and remaining silent especially on sexual violence. The cultural violence mentioned in the model refers to dowry and witchcraft-related violence and stands as systemic subordination. In the model, sex trafficking is depicted as one of the outcomes of inequality and violence faced by women majorly occurring due to deceit and fraud.

figure 1

The theoretical concept of power-play developed in this study identifies that inequality produces violence and violence further reinforces inequality, creating a vicious circle. The power play situates hierarchy based on gender as the primary cause and identifies violence as an outcome of this power asymmetry. The authority to use power by men is received by social approval from embedded structures and institutions. The functioning of associated structures and norms is designed and run by men helping to perpetuate the dominance and subjugation of women. The study identifies that both interpersonal and socio-cultural violence emerges due to the positional differences and use of power. The study found that an element of control exists in interpersonal violence. The findings show that few victim women in the community took advantage of consultations and rely on the law to evade and /or cope during the occurrence of interpersonal violence. A large number of victims women however suffer silently as they are unable and unwilling to take a stand on violence due to their perceived positional differences and strict norms following. The study finds that violence originating from socio-cultural systems is widely accepted and no established means of control exists. The practice of heinous acts against a fellow human during witchcraft allegations and dowry exchanges is prohibited by the law of Nepal but is widespread. This situates that practices which are based on belief systems are more effective than prevailing national laws which try to stop them. Sex trafficking as a form of sexual violence use deceit and fraud against women. Poverty and illiteracy compel women to search for alternatives, and they become easy victims of sex trafficking when their dreams of a better life are manipulated by the traffickers. The false promise of a better life and highly paid job put women in a non-negotiating position with traffickers. The cherished dream of escaping the prevailing status-quo of oppression, subordination, violence, and poverty mesmerizes women to take risky decisions, falling into the risk and trap of sex trafficking.

The socio-cultural norms are the unwritten script of social operatives and functioning. These social norms function as codes of operation and are a major determinant for behavior and interactions between people [ 43 ]. The study has found that these norms were skewed, and most favored men, giving rise to status differences and producing inequalities for women. This is observed with lesser life opportunities, lower participation in decision-making, and a constant need to anchor women. This further helps men to maintain their hierarchical positional status and use violence. The subjugation of women does not occur in a linear process, it is influenced by the internalization of discrimination resulting in lower self-esteem, suppression, and domination of women based on norms and unequal practices. Earlier research has identified that norms and beliefs encourage men to control women, and direct them to use force to discipline women which increases the risk of violence occurrence [ 44 , 45 ]. An earlier study shows that traits of masculinity require men to become controlling, aggressive, and dominant over women to maintain status differences [ 46 ]. The study confirms that men upon receiving both normative and social approval for using violence against women can do so without hesitation.

Violence against women in Nepal mostly occurs inside the home and is only reported when it reaches higher levels of severity. The acceptance of violence as a private affair has restricted women from seeking support and discourages them from communicating their problems with outsiders [ 47 ] this increases more likelihood for men to use violence. The study finds issues related to sex and sexual violence is a taboo and are seldom reported. The study could only identify cases of sexual assault registered with the police and other cases known to the wider community as sexual violence. A community with known incidents of rape may have other cases of abuse, harassment, incest, forceful sexual contact, etc. Failure to report incidents of sexual violence infer that a large number of women could be suffering in silence. Earlier research identifies that increased stigmatization associated with sexual violence, and fear of seclusion cause reluctance in victims to report or seek support [ 48 ]. This silencing of victims provides men with greater sexual control over women [ 49 ] increasing more likelihood of use of violence. Gender-based inequality and violence intersect structures, institutions, and socio-cultural processes, making inequality and violence visible at all levels. The dowry-related violence and witchcraft allegation intersect interpersonal and structural violence. This cultural violence forces women to be a victim of lifelong abuse and trauma. The intersecting relationship between gender norms, social structures, and individual is so closely knitted that it produces varieties of inequality and violence at all levels [ 50 ]. Emotional violence in this study only emerged as a type of violence, during discussions in both groups. It did not emerge as a major concern for the participants except for dowry-related violence and violence against men. The intertwined nature of emotional violence and its occurrence with each abusive, exploitative, and violent situation may have influenced the participants understand it as a result, rather than as a specific type of violence.

The power play between sexes was found in synchronicity with the established norms and prevailing stereotypes, helping to perpetuate gender power imbalance. The gender system is influenced and governed by norms and the social arena becomes the site of its reproduction through the interaction and engagement of people. This interaction provides approval to the institutions and processes that are based on constructed differences between men and women [ 51 ]. The power, as identified by Fricker [ 52 ], controls a social group and operates and operates through the agent or established social structures. A man can actively use the vested power to either patronize and/or abuse women while passively women’s internalization of social settings and embedded norms can put them docile. The social controls as reported by Foucault [ 53 ] work with the embedded systems of internalization, discipline, and social monitoring and uses coercion rather than inflicting pain. The internalization of status differences among women as indicated by the study confirms this schema of social control. The dominance of men over women with patriarchal beliefs establishes the significance of male-centered kinship. This requires women to constantly anchor with men providing grounds for inequalities to perpetuate further. This idealizes men and reinforces the belief that women are non-existent without their presence. The requirement for male anchorage has an attachment to prevailing structural inequality. The family property and resources are mostly controlled by men and it usually transfers from father to son limiting inheritance to women [ 51 ]. These glorified idealizations of men's competence as described by Ridgeway [ 54 ] idealize men as individuals with abilities, status, power, and influences. The need for women to rely on men as anchors, fear of going against the norms and social sanctions explains the positional difference and show that men possess greater competencies. The internalization of men-centric superior beliefs by women occurs due to self-passivity and devalues women creating false impressions of their abilities. The gender roles and responsibilities were strict for both sexes but provided greater flexibility, privilege, and opportunity for men. Earlier studies in congruence with this study find that socio-cultural expectations limit women from deviation, and strictly adhere to their prescribed role and expectations [ 55 , 56 ] providing an upper hand to the men. The unequal social positioning of women, as defined by a few of the participants, can help define men's use of violence. As inferred by Kaufman [ 57 ], the disadvantageous position of women and support from the established structures enable men to use aggression and violence with considerable ease. The concept of power-play derived from this study also reflects that inequalities not only create hierarchies, putting women into a subordinating position but also legitimize norms of harmful masculinity and violence [ 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ] creating a vicious cycle of inequality and violence. The concept of power-play developed by this study requires further exploration of gender relations, injustice, and patriarchy to identify multiple operatives of power with an outcome of inequality and violence.

