How Religion Influences Career Choices and Opportunities for Women in Pakistan By Ramsha Kalhoro

INTRODUCTION
In Pakistan, the career trajectories and personal identity have interplay role in professional life of
every individual. This report, specifically, emphasizes on the narratives of five women of Pakistan,
their narratives, career choices and societal hurdles they have been facing while opting for diverse
career opportunities. The main purpose of writing this report is to explore the journeys of these
women, understand how they overcame the challenges and shed light on hurdles arising particularly
from religious beliefs in the professional paths of women.
It is important to emphasize that the stories being covered in this report would help the readers to
develop empathy and exercise inclusivity that are among the most crucial steps at any workplace.
The amplification of voices of these women, the report aims to highlight the challenges in women’s
life, celebrate their achievements and offer deep insights for a more equitable professional landscape
for women.
METHODOLOGY
To complete this report successfully, there have been employed a range of methods such as
participant selection, Interview process and ethical considerations.
Participant Selection
To explore diverse experiences, this report uses a purposive sampling method to select participants
carefully. Specific criteria were set to consider each participant for the interview. Criteria inclusion
was focused on women from diverse localities of Pakistan, diverse family background and specific
age group (25-30). The selection of participant was set this way to ensure a nuanced understanding
of intersection between gender, religious identity, and career.
Interview Process
The interviews conducted were semi-structured so that each participant can express their
experiences openly and flexibly. Moreover, the interviews were either conducted in-person or in
virtual settings based on participant’s preference. Also, the process was guided by some pre-defined
questions aiming to draw patterns between each woman’s career choices, religious beliefs and
challenges they faced due their identity.
Ethical Considerations
During the study, strong ethical considerations have been prioritized. Each participant was asked for
consent for their given information being used in the research process. Moreover, it was also ensured
that they were not only fully aware of the purpose of the study but also the confidentiality of their
identity as well as voluntary nature of participation.
Limitations
During the research work, there were some limitations that need to be acknowledged. First, despite
all the women participants belonged to diverse localities of Pakistan; however, all of them currently reside in Islamabad. Moreover, the conclusions drawn from the stories may not represent the
experiences of broader women’s population in Pakistan. Additionally, the report emphasizes the
uniqueness of individual stories rather than broad generalizations.
THEMES AND PATTERNS
The insightful narratives of interviewed women caused the mergence of some themes and patterns.
Likewise, the emerged trends also offer valuable insights into the challenges they faced and the
strategies they employed to overcome those challenges in their professional journeys.
1. Religious Beliefs as a Reason to Limited Career Choices:
2 out of 5 women acknowledged that gender-specific norms existed in our society since centuries;
however, those norms were further influenced by religious beliefs limiting the career choices and
opportunities for women. Among those women, one expressed that she was very much interested in
pursuing modeling as a career since her childhood, further, saying that “If it was not about my
religious beliefs, I would have pursued modelling as a career.” This is how she believes religion has
influenced her career choice. While according to the other lady, she was interested in joining the
army, but her family didn’t allow her join army because of her family’s strict religious norms
specifically about women.
2. Religious Identity as a Source of Strength and Resilience:
Majority of women recognized their religious identity as a source of their strength and purpose in life
showcasing a consistent theme. They believed that during the challenging times either in their
personal or professional life, the faith has always served as a source of their strength to overcome
those difficult moments.
3. Balancing Cultural Expectations and Professional Ambitions:
All the women did admit the importance of maintaining balance between religious/cultural
expectations and work commitments. While doing so, perfection is a myth; however, they
demonstrated that they always aspire to live a balanced life between both the culture/religion and
professional ambitions. Sometimes, it gets overwhelming especially for females in Pakistan due to
cultural constraints. For instance, some spoke about the criticism they faced when they wear a bit
west-inspired professional get-up. While some faced restrictions from family and relatives when they
expressed to get a job. They got to hear the phrases like “men are the primary breadwinners; women
are the care takers of husband and children.” Therefore, such cultural constraints could limit the
opportunities and career advancement of women if not balanced at the first place.
4. Encountering Stereotypes and Biases:
Women do face stereotypes and biases at workplace and personal life as well. For instance, one of
the ladies raised that there is a misconception that women do not yield result as effective as men.
She believes that women are competitive like men. Discriminating based on one’s gender in a
professional setting is not a professional at all.
Other women expressed that they have not faced such biases personally, but they have observed
such stuff being happened to women working more at less professional places.5. Inclusive Workplaces and Organizational Culture:
Women participants expresses a need for many discussions in a developing country like Pakistan to
be caried out in order to ensure a more supportive and inclusive environment for women in Pakistan.
Some of them were also amazed that even in 24th century, there are a lot of things being natural are
still considered taboo when it comes to women in Pakistan. Women and Men are not biologically
same; therefore, both must be dealt with accordingly. For instance, men can work 9-5 jobs, but the
same 9-5 job would not necessarily suit women since they both have differing energy levels. Some
days women’s energy level can be so boosted but some other days, they may feel exhausted.
Likewise, women need more sleep hours than men do. She then expressed that only then a woman
can feel supported, included, and dedicated to her work if these discussions are highlighted and
addressed properly.
Similarly, another woman highlighted that women have the right to their bodies, and she advocated
the need to spread awareness about women rights to make decisions about their bodies such as,
family planning and reproductive choice. Moreover, he also expressed the need of health services to
women at workplaces since they go through phases such as pregnancy, menstruation etc. but men
don’t.
Whereas remaining ladies raised the discussions about challenging the harmful cultural norms and
misrepresentation of independent women in Pakistan.
6. Strategies for Overcoming Cultural Hurdles:
Derived from the narratives of interviewed women, young women should break stereotypes and
follow their passion as a career. Moreover, they should never let societal pressure ever control your
decisions or choices and try to seek environments that embrace inclusivity and diversity. If a woman
can’t find such environment, they should create one. This could be done by proper interpretation of
religion, eradication of harmful cultural norms, initiation of educational programs, empowerment of
women, rightful use of media and proper legal policy advocacy.
CONCLUSION
In nutshell, the findings from the narratives of women participants show a complicated role of
religious identity, cultural expectations, and professional ambitions. The stories shared by these
women show that things need to change. We should work on changing how society thinks, make
workplaces more inclusive, and give women the power to break stereotypes. The stories not only
point out the problems but also give us a plan to make things better. We can transform the way
people think about culture and religion to create a fair and empowering place for women in Pakistan.