Week (8) Gender Studies
Dimensions
1): Status of Women in Pakistan
a): Underrepresentation of Women's medical profile, research, and data in the health sector.
b): Systematic healthcare disparities —inequality in access to health, rural versus urban disparities
in access to health, life expectancy, maternal mortality (MMR)
c): Discuss reproductive health, limited access to contraceptives and reproductive rights.
d): Mental health issues, invisibility of women's mental issues in healthcare.
e): Nutrition deficit, essential nutrients, impacts of anemia, and micronutrient deficiencies. How
does the menstruation cycle impact women's live and what essential healthcare interventions are
necessary to prevent them from pain, anxiety and productivity loss?
f): Social and Cultural Determinants of Women's Health: Role of patriarchy and societal norms in
limiting women's access to healthcare. Early marriage and childbearing. Gender preferences and
neglect of girl children in some cultures.
g): Strategies to provide equal healthcare: Telemedicine, digital access to medicine in remote areas,
mHealth (mobile healthcare), AI-driven early detections of diseases like breast cancer. Global
campaigns, healthcare training.
h): How Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer, anemia, Deficiency of Iron, Depression, and other
invisible diseases for women.
i): Efficient Healthcare —better performance –more robust economies—improvements in global
standings (Mainstreaming of healthcare for women results in global economic growth)
2): Status of Women in Education
a): Inequality in educational access due to patriarchal choices, and gender biases. Disparities in
educational facilities between urban-rural women.
b): Modern education system, the invisibility of middle-middle income women in the higher
education department
c): Challenges of gender representation in Pakistan—economic barriers, early marriages, women
are not considered as economic assets like boys, infrastructure issues like unavailability of gender-
sensitive facilities in educational institutions, and harassment in schools.
d): Gender harassment and sexual greed of professors; Universities in Pakistan, the culture of rising
scandals, promotions of stereotypical thinking that universities are agents of moral corruption, and
the role of teachers in harassment for assignments and grades.
e): Impacts of educating women: Competent parenting based on future needs, health and social
wellbeing, breaking intergenerational poverty, democratization of accessibility and availability for
women.
f): Strategies like digital scholarships, increased internet access and connectivity, availability of
technology, microfinance credits, cash transfers for getting an education, improving infrastructure,
digital campaigns about the benefits of educating women, and other strategies.
g): Women are underrepresented in the decision-making bodies in higher education institutions,
including executive committees, research forums, faculty boards, boards of governors, and other
statutory bodies.
h): Case studies like Malala Yousafzai's efforts for literacy promotion.
3): Women and Employment
a): Glass Ceiling for corporate women
b): Gender pay gap differences and exploitation of women in the workplace through low wages
and high expectations
c): Culture of school teacher’s recruitment (majority females) to exploit their labor in 5-10k for a
month.
d): Male bosses and underrepresentation of women in workplaces.
e): Women should be domestic setters —A case study of majority Female Doctors with MBBS
leaving their profession after marriage
f): Women and employment: Challenges and Prospects for the economy.
g): Increasing the functional capacity of women through training and different avenues to increase
their capabilities. Read about the capability approach and apply to this topic.
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