Strengths and limitations of the study

The study followed the same participants over a period, which helped the study to achieve clarity on the topics through constant engagement. The data collection and the initial data analysis of the study were conducted by the same person, which reduced the risk of misrepresented findings. The study used follow-up discussions, which provided an opportunity to meet the participants again to resolve any ambiguities. The constant engagement with the participants helped to develop rapport and trust, which is essential to enable meaningful discussions. The study gathered rich data for developing the theory of power play in the Nepalese context. The study has attempted to explain the interplay of men’s use of power play, gender inequality, and violence against women, which, in itself, is a complex, but important issue. The study helped to develop a platform by identifying a level of awareness and needs for a Forum Theatre intervention study, a first of its kind in Nepal.

The major limitation of the study is that it was conducted with only one of the ethnic populations of Nepal; thus, the findings from this study cannot be generalized to a completely different setting. However, the transferability of the study is possible in a similar setting. The incidences of inequality and violence shared by the participants were self-reported, and no other means of verification were available to crosscheck those claims. The differences among the participants both in and between groups based on education and marital status might have influenced the study participants to understand, observe, and experience the phenomenon. The possibility of social desirability bias remains with the study, as a constant engagement with the study participants might have influenced them to answer differently. Furthermore, the discussions were conducted in groups, and participants might have had hesitation to bring up any opposing views. The study relied on collecting information on social norms and individual experiences and the perceptions of the study participants. It cannot be claimed that the study is devoid of any data rigidity as participants were free to choose what they wanted to share and express.

Study implications

The study explains gender practices, norms, violence against women, and sex trafficking in Nepal. The study helps to increase the understanding of how gender systems are operative in the daily lives of the Tharu community in the Morang district of Nepal. Future studies can explore the established linkages of interpersonal and socio-cultural violence. Like the complex link existing between gender inequality and violence against women, interpersonal violence and socio-cultural violence cannot be studied in isolation. The study provides an opportunity for future research on exploring how changing norms have been altering the position and victimization of women. The study finds that changing gender norms and responsibilities have, on the one hand, provided agency and empowerment for women, but on the other hand, they have also increased their risk of being a victim, an area that requires further exploration. The study has identified that constant engagement with the study participants through follow-up studies ensures the richness of data, which can be useful information for a future research study design. The study can be helpful for policy development, social activists, leaders, and researchers as it discusses prevalent gender oppressions and victimization, which need to be addressed. The findings from the study can be helpful for dialogue imitation and for designing intervention projects aimed at providing justice and equality to women.

The study identifies the presence of gender inequalities and violence against women in the study area. The positional differences based on norms, institutions, and practices have assigned greater privileges to men. The concept of power-play devised by the study ascertains the maintenance of gender hierarchy to produce inequality further and victimization of women. The subjugation of women based on the social-cultural process, embedded belief systems, and norms prevent women from life opportunities and dignified life. It situates men at the highest rung of the gender and social ladder providing a comparative advantage for men to use power. Violence emerges as men’s use of power play and as a strategy for the continued subjugation of women. Sex trafficking as a consequence of inequality and violence has its origins in illiteracy and poverty with women falling prey to the deceit of traffickers. It is important that dreams for progression provide motivation for women to develop further but at the same time, dreams should not be exchanged with trickery and fraud offered by the traffickers. Awareness and attitudinal changes are imperative to challenge unequal norms, and practices, and reduce the risks of sex trafficking. This can help to develop negotiations for power-sharing which helps to reduce inequality, violence, and preparedness in chasing dreams. Changes at both individual and societal levels are necessary to develop a collective action for establishing belief systems and practices providing women with an equal position and reducing the risk of violence.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to privacy but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all the focus group discussion participants. The authors are indebted to Bhojraj Sharma, Deekshya Chaudhary, Subham Chaudhary, and Dev Kala Dhungana for their coordination and facilitation in reaching the discussion participants.

Open access funding provided by Linnaeus University.

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Pranab Dahal & Katarina Swahnberg

Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College, 446 00, Kathmandu, Nepal

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Contributions

PD, SKJ, and KS were involved in the study design. PD and KS developed the discussion guides. PD was responsible for the data collection and the data analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Pranab Dahal .

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Dahal, P., Joshi, S.K. & Swahnberg, K. A qualitative study on gender inequality and gender-based violence in Nepal. BMC Public Health 22 , 2005 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14389-x

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Perpetuation of gender discrimination in Pakistani society: results from a scoping review and qualitative study conducted in three provinces of Pakistan

  • Tazeen Saeed Ali   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8896-8766 1 , 2 ,
  • Shahnaz Shahid Ali 1 ,
  • Sanober Nadeem 3 ,
  • Zahid Memon 4 ,
  • Sajid Soofi 4 ,
  • Falak Madhani 3 ,
  • Yasmin Karim 5 ,
  • Shah Mohammad 4 &
  • Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta 6 , 7  

BMC Women's Health volume  22 , Article number:  540 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Peer Review reports

Gender discrimination refers to any situation where a person is treated differently because they are male or female, rather than based on their competency or proficiency [ 1 , 2 ]. Gender discrimination harms all of society and negatively impacts the economy, education, health and life expectancy [ 1 , 2 ]. Women and girls are most likely to experience the negative impacts of gender discrimination. It include inadequate educational opportunities, low status in society and lack of freedom to take decisions for self and family [ 1 , 3 ].

Likewise, gender discrimination is one of the human rights issues in Pakistan and is affecting huge proportion of women in the country [ 1 , 2 ]. In Pakistan, nearly 50% of the women lacks basic education [ 4 ]. In addition, women in Pakistan have lower health and nutritional status. Furthermore, most of the women are restricted in their homes with minimal or no rights to make choices, judgments, and decisions, that directly affect their living conditions and other familial aspects [ 2 ]. In contrast, men are considered dominant in the Pakistani society [ 5 ]. This subordination of women has negative influences on different stages of women’s life.

Study design

The mixed method study design was used. Systematic review was done in phase one and qualitative interviews; in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in phase two.

