The shadow impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are critical, especially for children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDDs). Financial constraints and home confinement have increased the challenges for caregivers to meet the educational and health needs of children with IDDs. Hence, this research examines the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on families with IDDs children in rural Pakistan. Overall, 176 parents participated in this study and provided valuable responses through interview technique. Parents responded to five (05) open-ended questions. Results indicated that parents of children with IDDs are facing various challenges including financial constraints, social lockdown, deteriorated health conditions of their children, reduced or no health services, closure of educational institutes, negative behavioral impacts, and slow mental development. Still, a subset of parents also reported the positive side of lockdown, indicating that staying at home resulted in improved relationships. The findings of the study suggest that parents of children with IDDs are confronted with significant challenges that increase their stress.

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