Previous PageTable Of ContentsNext Page


General perceptions of change


General perceptions of change

Discussions with women in Kach Mulazai revealed an acute awareness of socio-economic changes affecting village life in recent years. Women generally displayed a very pragmatic perception of social and economic transformations, and were particularly concerned with the consequences of these on their daily lives.

Some of the changes in women's activities and expected roles were illustrated through comparisons of the women's own lives with those of their mothers, grand-mothers, daughters or grand-daughters. Other changes were illustrated by the older women through comparisons of their own lives when younger. The two sets of comparisons revealed that women's lives were changing both as a result of changes in the external situation, and as a function of their changing place within the life cycle. Because the two are so intricately intertwined, it requires great care and attention to disentangle them.

Monetization of economy

Many of the changes in the daily life of households, in general, and of women, in particular, seem to be related to the gradual monetization of the economy brought on by changes in the production system. The transition from a subistence-oriented economy based on animal husbandry and rain-fed cultivation of wheat and sorghum, to a market-oriented economy based on increasing cultivation of irrigated orchards has had far-reaching consequences which are well perceived by women (particularly by those who can compare the different situations).

Today, everything is centered on money, and life has become expensive. Many women note wryly that although their families now have more money than they had ever had before, this money is drained away into the purchase of items they used to get for free.

While women connect the basic monetization of the economy to the change in mode of production, they are at a loss to explain why consumer prices should be rising so high in recent years. Some suggest the breakdown of trade links as a result of wars and insecurity in the central Asian region. Others cite the impact of Afghan refugees, claiming that it is expensive for Pakistan to maintain so many newcomers. Others vaguely evoke general political policies of the central government, while others just shrug and confess their inability to understand.

Environmental degradation

Women's perceptions of environmental degradation are surprisingly acute. Most women attribute this to the increasing population of the area, noting the increasing number of households in the village compared to just a few before.

Some women cite the negative environmental impact of the massive inflow of Afghans into the area since the start of the Afghan wars, blaming their incoming herds for overgrazing. Before the wars, these nomadic groups would merely pass through the region on their seasonal transhumance routes. Now, however many have settled down, intensifying conflicts over scarce rangeland resources.

The women note, for instance, that even though the rains had been plentiful this past spring, there is not sufficient pasturage to support both their animals and those of the nomads.

Women mentioned two consequences in particular of this general degradation of natural resources. One, as noted above, is that firewood is virtually unavailable in the areas surrounding the village. The other is that there is little local fodder available for animals in the winter, with men now reported to be buying straw trucked in from the Punjab to feed their animals in the winter thee.

Changing productive roles

The change to an orchard-based economy of production for the market seems to have brought about a drastic limitation of women's role in agriculture. Whereas women stated that they used to work alongside of their husbands in the fields, all work related to the cultivation of fruit in the orchards is now performed and controlled by men. This may be partly because such labour entails contacts with outsiders (contractors, workers, etc.), which are prohibited for women, but may also be a function of the higher cash value of the produce. As in other parts of the world, it seems that women in this part of Balochistan have become more marginal to processes of production when these processes are aimed at the market.

Women's role in animal husbandry has also been reduced, primarily because of the decreasing importance of livestock in the production system and their resulting reduction in numbers. Women report that in the past, they were involved in all aspects of livestock raising, including those activities that took them on to the range for grazing and the collection of fodder. Now, however, women's roles are restricted to care for the animals within the household compound. Women contribute particularly to the preparation of dried meat (landi) in the winter months and of milk products in the spring.

Women are clearly aware of the ambivalent nature of changes in their productive roles. Describing their lives in the past as being burdened with work - collecting firewood and fodder, grazing animals, laboring in the fields, etc. - they remark that they now have much more leisure time and so are in one sense freer'.

At the same time, however, the women remark that they had actually been 'freer' in the past as they were able to move about in pursuit of their activities outside of the home compound. Now, however, with no economic necessity pushing them outside, their movements are more strictly controlled.

It seems, thus, that women have gained some freedom from the hardships of subsistence labour only at the expense of their freedom of movement.

Marriage and brideprice

Many of the older women had married into the village from other villages; now, however, most of the brides are drawn from the village itself. The primary reason for this shift is the availability of a wider pool of eligible village women to draw from. This is both a function of pure numbers (the population of the village has grown significantly in recent years) and of sociological maneuverings to expand the pool still further.

All women agreed that it was easier for girls to marry boys of the same village for this kept them in closer contact with their natal kin and allowed them to retain, circles of girlhood friends. It was more difficult for stranger women to establish close contacts with women outside of their husband's compound and the period of adjustment was acknowledged to be difficult.

It was not clear from the focal group discussions whether or not the age at first marriage had changed over the years. Most women said girls were generally married at around the age of 13; however several cases from earlier times were cited of girls marrying long before the puberty

While some of the older women claimed to have a say in selecting marriage partners for their children or grandchildren, it seemed clear from the ensuing discussions that the major decision-making continues to be performed by men. Very rarely are the views of the children - girls or boys - taken into consideration.