The objective of the systematic review

To map a broad topic, gender discrimination/inequality research in Pakistan including women undergoing any form of intimate partner violence.

Systematic review

The three authors (TSA, SSA and SN) independently performed an extensive literature search using two databases: PubMed and Google Scholar and reports from organizations such as WHO and the Aurat Foundation. Quantitative and Boolean operators were used to narrow down the search results. The following keywords and phrases were used: Intimate partner violence (IPV), domestic violence, violence against women, domestic abuse, spousal violence, and Pakistan. Articles from 2008 to 2021 were assessed. The selection criteria of the articles included: women undergoing any form of IPV (physical, psychological, and sexual); quantitative study design; English as the publication language; and articles in which Pakistan was the study setting. The shortlisted articles were cross-checked by two of the authors (TSA, and SN) for final selection. The quality of the selected articles was reviewed using a STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) checklist, which ensured all articles followed a structured approach, including an introduction, methodology, results, and a discussion section. It was also determined that all selected articles are published in peer-reviewed journals and have been used nationally or internationally. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) chart was used for study selection (Fig.  1 ).

figure 1

PRISMA Diagram to select the final articles

The selected articles were approved by one of the authors (TSA), who is an expert in the field of IPV. Articles were excluded: (i) If the study was not conducted in Pakistan; (ii) Studied spousal violence against men and (iii) Domestic violence involving in-laws or other family members. Furthermore, from the selected articles, the data were extracted by 3 authors (TSA, SSA, SN) by carefully studying the methodology and results. The methodology was entered into an extraction template in which location was summarized including the study design and sample size in the articles. The results covered: (i) The title, (ii) Authors, (iii) Publication year, (iv) Objectives of the research, (v) Population and Setting, (vi) Research design, (vii) Data collection methods, (ix) Results, (x) Perpetuating factors (xi) Recommendations and (xii) prevalence of Intimate Partners Violence (IPV) faced by women, which was further categorized into: (a) Psychological/emotional violence, (b) Physical violence, (c) Sexual violence, (d) Both combined and (e) Violence of any other type.

Qualitative data collection

Participants selection.

Purposeful sampling was done to recruit the participants for qualitative data collection. Participants included groups of married men and women aged between 18 to 49 years, groups of unmarried adolescent boys and girls aged between 14 to 21 years, and groups of healthcare professionals (HCPs), comprising of doctors, nurses, Lady Health Visitors (LHVs), Lady Health Workers (LHWs) and Community Midwives (CMWs). Ethics approval was obtained from the Aga Khan University, Ethics Review Committee.

Study sites

The selected study sites included two districts from Chitral (Upper and Lower Chitral), six districts from Gilgit (Gilgit, Ghizer, Hunza, Nagar, Astore, and Skardu), and two districts from Sindh (Matiari and Qambar Shadadkot). The following are the details of the data collection (Refer Table  1 ).

Data collection

Data were collected by conducting (IDIs) and (FGDs). The IDI and FGD interview guides were developed specifically for the study and reviewed based on the literature. IDIs were conducted with the healthcare industry administrators, Heads of the Departments (HODs), and HCPs of private and government health settings, including gynaecologists, LHWs, LHVs, and CMWs. The IDI interview guides comprised of the questions related to knowledge, sources of information, and attitudes regarding gender-based discrimination (how each gender is perceived in society and how physical and social differences in the roles of males and females affect an individual or society). The IDIs were conducted in Urdu and local language. The interviews were audio-recorded. Each IDIs lasted for 45–60 minutes.

Likewise, the FGDs were conducted using different interview guides, which were designed to assess the perception of adolescent girls and boys, married men and women and health care workers regarding gender discrimination in the society (perceptions of masculinity and femininity, and gender role expectations of a society). The FGDs were conducted in Urdu and local language. The interviews were audio-recorded. Each FGDs lasted for 60–120 minutes.

Data analysis

All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed in English. Training was provided to the data collectors, and they were supervised by the authors throughout the process to ensure transcriptions are written accurately and correctly, representing the actual data collected during interviews. Thematic analysis was carried out in four different steps. Firstly, manual analysis was done by the research team where transcriptions were thoroughly read, and codes were identified. These codes were combined according to their contextual similarity which followed the derivation of categories, based on which, themes were developed. Secondly, similar manual analysis was conducted by an expert data analyst. Thirdly, analysis was conducted using QSR NVivo 10. In the final step, all three analyses were combined and verified by the research team followed by the compilation of results.

Data integrity

To maintain the credibility or truthfulness of the data, the following strategies were used: (1) Prolonged engagement: Various distinct questions were asked related to the topic and participants were encouraged to share their statements with examples, (2) Triangulation: Data was analyzed by the author, expert data analyst and through QSR NVivo10, (3) Persistent observation: The authors read and reread the data, analyzed them recoded and relabeled codes and categories and revised the concepts accordingly, and (4) Transferability: The ability to generalize or transfer the findings to other context or settings, was ensured by explaining in detail the research context and its conclusions [ 6 ].

Ethical considerations

Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics review committee (ERC), Aga Khan University. The ERC number is 2020-3606-11,489. To ensure voluntary participation of the study participants both verbal and written consent were obtained. For those who were younger than 18 years of age were given written assent, and their parent, or guardian’ verbally consented due to literacy issues. In addition to anonymity of the study participants were maintained by assigning codes to the study participants. To avoid loss of data, interview recordings were saved on a hard drive and in the email account of the author. The data on hard copies such as note pads used during IDIs and informed consents were kept in lock and key. All the data present in hard copy was scanned and saved in the hard drive with password protection. To ensure confidentiality, only the authors had access to hard and soft data of the study.

The studies selected were scrutinized to form a data extraction template with all the relevant data such as author, publication year, study title, purpose, design, setting, sampling, main results, perpetuating factors, and recommendations (Refer Table  2 , provided in the attachment). Most of the 20 studies included in the review were conducted in Pakistan however the most frequent study design was cross-sectional ( n  = 9) followed by narrative research based on desk reviews ( n  = 8), one was a case study, and two were cross-country comparison by using secondary data. Four studies were conducted in Province Punjab, three studies were conducted in KPK, and one in both KPK and Punjab. Only one study was conducted in Sindh province. The remaining used whole Pakistan in systematic review. The maximum sample size in a cross-sectional study was ( n  = 506). Six major themes have emerged from the review which included (1) Status of Women in Society (2) Gender Inequality in Health (3) Gender Inequality in Education (4) Gender Inequality in Employment (5) Gender Biased Social Norms and Cultural Practices (6) Micro and Macro Level Recommendations.

