Volume 18, No. 5, 2021
Attitudes Of Women Towards Liberal Feminism And Women’s Rights Movements ; A Quantitative Analysis Of Young And Older Women In Pakistan
Dr. Asma Seemi Malik , Ms. Bushra Shakeel , Dr. Bushra Yasmeen , Mr. Amjad Mahmood , Mussarat Hussain
Abstract
In Pakistan, women's equality coexists with widespread negativity toward feminism, the current uncertain state policy toward women, as well as the lack of inaction of legislation against discrimination and gender inequality. The present study explored the attitudes of young and older women towards liberal feminism and women's rights movements. For this purpose, a sample of 300 educated young (18-35 years), women in middle age within 36 to 55 yrs., and older age women of 56 and above were selected from Lahore. Women of different age-group belonging to different economic statuses were selected. Items from ‘Attitudes towards Feminism and Women’s Movement Scale’ and ‘The Liberal Feminist Attitude and Ideology Scale’ were used to generate a questionnaire for data collection. Data analysis was done using a one-way analysis of variance on SPSS 16.0. Study results indicated that young women's attitudes are more positive towards women's rights movements and the goals of liberal feminism, while the older women's attitudes are linked with religious, political, and social factors that influence their attitudes. Results also indicated that economic status plays an important role in changing attitudes towards liberal feminism and women’s rights movements.
Pages: 957-970
Keywords: feminism, liberal feminism in Pakistan, women's rights and roles, family influence, political and social influence.