Patriarchy, Gender Violence and Poverty amongst Pakistani Women: A Social Work Inquiry

The concept of patriarchy is prominent when we wish to capture the pervasiveness of gender inequality in south Asia. In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, women encounter patriarchy both in public and private domain of life and continue to have a lower social, economic and political status in comparison to men. Women are fifty three percent of national population and a great majority of them are living below the poverty line (Saeed, 2013). This paper is based on an empirical study of fifty two women living in seven women’s shelters of the Punjab, Pakistan. The paper examines how poverty contributes to violent gender-power relations in Pakistani society and how patriarchal structure utilizes violence as a tool to control women and their sexuality, particularly in low income families. It also exposes women’s resistance, resilience and coping strategies against poverty and violence. The paper raises concerns that are central to social work, including rights for women, poverty alleviation in faith based societies, while discussing resultant poverty. The analysis utilises select narratives.