Status of a woman in the society

The Pakistani women often face gender inequality [ 13 ]. Women are seen as a sexual object who are not allowed to take decision for self or their family. However, the male is seen as a symbol of power. Due to male ownership and the patriarchal structure of the Pakistani society women are submissive to men, their rights are ignored, and their identity is lost. Out of twenty, nine studies reported that a female can not take an independent decision, someone else decides on her behalf, mainly father before marriage then-husband and son [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 13 ]. The three studies report that women are not allowed to participate in elections or have very limited participation in politics. Furthermore, women often face inequalities and discrimination in access to health, education, and employment that have negative impact in their lives [ 1 , 2 ]. In addition, media often portrays women in the stereotyped role whose only responsibility is to look after the family and household chores [ 2 ]. Likewise, women have less access and control over financial and physical assets [ 13 ]. Similarly, in most of the low economic and tribal families’ women face verbal and physical abuse [ 8 ].

Gender inequality in health

Gender disparity in health is obvious in Pakistan. Women suffer from neglect of health and nutrition. They don’t have reproductive health rights, appropriate prenatal and postnatal care, and decision-making power for birth spacing those results in maternal mortality and morbidity [ 13 ]. Women can not take decision for her and her children’s health; she doesn’t have access to quality education and health services [ 13 , 15 ]. Furthermore, many papers report son preference [ 1 , 3 ]. Gender-based violence is also very common in Pakistan that leads to harmful consequences on the health and wellbeing of women [ 9 ].

Gender inequality in education

Low investment in girls’ education has been reported in almost all the papers reviewed. The major reason for low investment is low returns from girls, as boys are perceived to be potential head of the house and future bread winner [ 6 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 15 ]. One of the case study reports, people believe, Muslim women should be brought up in a way that they can fulfill the role of a good daughter, wife, and a mother; and education can have a “bad influence” to develop these characteristics in women [ 12 ]. If girls are educated, they become less obedient and evil and don’t take interest in household chores that is the primary responsibility of her [ 12 ]. Moreover, religious leaders have strong authority in rural areas. They often misuse Islamic teaching and educate parents that through education, women become independent and cannot become a good mother, daughter, and a wife. These teachings mostly hinder girl’s education. Other barriers in girls’ education are access to the facility and women’s safety. Five studies reported that most of the schools are on long distances and have co-education system that is perceived as un-Islamic. Parents are reluctant to send their daughters for education as they feel unsafe and threatened [ 1 , 4 , 12 , 13 , 15 ]. Poverty is another root cause of gender disparity in education, as parents cannot afford the education of their children and when there is a choice, preference is given to boys due to their perceived productive role in future. As a result, more dropouts and lower attainment of education by girls particularly living in rural areas [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 13 ].

Gender inequality in employment

Economic disparity due to gender inequality is an alarming issue in Pakistan. The low status of women in society, home care responsibilities, gender stereotyping, and social-cultural humiliated practices against women are the main hurdles in women’s growth and employment opportunities. Low education of females, restriction on mobility, lack of required skillsets, sex-segregated occupational choices are also big obstacles in the attainment of economic opportunities. Most of the women are out of employment, however those who are in economic stream are facing several challenges [ 7 ]. They face discrimination in all layers of the economy. Men are mostly on the leadership positions, fewer females are involved in decision making, wages are low for females if compared with males, workplace harassment and unfavourable work environment is common that hinders long stay in job [ 1 , 7 , 8 ]. Moreover, a study reported that in a patriarchal society very limited number of females are in business field and entrepreneurship. The main hurdles are capital unavailability, lack of role models, gender discrimination in business, cultural and local customs, and lack of training and education [ 8 ].

Gender biased social norms and cultural practices

The gender discrimination is deeply rooted in the Pakistani society. The gender disparity in Pakistan is evident at household level. It includes Distribution of food, education, health care, early and forced marriages, denial of inheritance right, mobility restriction, abuse, and violence [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 11 ]. Furthermore, birth of a boy child is celebrated, and the girl is seen as a burden. Likewise, household chores are duty of a female, and she cannot demand or expect any reward for it. On the other hand, male work has socio-economic value [ 2 , 7 , 15 ]. Furthermore, the female has limited decision making power and most of the decisions are done by male figures in a family or a leader of the tribe or community who is always a male. This patriarchal system is sustained and practiced under the name of Islamic teaching [ 2 , 12 , 13 ]. The prevalence of gender-based violence is also high, in form of verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual assault, rape and forced sex, etc., In addition, it is usually considered a private matter and legal actions are not taken against it [ 8 ] . Moreover, Karo Kari or honor killing of a female is observed in Pakistan. It is justified as killing in the name of honor . Similarly, women face other forms of gender-based violence that include: (i) bride price (The family of the groom pay their future in-laws at the start of their marriage), (ii) Watta Satta (simultaneous marriage of a brother-sister pair from two households.), (iii) Vani (girls, often minors, are given in marriage or servitude to an aggrieved family as compensation to end disputes, often murder) and (iv) marriage with Quran (the male members of the families marry off their girl child to Holy Quran in order to take control of the property that legally belongs to the girl and would get transferred to her after marriage) [ 1 , 4 , 9 , 14 , 15 ]. Furthermore, the women are restricted to choose political career [ 13 ].

Micro and macro level recommendations

The women should have equal status and participation in all aspects of life that include, health, nutrition, education, employment, and politics [ 1 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 11 ]. Women empowerment should be reinforced at policy level [ 1 , 7 ]. For this, constitution of Pakistan should give equal rights to all citizens. Women should be educated about their rights [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. To improve status of women, utmost intervention is an investment in girls education. If women is not educated she cannot fight for her rights. Gender parity can only be achieved if women is educated and allowed to participate in decision-making process of law and policies [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 11 , 14 ]. Similarly, access to health care services is women’s right. Quality education, adequate nutrition, antenatal and post-natal care services, skilled birth attendants, and access and awareness about contraceptives is important to improve women’s health and reduce maternal mortality.

