The current study analyzed socio-economic and cultural determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in Pakistan. This research was conducted at PIMS, Islamabad, Pakistan. In the first phase of research, we used a survey method to collect data from 56 respondents (36 female doctors and 20 female nurses) and their perceptions were enumerated about the socioeconomic and cultural determinants of maternal mortality. In the second phase of the research, 200 mothers (who had a baby under 1-year) currently admitted at PIMS were sampled for in-depth interviews and they were asked about the multiple determinants of neonatal mortality. In both phases, we employed a purposive sampling technique with a special inclusion criterion. The study highlighted multiple reasons influencing mortality of mothers and neonates such as lack of awareness, lack of transportation facilities, illiteracy, poverty, lack of antenatal care services and deliveries handled by unskilled birth attendants at homes.

The present research study was conducted in two public sector universities in Islamabad, Pakistan to explore the relationship between womens education and empowerment. In this research we have looked at the five major dimensions of the womens empowerment in conjunction with education i.e. (1) freedom of movement, (2) economic activism, familial and social affairs (3) freedom from domination and support by the family, (4) decision-making in daily life, and (5) political participation and community engagement. The data was collected from 30 female respondents (15 university teachers and 15 recently passed-out university graduates). The selection of the respondents was made through purposive sampling but with a special inclusion criterion. Based on the research findings, we can suggest that higher levels of education could positively be associated with the higher levels of womens empowerment.

Pakistan is facing a new wave of sectarian divide thus literally making it difficult for minority religious groups such as Shias to practice their religious rituals with freedom and liberty. During the last decade, the sectarian killings have increased to a substantial level much to the worry of the government and general public. The present study explores the impact of the widening sectarian cleavage due to the Shia rituals during and after the sacred month of Muharram in Pakistan. Shia religious practices are being challenged and their rites held down by the extremist groups who are bent upon hurl unforgiving criticism, random killings, a plethora of hate speeches, and religious demonstrations throughout Pakistan. Such practices have made it more exacting for the Shias to commemorate their religious rituals during Muharram throughout Pakistan. The large cities like Quetta, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Jhang have faced multifaceted sectarian clashes which made Shias vulnerable in the performance of rituals.

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The curriculum is the most grounded device to transmit and transform the way of life, values, and convictions of the society to the students. At the point the children enter the school, the pictures of the male and female depicted in books, solidify their ideas about gender bias and such gender stereotypes shape the mental framework of the students and leave an everlasting effect on the social outlook of the students. Children develop a certain sense of perception and personality while reading such books. The text, words, and pictures in the books leave a permanent blueprint in their mind and they organize their behavior along the patriarchal line, represented in the books. In the textbooks, male-dominant ideology has been used to construct reality in such a way that serves the interest of men in a society. There is a latent and manifest nexus of power and language which favors the patriarchal values. Gender ideologies apparent in the books are also embedded in children's pictures, mass media, and even clothing. There are also more males characters and heroes than females characters and heroes in the textbooks of Urdu and English. All prominent leaders of the Pakistan movement are males and only one female leader, Fatimah Jinnah, has representation in the books but that too in her capacity as sister of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.