Mothers Role and Perception in Developing Gender Discrimination

Abstract

This study of the role and perception of mothers in developing gender discrimination is focused on analyzing mother's role, as their role in developing child personality and social behavior is proved by the researches. Present research is a mixed method research, mothers were the population , a total 183 mothers were selected, data was collected through questionnaire and 16 mothers were selected for personal interview through purposive and random sampling .Validity was ascertained through expert opinion and reliability through Cronbach alpha .Results indicated that mothers from rural and urban areas of Sindh Pakistan have almost similar and very obvious discriminative behavior for daughters and sons mother do not realized implications of their behavior and they presents many arguments to justify their gender discriminative behavior. We concluded that awareness of the consequences of their behavior and education should be emphasized to change discriminative behavior for minimizing gender gap.

Perpetuation of Gender Discrimination in Pakistani Society: Results from a Qualitative Study Conducted in Three Provinces of Pakistan

“…Out of 15, seven studies reported that a female can not take an independent decision, someone decides on her behalf mainly father before marriage then-husband and son. 1,2,3,4,7,9,13 Out of 15 studies, 3 reported that women are not allowed to participate in elections or have very limited participation in politics, she faces several inequalities in terms of freedom and access to health, education, and employment. 5 A study reported that Pakistani women are facing structural inequalities and discrimination that cultivate community structure and the gross power harm the women's life massively.…”

“…8 c) Gender Inequality in Education Low investment in girls' education was reported in almost all the papers that were under review, the major reason for the low investment is low returns from girls, as the boy perceived potential head of the house and a bread-winner-to-be. 9,10,11,12,13,15 A case study reports that people believe that Muslim women should be brought up in a way that they can ful ll the role of good daughter, good wife, and a good mother and school has a "bad in uence" to develop these characteristics in women. 12 Girls become less obedient, become evil and don't take interest in household chores that is the primary responsibility of her.…”

“…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, choice goes to boys due to their perceived productive role in the future, as a result, more dropouts and lower attainment of girls particularly who are residing in rural areas. 3,7,8,9,11,13 d) Gender Inequality in Employment Economic disparity due to gender inequality and lack of women's participation is a burning issue in Pakistan. Women are almost 50% of the overall population, this huge number of populations is out of economic growth activities of the country.…”

“…Gender disparities occur at an intrahousehold level from the beginning of childhood in terms of food distribution, education, and health care rights and later during adolescence as early and forced marriages, denial of inheritance right, mobility restriction, abuse, and violence. 1,3,4,5,9,11 Birth of a boy child was celebrated, the girl seen as a burden, in a traditional stereotype gender role, household chores are a duty of female and that she cannot demand or expect any reward for it, on the other hand, male work has socio-economic value. 3,5,15 Likewise, the female has restricted power in decision making, as a cultural and social norm most of the decisions are done by male gures 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.…”

“…1,3 For, this constitution of Pakistan should give equal rights to all citizens, and women should be educated about their rights. 1,4,5,9,13,14,15 To better the status of women the utmost intervention is an investment in girl education, until and unless women will not be educated, they cannot ght for their rights, gender parity only is achieved if educated women can participate in the decision making process of law and policymaking institutions that should be open, transparent, and accountable. 4,6,8,9,11,14 Access to health care services is a woman's right, proper education, nutrition, antenatal and post-natal care services, skilled birth attendants, and access and awareness about contraceptives to avoid early childbearing is important to improve the women's health and to reduce maternal mortality.…”