Similarly, women should be given equal opportunities to take part in national development and economic activities of the country to reduce poverty. This is possible through fair employment opportunities, support in women’s own business, equitable policies at workplace and uniform wages and salaries. Besides these, female employees must be informed about their rights and privileges at workplace and employment [ 1 , 7 , 8 , 11 ]. Policy actions should be taken to increase the level of women’s participation in economic growth and entrepreneurship opportunities. There should be active actions to identify bottlenecks of gender parity and unlock growth potential of social institutions [ 5 ]. Another barrier for women empowerment is threatened and unsafe environment to thrive. There should be policies and legislation to protect women from harm, violence, and honor killing that ensure their health, safety, and wellbeing [ 4 , 12 ]. Educational institutions and mass media are two powerful sources that can bring change in society. Government must initiate mass media awareness campaign on gender discrimination at household level, educational institutes, and employment sectors to break discriminatory norms of patriarchal society and to reduce the monopoly of males in marketplace. Parent’s education on gender-equitable practices is also important to bring change at the microlevel. It includes gender-equitable child-rearing practices at home including boys mentoring because they think discrimination against females is a very normal practice and part of a culture [ 3 ]. There is insufficient data on women’s participation and gender parity in health, education, and employment. Thus, there is a strong need to identify effective interventions and relevant stakeholders to reduce the gender discrimination in Pakistan [ 5 ] .

Findings from primary data collection

The following are the major themes emerged from the primary data collection (Refer Table  3 ).

Theme 1: perception of women regarding gender discrimination in society

Woman as a sexual object.

Female participants highlighted that they are seen as “sexual objects” and “a mean of physical attraction” which prevents them from comfortably leaving their homes. One female participant explained this further as,

“We are asked to stay inside the house because men and boys would look at our body and may have bad intentions about us” (Adolescent girl, FGD).

Male participants echoed this narrative as they agreed that women are judged by their physical appearance, such as the shape of their bodies. A male participant stated,

“ Woman is a symbol of beauty and she's seen by the society as the symbol of sex for a man" (Male HCP, IDI).

A male participant reported,

“Women should cover themselves and stay inside the house” (married man, FGD).

One female participant verbalized,

“ We have breasts, and therefore, we are asked to dress properly". (adolescent girls, FGD).

Another stated,

“ Girls are supposed to dress properly and avoid eye contact with boys while walking on the road” (adolescent girls, FGD).

Women as dependent beings

One of the major study findings suggests the idea that women must be “helped” at all times, as they are naturally dependent upon other persons to protect them. One participant stated,

“If a woman is alone, she is afraid of the man's actions ” (adolescent girl, FGD).

Some female participants, however, agreed with this statement to some extent because they felt that men help women to fit into society. Oftentimes, judgment is passed for women without an accompanying male. Participants verbalized that wife cannot survive without husband and similarly daughter cannot live without her father. One participant mentioned,

“We are only allowed to go out when we have our father or brothers to accompany us” (Adolescent girl, FGD).

Other participants agreed with the sentiment differently. Since it is implied that men easily get attracted to women, having a male figure with female will protect her from naturally prying eyes. However, if she cannot be accompanied by a male, she must protect herself by covering fully and maintain distance with males.

Women’s autonomy

Female participants, especially young adolescent girls, shared how restrictions have affected their livelihoods. Participants expressed how easy it is for males to gain permission and leave the house, while females often have series of obstacles in front of them. A young girl stated,

“ There are lot of constraints when we see women in our culture. They must take care of everything at home, yet they must get everybody's permission to go five minutes away. Whereas a boy can go out of town and that too, without anyone’s permission. Looking at this, I wish I were a boy. I'd go wherever I want, and I could do whatever I want” (adolescent girl, FGD).

Males as an identity for females

Women are often identified through a prominent male figure in their life and are not considered to have individual personalities and identities. A female participant mentioned that,

“Woman is someone having a low status in society. People know her through their husband or father name” (married women, FGD).

Child’s upbringing responsibility

Culturally, it is expected from the female members of the family, often mothers, to rear children and take care of their upbringing. Male members, mainly fathers, are expected to look after finances. Thus, mothers usually take a greater portion of responsibility for child’s upbringing and blame in case of misconduct. A married woman explained that,

"If a girl does something, the mother is blamed for that. Even in our house, my mother-in-law talks to my mother if I argue or refuse for anything. This is the culture in my maiden home as well" (Married Woman, FGD).

Unrecognized contribution of women

Many female participants verbalized their concern for disregard they receive from their families despite contributing significantly. Women who perform major roles in maintaining the family and household chores are not recognized for their efforts. By doing cleaning, cooking and other duties, they keep family healthy and help keep costs low. One participant mentioned,

“If women don’t clean the house, it is extremely dirty. If women do not rear children, no one else would do it. We do so much for the family” (married woman, FGD).

Gender differences in daily activities

Both men and women struggle with self-expression as certain expectations from both genders hold people back from expressing their views and opinions. Men, for example, as indicated by participants, are expected to remain firm in challenging situations and not show emotions. Even for hobbies, participants shared that, parks and recreational activities are geared towards young boys and men, while girls and women are given more quiet and indoor activities. A female participant verbalized that,

“ Boys have a separate area where they play cricket and football daily but for girls like us, only indoor activities are arranged” (adolescent girl, FGD).

In places where males and females freely mix or live closely in one area, people often find themselves taking extra precautions in their actions, as to not be seen disgraceful by the community. One female participant reported,

“ Two communities are residing in our area. Events for females, such as sports day, are very rarely arranged. Even then we cannot fully enjoy because if we'll shout to cheer up other players, we would be scolded as our community is very cautious for portraying a soft image of females of our community ” (adolescent girl, FGD).

Another participant stated that,

“ After prayers, we cannot spend time with friends as people would point that girl and say that she always stays late after prayers to gossip when she is supposed to go home ” (adolescent girl, FGD).

Deprivation of women’s rights

A woman’s liberty has always struggled to be accepted and males are always favoured. Thus, women are given lower status. Participants highlighted that, in general, men are seen as superior to women. One participant stated,

“ Men are the masters of women…” (FGD married women).