Two forms of marriage exchanges are practiced by Pashtuns in this region. One, based on 'sarai' (or exchange), consists of exchanging one girl for another, usually without accompanying payment (except to compensate such things as age discrepancies between the two girls and the like). The other preferred type entails the payment of brideprice. Like everything else in the society, the amount to be paid in brideprice has risen steadily in recent years.

One of the inevitable consequences of such spiraling costs is that women tend to be sold to the highest bidder. Family or lineage ties have become less important factors in the selection of marriage partners than pure monetary gain. The mothers of the girls state that they are generally more upset about this than are fathers.

For one thing, mothers would prefer that their daughters marry inside the village so as to maintain, contact, whereas fathers are more willing to give their daughters to outsiders who can pay more. At the same time, however, both mothers and fathers seem to believe that the man with the most money will be able to offer their daughter the best life. They also feel that requiring a high brideprice can serve their daughters as a sort of insurance against maltreatment, reasoning thus:

Youth, age, and household dynamics

Project surveys attempting to record the ages of women involved in the women's association run up against the problem of lack of precision in reckoning age in years. Women state that they reckon their ages from the onset of their first menstrual periods, which they consider occurs at the age of 13 or 14.

Age and life experiences are respected in Pashtun culture among both men and women, with women gaining increasing respect and power as they grow older. In the course of the first focal group meetings with project staff, a number of younger, unmarried women were present, but sat silently in the corner out of respect for their elders.

Both older and younger women concur that women's overall workload was heavier in the past. Older women spoke of the greater degree of leisure they now enjoyed. One explanation offered had to do with perceived changes in the joint family system.

This explanation came as somewhat of a surprise, since it is generally assumed that the joint family system represents part of the traditional culture of Pashtun society and not some recent development.

Changes in the mode of production may have contributed to some changes in household organization, with larger household made possible by the more settled existence, denser population, and greater wealth fostered by cultivation of orchards. At the same time, this perception of a heavier burden of housework in the past might partly be a function of the women's ages.

It was generally agreed that a younger woman's life is harder than an older woman's life since the elders control the household and are always making the younger members do all the work.

Younger women's childcare responsibilities seem to account for most of their household work. Although some childcare tasks may lie shared with other female members of the household, including mothers-in-law, older daughters, and co-wives, the bulk of the responsibility rests with the younger women. This has important implications for younger women's availability for project activities. attendance at meetings, anti regularity of participation.

Younger women's participation in project activities may also be constrained by their relative lack of power in making decisions, voicing their opinions, and setting the agenda in general. At the focal group discussion intended for younger women, for instance, the presence of several of the older women who had insisted on attending seemed to limit the younger women's freedom of expression.

It also appears that younger women have less access to cash to contribute to eventual project activities (such as the savings scheme, etc.). This is because women's main source of cash consists of gifts from their menfolk and older women have a wider network of income-earning male kin (particularly sons) on whom to make claims for support.

Women and education

As part of a donor-supported government drive to increase girls' school enrollments in Balochistan, a primary school for girls was created in the village two years ago. Some 68 girls aged 3 to 15 are currently enrolled in grades 1-3. They are taught by a young woman with a middle level pass who is originally from Quetta but who married into the village. This woman, whose salary is paid by the government, was trained in techniques to manage three grades in one classroom, given a limited supply of materials, and left to launch the school.

Four women from the community, who are also members of the women's association, are responsible for monitoring her performance and the progress of children in the school. Pupil interest is high, as is community support, and the dedicated teacher is doing a remarkable job under difficult circumstances.

Asked about the importance of education for girls, the women of our two focal groups were overwhelmingly positive.

Without exception all of the older women arc completely illiterate, although as girls many had attended madrassas for Koranic instruction. Some assert that they desire the girls in their village to continue schooling to an advanced degree in order to become professionals.

Women also downplay? possible male resistance to higher education for women, suggesting that men would get used to it and learn to accept it (as they had learned to accept women's attendance at meetings held in the social centre with the project's female group promoter).

Still, as positive as they are about the education of young girls (aged 6-7), most women seem to accept without question their withdrawal from school before they reach the age of marriage. This was to be the case of a 15-year old girl currently enrolled in the school who was, according to the teacher, by far the best pupil. It was only with much pleading that her parents had agreed to let her finish out the current school year, before marrying her off.

News from the wider world

Women gain awareness of events in the wider world through a limited number of channels. Most seem to depend on male family members (particularly sons) to inform them of news.

Women rarely travel outside of the village. Exceptions include occasions when serious health problems necessitate consultation with a doctor or lady health visitor (usually in Muslimbagh), and occasional trips to visit natal kin in cases where the woman has married into the village from outside. Even when women do make such forays into the outside world, however, they are always accompanied by men and their interactions are strictly circumscribed.

None of the women (and very few of the men) can read news printed in newspapers. Most families have radios but not all of the women are allowed to listen to them.

Men from families adhering to the religious party seem to be especially opposed to their womenfolk being exposed to this media. Sometimes when men are listening to the radio, the women can listen too. Often, they explained, they may also listen when their menfolk are away.

Previous PageTop Of PageTable Of ContentsNext Page