Séminaire du CRIDUP : Higher education and young women’s agency in Balochistan Pakistan by Yasmeen Jamali

Doctorante, CRIDUP.

This research focuses on young women’s agency in Balochistan, Pakistan. Balochistan lags behind in human development and social indicators as compared to the other provinces of Pakistan. But over the past two decades, more women have pursued higher education and worked in modern employment sectors, such as higher education institutions and the services sector, as well as joined the civil bureaucracy. Their financial contribution is valued by families but their role remains contested. The main objective of this research is to explore young women's agency and their role within the family in the context of changing socio-economic conditions and increasing rural-urban migration in the province. The research uses Pakistan Household and Living Standard Measurement survey (PSLM) 2018-2019 to estimate the effects of education on young women's agency. Primary data collected through questionnaire survey is used for exploratory analysis. The qualitative analysis of interviews with young women and data from secondary sources, explores the questions of what agency is for these young women and its manifestation in the context of Balochistan and how it conflicts, contradicts and corroborates the conceptualization of agency in existing literature. Using concepts of honour, mobility and public space, we explore the role of university as an alternative public space in young women’s lives.