On the other side, male suppress female liberty and women are unaware of their rights leaving them vulnerable to deprivation. A female participant explained,

“Women do not dominate society that's why people take away their rights from them” (married woman, FGD).

Female participants also shared that they see men as strong and dominant personalities, making them better decision makers regarding health care acquisition, family income, availing opportunities and producing offspring. One female participant verbalized,

“If there's one egg on the table and two children to be fed, it is considered that males should get it as it is believed that males need more nutrition than us” (HCP, IDI).

Another reported that,

“There is a lack of equal accessibility of health care facilities and lack of employment equality for women” (HCP, IDI).

Theme 2: perception of men regarding gender discrimination in society

Male dominance.

Inferiority and superiority are common phenomenon in Pakistan’s largely patriarchal society. This allows men to be seen as dominant, decision-maker of family and the sole bread winner. Women, however, are caught in a culture of subordination to men with little power over family and individual affairs. A female participant said,

“If we look at our society, men are dominant. They can do anything while a woman cannot, as she is afraid of the man's reactions [gussa] and aggression” (adolescent girl, FGD).

While another reported,

"In our society, husband makes his wife feel his superiority over her and would make her realize that it is him, who has all the authority and power” (married woman, FGD).

Preference for male child

There is often an extreme desire for birth of sons over daughters, which adds to the culture of gender discrimination in Pakistan. Male children are important to the family as they often serve their parents financially, once they are able. This is one of the main reasons that parents are more inclined towards birth of a male child rather than female. Consequently, education is prioritized for male children. Female participants expressed that their desire for a male child is to appease their husband’s family and reduce the pressure on her to fit in the house. According to a female participant,

“When my son was born, I was satisfied as now nobody would pressurize me. I noticed a huge difference in the behavior of my in-laws after I gave birth to my son. I felt I have an existence in their family” (married woman, FGD).

Participants highlighted that, women who have brothers are often more protected. According to a young participant,

“Brothers give us the confidence to move within the society because people think before saying anything about us” (adolescent girl, FGD).

Lack of communication among husband and wife

Married couples often lack communication and rarely discuss important matters with each other. Men often choose not to share issues with their wives as they believe they are not rational enough to understand the situation. A male participant stated,

“ Women are so sensitive to share anything. They can only reproduce and cook food inside the home” (married man, FGD).

Men are protectors

Many female participants considered men as a source of protection, as they manage finances and ensure safety of family members. They feel confident in man’s ability to contribute to their livelihoods. One participant mentioned,

“We go out when we have our father or brothers to accompany us” (Adolescent girl, FGD).

Another highlighted,

“Men are our protectors. We can only survive in the society because of them” (Married woman, FGD).

Theme 3: factors influencing gender discrimination

The role of family head.

A tight-knit family situation, difference of opinions, cultural values and generation gap can highly affect one’s view on gender. Participants highlighted the role of elders in the family who often favor their sons and male family members. Married women expressed that daughter in-laws often struggle to raise their voice or express their concerns in such family situation. One participant mentioned,

“We don’t take decisions on when to have the child or what method needs to be used for family planning. Our mothers-in-law decide and we must obey” (married woman, FGD).

The family system that often includes three generations living closely, allows traditional norms to carry forward, as opposed to a typical nuclear family. This includes attire, conduct, and relationships. One participant mentioned,

“I live with my mother-in-law. I must cover my head whenever I had to leave the house”. (Married woman, FGD).

Media influence

Media plays an important role in disseminating gender awareness. For example, advertisements of cooking oils and spices usually show young girls helping their mothers in kitchen, while men and boys are observed enjoying something else or not present. These short advertisements are impactful in perpetuating gender conduct solely for societal acceptance. One participant verbalized,

“Every household has a radio, on which different advertisements are going on. People get messages through media” (married man, FGD).

The study reveals that women are seen as sexual objects and therefore confined to their homes. Women are often judged on their physical appearance that hinders their autonomy in various aspects of life. Many women face difficulties in leaving their homes alone and require protection from men [ 3 ]. Men are, therefore, labeled as protectors while women are regarded as dependent beings who need man’s identity. The role of men inside the house is identified as authoritative, while women need approval from male because they are considered incapable of making appropriate decisions. Women are caretaker of their families and have primary responsibility of husband, children, and in-laws. However, these contributions are mostly unnoticed. These gender power differentials are so strong in households, that many women do not know their rights. Women comply with societal and cultural values that force them to become lesser beings in the society. Girls in society grow up and eventually adopt the traditional role of women [ 8 ]. Increased education and awareness level among communities can improve status of women in the Pakistani society [ 3 ].

Moreover, males have dominant role in the society [ 1 ]. Likewise, there is discrepancy in power structures between male and female in the family system that often leads to lack of communication especially between married couples as husbands do not share concerns with their wives nor ask for their advice, considering women incapable to understand anything [ 5 ].

Furthermore, a common phenomenon observed in the Pakistani society, is the strong desire for a male child, while the birth of a female child is mourned [ 5 ]. Girls are seen as a liability, while the birth of a male child is celebrated as it is believed that males will be the breadwinner of the family in the future [ 5 ]. Thus, preference for a male child leads to illegal termination of pregnancies with female fetuses in many situations [ 9 ]. In addition, some of the studies suggest that the preference for a son is significantly high in low socioeconomic areas if compared with the middle and upper ones. Men are seen as economic and social security providers of the household. Therefore, men are tagged as manhood in the society as it is considered that hierarchal familial structures are produced from them, and all powers are attributed to men. This increases the disparity of roles between men and women leading to gender discrimination [ 5 ]. Our study also reveals that media has important influence towards gender discrimination. It is commonly observed in the Pakistani TV advertisements, that household chores are mostly performed by women while men have professional roles in the society [ 6 ].

Thus, lack of female autonomy and empowerment are recognized as the major reasons of discrimination of women in our society. They do not have the means to participate in society, neither they are allowed to speak against traditions. Therefore, interventions are required to increase female autonomy and decision-making capacity. The other significant contributor to gender discrimination is male dominance, which must be brought down to empower women. To reduce this, communication is key between spouses, family members and community members. Gender discrimination has greater influence at different levels of Pakistani society. Certain schools and television advertisements portrays stereotypes, such as allowing boys to be active outdoors and forcing girls to remain indoors. Therefore, media channels and other public systems such as healthcare facilities and schooling systems must promote gender equity and equality. In terms of Sexual and Reproductive health (SRH), the health care facilities should play an important role in providing knowledge and effective treatment to both males and females. The SRH related services are often compromised for people due to lack of resources, staff, and attention. Schools and communities should play an important role in creating SRH related awareness among youth and adults that include puberty, pregnancy, and motherhood. SRH should also be made part of curriculum in educational institutes.

