Determinants of Women’s Political Participation in Pakistan with Special Focus on Punjab

Abstract

The historic exclusion of women from the political arena is a result of the various structural, functional and personal factors that vary in different social contexts across countries. A common underlying dynamic is that of patriarchy - a system of male domination - that shapes women’s participation in politics. The purpose of this research is to analyze the current situation of women’s political participation in Pakistan by looking at their level of participation and the issues raised by them in the legislative assemblies. It also aims to identify the major socio-cultural, religious and other challenges which women face as well as the role of state actors (government, civil society and NGO’s) in promoting or restricting women’s participation and mainly identifying the determinants of women’s political participation in Pakistan.