Skip to main content

Understanding the links between gender, vulnerability, and violence in urban Pakistan

 

This report by the Institute for Business Administration Karachi is the culmination of three years of research on gender roles and how they contribute to violence in 12 working class neighborhoods in two of Pakistan’s largest cities: Karachi and Rawalpindi-Islamabad. It highlights the role of frustrated gendered expectations in driving various types of violence, and how these dynamics can be tackled. 

The findings — based on 2400 questionnaires, over 60 interviews, photographic surveys, media monitoring, and a comprehensive literature review — point to restricted service access and household vulnerability as major drivers of violence. These drivers are amplified by the ways in which gender identity is defined and reinforced. Potential solutions include improving access to public services and employment opportunities, and promoting more equitable gender norms though public education and media.

Read the final report (PDF, 55.8MB) on Gender and violence in urban Pakistan.