Gender Socialization and Women's Political Participation: Family Concerns and Political Choices

Abstract

Societal expectations and cultural norms shape women's political attitudes and participation. It has been argued that the concerns of families influence the conventional and nonconventional participation of women in political activities in Pakistan. Highly educated and independent women are socialized to make independent political choices. This paper aims to document the experiences of highly educated employed women in exercising their political rights. However, their participation in specific activities, such as demonstrations and election campaigns, is negotiated within the family. The data highlights that the participants were empowered to vote independently. Nevertheless, women's ability to participate in demonstrations depends on family security concerns. Data for this paper were drawn from a mixed method approach, in-depth interviews conducted with thirty highly qualified women working in Pakistan's public universities. The survey was conducted on 400 female students studying in different public sector universities in Pakistan. The paper argues that gender socialization plays a role in making independent political choices.