NEWS & MEDIA

NEWS

Economics Faculty Paper Presentation

Economics Faculty Departmental Meeting was held on 29th August, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. in TRC-1. Ms. Aiman Farrukh presented her MPhil research on “Social Movement and Gender Integration in Punjab” (abstract given below).

Social Movement and Gender Integration in Punjab

Aiman Farrukh

Abstract

This study analyzes the implications that women’s participation in social movements may have on the level of empowerment in a particular developing country context. Social movement is a multifaceted phenomenon as it aspires to change not only specific policies, but also, simultaneously, broad cultural and institutional structures. Women’s as well as mixed gender movements provide examples of how emergent norms and collective outlooks can influence mobilization and public opinion. Such collective behavior not only challenges limitations on gender roles but also mobilizes women to demand for equal opportunities in all spheres of life. We estimate a model for understanding this phenomenon by taking the Anjuman-e-Mazareen Punjab Movement as an intervention that led to social change in terms of women empowerment. This thesis provides empirical insights by exploring into the employment conditions and educational developments by drawing data from the Labor Force Survey between 1990 till 2012. We use a flexible Difference in Differences technique to compare rural women in the treatment districts with two control groups: rural and urban women from control districts. We find a rising trend in the number of working women after the intervention but the amount of time they spend at work remains unchanged. There is a shift in occupation type, as we see that women doing jobs that are basic in nature significantly decreased, indicating a likely shift to work outside of home. Moreover, there is a notable increase in the female literacy rate as well as in the level of investment made in girls’ education.