The use of group interviews allowed rapport development with communities. With multiple people present sharing similar views, many were inclined to give purposeful answers and recommendations regarding gender roles in communities. Based on previous literature searches, this study, to the best of our knowledge, has not been published in Pakistan at the community level. No other study explores the views of Pakistanis on gender discrimination with inclusion of multiple community groups and across multiple districts. In limitations, due to the topic’s sensitive topic, may have held back participants from answering fully and truthfully. Thus, considerable time was taken to develop trust and rapport. Therefore, it is possible that some study subjects might not have answered to the best of their ability. Furthermore, challenges were faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather conditions in some areas, as some participants could not reach the venue. Also, the lockdowns following the pandemic made it very difficult to gather 10–12 people at one place for the FGDs. Interviews could not be done virtually as the information was very sensitive.

Gender roles in Pakistani society are extremely complex and are transferred from generation to generation with minimal changes since ages. This study reveals some of the factors due to which women in Pakistan face gender discrimination. The cultural and societal values place women in a nurturing role in the Pakistani society. Through reinforcement of these roles by different family members, as well as by the dominant men in the society, women face adverse challenges to seek empowerment that will help them defy such repressive roles assigned to them. Gender discrimination is evident in public institutions such as healthcare facilities and schooling systems. Thus, administrative reorganization and improved awareness in the healthcare facilities, and appropriate education in schools for boys and girls will help decrease gender discrimination in the Pakistani societies.

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Abbreviations

Aga Khan Foundation

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology

Intimate Partner Violence

Healthcare Professionals

Lady Health Visitors

Lady Health Workers

Community Midwives

In-Depth Interviews

Focus Group Discussions

Heads of the Departments

Sexual and Reproductive health

United Nations Population Fund

Ethics Review Committee

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the research specialist, coordinator, and research associates for data collection, and the study participants for their time and valuable data. We would also like to appreciate and thank Mr. Adil Ali Saeed for helping us with the literature for the systematic review of the paper, and Ms. Amirah Nazir and Daman Dhunna for the overall cleaning of document. We are thankful to UNFPA and AKF for providing advisory and monitoring support. We would like to acknowledgment UNFPA Pakistan that through them the funding was received from Global Affairs Canada.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC). Project No: P006434; Arrangement #: 7414620.

Role of the funder: This is to declare that there was no role of the funding agency for planning and implementation of this study.

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Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O. Box 3500, Karachi, Pakistan

Tazeen Saeed Ali

Aga Khan Health Services, Karachi, Pakistan

Sanober Nadeem & Falak Madhani

Center of Excellence Women & Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Zahid Memon, Sajid Soofi & Shah Mohammad

Aga Khan Rural Service Pakistan, Gilgit, Pakistan

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Institute for Global Health, Karachi, Pakistan

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Contributions

All authors have read and approved the manuscript. Their contribution is as follows: TSA contributed to proposal development, interview guide development, ERC approval, data supervision, data validation, systematic review, data analysis, manuscript development, and overall supervision. SSA assisted in proposal development, data collection supervision, data validation, systematic review, data analysis, and reviewed manuscript. SN, contributed in -literature Review, analysis of literature review and write up of findings. ZM reviewed interview guides, assisted in ERC approval, filed preparation for data collection, assisted in data validation and enhancing the approval processing, reviewed data analysis, and the final manuscript. SSA, contributed to proposal development, assisted in ERC approval, overall supervision, filed preparation for data collection and training of data collectors, assisted in data validation and enhancing the approval process and review of final manuscript. FM contributed to the interview guide development, facilitated field data collection, and contributed to the validation and analysis processes. Reviewed the final manuscript before submission. YK contributed to the interview guide development, facilitated field data collection, and contributed to the validation and analysis processes. Reviewed the final manuscript before submission. SM, contributed to proposal development, field preparation for data collection, validation, and review of the final manuscript. ZB, contributed to proposal development, brought the funding, assisted in ERC approval, overall supervision, data validation and enhancing the approval process and reviewed the final manuscript. He provided overall mentorship.

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Correspondence to Tazeen Saeed Ali .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The ERC approval was taken from the Aga Khan University Ethics Review Committee for primary data collection. The ERC number is 2020-3606-11489. The written informed consent was taken from all the participants. For those who were younger than 18 years of age were given written assent, and their parent, or guardian verbally consented.

We declare that this is original research and all the authors have contributed to the proposal writing, funding management, data collection, analysis, and manuscript development.

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Ali, T.S., Ali, S.S., Nadeem, S. et al. Perpetuation of gender discrimination in Pakistani society: results from a scoping review and qualitative study conducted in three provinces of Pakistan. BMC Women's Health 22 , 540 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-02011-6

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Argumentative essay on gender discrimination

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Here you have an Argumentative essay on gender discrimination with Pdf. You can Download it free of cost from here and take advantage of many more essays.

Introduction

Gender inequality is a social problem that creates unfair social treatment between the sexes. These differences vary in biological aspects, especially in the different reproductive roles in life. This misconception comes from a misunderstanding of individual sexuality in life.

These days, the dilemma that causes women to suffer and to put women in an awkward position is evident in all walks of life. However, the nature of sexism in one area differs from that of others. For example, gender inequality is faster in the workplace when you enter the job market, not just the unequal pay; employment inequality is reflected in the difference between gender and the amount paid. On the academic side, men tend to have more opportunities to go to school than before. Young women seem to have fewer opportunities for higher education than young men.

Regarding the causes and origins of gender inequality, it can be seen that Asia would be a place where gender discrimination seems to be “cultural.” According to the General Office of Family Planning, the idea of ​​segregation of men from women came from the effects of Confucianism and public awareness. Men were thought to have a role in the ancestry of their ancestors. Being barren was a sign of contempt for the ancestor in that society. Continuing with this pessimistic view, women are more likely to lose their role in society.

How does gender inequality affect lives?

Initially, gender inequality has implications for the scale of the population. According to statistics from the General Office of Family Planning, due to gender discrimination, the number of newborn boys and girls is unequal. For some people, the prospect of having a son loses the balance between the two sexes. Unfortunately, this situation has been going on for so long, so its impact on people is enormous. According to a report by the Department of Public Health, it is estimated that, despite efforts to reduce the incidence of congenital disabilities in boys and girls, by 2020, there will be 4.3 million men over women.

A statement from the Minister of Public Health said that if the situation continues, it will lead to fewer consequences for public safety and order before the age of child marriage because there will be a shortage of brides due to many young people – boys born girls. Now we can see the apparent effect on the Chinese. According to the Blue Paper on Society published by the China Academy of Social Science, there will be a shortage of brides in ten years due to the extreme gender inequality among young people, especially those under 19.

Second, gender discrimination leads to some problems in education. Education is a vital tool, the key to human growth. And regardless of gender, a person has the right to be exposed to education as everyone else. Some researchers said that “there is ample evidence that the increase in women’s education is improving the effects of human development such as child health, health, and learning.” However, “women’s lower education has harmed economic growth as it has reduced the general population.” The World Bank 2001 stated that there is a high tendency for educational implications for gender inequality in almost every developing country. In poverty, girls are more likely to be influenced to get closer to education.

Finally, the economy is an affected sector because there is a link between education and the economy. The impact of gender inequality on the economy is felt in the number of male and female students in primary and secondary schools, which is harmful. And some researchers say that “the huge gap in school for men and women may be a reflection of backwardness and therefore may be associated with slower economic growth.” Let’s take China – a country known for its global solid gender inequality – as an example. As mentioned earlier, China is facing a 10-year shortage of brides, and this trend leads to problems for women who buy crimes. has grown, says the deputy director of the China Population Association-Tian Xueyuan.” Another economic impact of gender discrimination is unequal income between men and women. a professor at Renmin University, women’s salaries are much lower than men’s despite the same position level.

How to solve gender discrimination problem?

Ninety-three years ago, people in some parts of the world officially celebrated International Women’s Day. In the ninety-three years, many changes have changed attitudes toward gender inequality. These days we live in a developed world dominated by men and women, so why should women suffer in this way of unfair treatment?

In general, this type of inequality has been around for a long time and in all parts of the world, no matter where it is. Now it is time for the world to come together and end this obsolete vision. The Nobel Committee has stated that we will not be able to achieve democracy and peace unless we provide equal opportunities and opportunities for women. To boost the economy, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said encouraging women to participate in the economy and growing their products is key to economic growth because it will impact “our competitiveness and economic growth.”

In the relationship between economics and education, people cannot underestimate the value of education. To improve the economic system, people must make an effort to learn in school. In terms of solutions to this, setting up gender-responsive schools is essential in creating a conducive environment for learning and teaching. To help women feel more confident in education, developing a gender-sensitive curriculum that reflects the national gender equality policy that should be taught is also needed.

Conclusion on Gender Discrimination

In all of the above discussions, gender inequality is a global problem. Even though its volume is significantly reduced, it still exists and causes many people to suffer from its daily effects. And several factors contribute to unresolved sexual harassment. However, with the education and progressive thinking of the people, there are reasons to trust in the future that gender inequality will be eradicated. Then, hopefully, people can live equally well regardless of their gender.

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Gender Discrimination Essay

500 words gender discrimination essay.

Gender discrimination is when there are unfair rights between male and female. It differs because of their gender roles which ultimately leads to unequal treatment in life. Gender discrimination has been around for many centuries. However, as we are evolving, it is time to do away with such notions of gender roles. Thus, gender discrimination essay will take us through it in detail.

gender discrimination essay

Causes of Gender Discrimination

There are many causes of gender discrimination. The first one has to be illiteracy . When people do not educate themselves, they continue to live in the old times. Thus, they follow the old-age sexist traditions and norms.

Education can bring about a change in this mindset because educated people will less likely partake in gender discrimination. Further, poverty is also another reason which is interlinked in a way.

It is the root cause in many places because the economic dependence remains on the male counterparts mostly. Thus, women suffer a lot from it because of the same reason. They never get out of this and stay financially dependent on men.

Furthermore, the patriarchal setup in our society plays a big role. In this setup, the male dominates almost every aspect of life. Thus, they consider themselves to be superior to others.

This way, a lot of violence and injustice is meted out against females. Thus, when there is a gender considering themselves to be superior, it becomes difficult for everyone to avail equal opportunities.

Impact of Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination has a deep impact on society as a whole. It does not just impact a specific section of the society but every part of it. First of all, it impacts children as they fall prey to gender stereotypes from a young age.

Further, it impacts young people because it impacts their behaviour, study choices, ambitions, attitudes and more. Thus, many girls do not participate in many sports and women experience physical violence more than men.

Next up, we have gender discrimination affecting adults because there is a gender pay gap between the working class. Men earn more for doing the same work as women. In addition, older women have more risk of becoming homeless than men.

It also impacts the aboriginal women because they have it a lot worse. It is more likely to happen that they can die from family violence, 11 times more than men. Even for men, it is not beneficial as it sets difficult standards for men to follow.

It draws a line on men being emotional. Thus, they can never showcase their emotions truly without being judged. Similarly, men do not parental leave in many places. Ultimately, all this results in more suicide in men. Thus, it impacts everyone.

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Conclusion of Gender Discrimination Essay

Gender discrimination must be checked at every stage so that no person should be denied a chance to learn and grow. Thus, everyone, no matter male or female, must get a start in life in terms of educations and other opportunities. We must come together as a society to do this.

FAQ on Gender Discrimination Essay

Question 1: Who is affected by gender inequality?

Answer 1: Gender inequality affects everyone, which includes men as well. Stereotypes about how women and men, girls and boys should be, start from their childhood and follow us to adulthood. Thus, it does not affect just one but all.

Question 2: Give an example of gender discrimination.

Answer 2: There are many examples of gender discrimination. For instance, restriction on clothing. If a man wears shorts, no one will bat an eye. However, if a woman wears shorts, she will be seen in a bad light and be called names. Similar is the case for housework.

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