Chapter – 4 Research methodology

4. Research methodology

The methodology of the present study is as under:

4.1. Statement of the problem

Women empowerment is a process which is very essential for the development of

society. Empowerment means individuals acquiring the power to think and act freely,
exercises choice and fulfill their potential as full and equal members of society. The
empowerment and autonomy of women are the improvement of their political, social,
economic and health status is a highly important end in itself. Women Empowerment
is of important concerns in contemporary society at every level particularly in
Kashmir society. This target can be achieved only when society at large will take
steps combined, to eradicate this menace. The full participation and partnership of
both women and men is required in productive and reproductive life including shared
responsibilities for the care and nurturing of children and maintenance of the
household chores. In Kashmir, women are facing threats to their lives health and well-
being as a result of being over burdened with work and of their lack of power and
influence. In Kashmir women receive less formal education than men and at the same
time women’s own knowledge, abilities and coping mechanisms often go
unrecognized. Achieving change requires policy and programme actions that will
improve women’s access to secure livelihoods and economic resources, alleviate their
extreme responsibilities with regard to house work, remove legal impediments to their
participation in public life and raise social awareness through effective programmes
of education and mass communication.

Generally, Kashmir is a most conservative and traditional society. The focus of this
study is to highlight the understanding the process of women empowerment in
Kashmir educational status of women, social conditions of women, economic
independence of women and health status of women. In Kashmir women are the most
vulnerable and worst hit section of the society especially under situations of gender
violence. They don’t only suffer from intense humiliation and harassment but also
undergo traumatic experiences with prolonged depression making them mentally sick.
However, the disturbing situation prevalent in Kashmir has hit the Kashmiri women
hardest. The results drawn were women in Kashmir are still left with lot of issues and

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challenges related to health, economy, education, domestic violence, dowry

harassment, eve teasing, and unequal wages and so on.

4.2. The universe of the study

The universe of the present study constitutes rural and urban areas of Srinagar district
of Kashmir valley. As per the census, 2011 of Jammu and Kashmir the total
population of Srinagar district is 1,180,570; of which male and female are 618,790
and 561,780 respectively. The literacy rate of women in Srinagar district is 61.81
percent and male literacy rate is 75.87. And the general sex ratio is 895.

4.3. Sampling plan and design of the study

The sampling plan of the present study is based on a sample of 500 respondents’
selected through stratified random sampling method from rural and urban areas of
Srinagar district of Kashmir. Descriptive research design was used to get information
from the respondents within the study area and the information was collected through
interview [Link] respondents are stratified on the basis of residence, age
group, family occupation, Marital status, education which formed the sample of the
study.

4.4. Techniques of data collection

A technique is a tool used for getting objective information about some social
phenomenon. To carry out this study, the techniques of interview schedule and
observation were used to get objectives and reliable findings. The relevant literature
was used to reviewed and analyzed to provide some direction in drafting schedule.
Several questions were framed on the basis of themes. Direct questions were put in
very simple language so that they could be well understood by the respondents. The
questions were arranged in a sequence from easier and general questions to more
pointed ones. Care was also taken to avoid any influence by the contents of the
preceding question upon the answers of the questions following them. The use of
body language such as facial expression, gestures were given due importance. If the
answer to the question asked were ambiguous and confusing, supplementary question
were asked. Both fixed choice and open ended question were put in the interview
schedule. The final interview schedule consisted of nine parts. Part I included

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questions based on socio-economic characteristic of the respondents; such as name,

age, occupation, marital status, residence, family type, income level and educational
qualification of the respondents, Part II included questions based on understanding of
women empowerment in Kashmir, Part III includes question based on employment
status of women in Kashmir, Part IV social condition of women in Kashmir, Part V is
based economic independence of women in Kashmir, Part VI includes health
conditions of women in Kashmir, Part VII is question based on attitude/perception
towards women empowerment in Kashmir and Part VIII is question based on felt
needs of the respondents.

In order to give a practical shape to the research, the researcher went for the pilot
study and collected the data so that the researcher may arrive at an empirical
conclusion about the given study. The researcher was not merely a data collection
exercise along by using interview schedule. All possible efforts have been made to
maintain the validity and reliability of the fact required for the analysis.

4.5. Source of data collection

The present study involved both primary and secondary source of data collection. For
primary source, first-hand information was collected through interview schedule and
observation in the field. The secondary source of information is based on books,
Journal articles, published thesis, official reports, Newspaper articles etc available on
the topic. Facial expression, body language was given due importance and informal
talks with the respondents helped in enriching the study. The American Psychological
Association 5th ed. (APA) style was used in the present study for citation and
references.

4.6. Focus of the study

This is macro-historical study and the main focus of the study is to understand the
process of women empowerment, educational and employment status of women in
Kashmir, social conditions, economic conditions and health conditions of women in
Kashmir. Further, the thrust of the researcher is to explore the various problems which
are being faced by women in Kashmir.

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4.7. Hypothesis of the study

The hypotheses of the study are as under:

Women empowerment is a very serious issue in the present day changing society.
From the past several decades, Kashmir has witnessed that women are suffering from
various challenges and problems due to domestic violence, lack of education, poor
economic conditions and unemployment. They are being discriminated in every
sphere of life, their social, economic, health and educational conditions are very
miserable due to the lack of awareness, patriarchal nature of society and conservative
approach of the people towards women empowerment. This kind of attitude of the
people has hindered the process of women empowerment in Kashmir which has
increased the vulnerable position and women are lacking behind in the decision
making process within the family.

4.8. Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are as under:

1. To know the educational and employment status of women in the study area;
2. To identify the social, economic and health conditions of women in the study area;
3. To analyze the attitude/perception towards women empowerment in the study area;
4. To examine the felt needs of respondents towards women empowerment in the
study area;

4.9. Relevance of the study

The problem of gender discrimination is alarming in India and Kashmir is not

exceptional. Therefore the research stands at the centre of understanding of women
empowerment in Kashmir, employment status of women, social condition of women,
economic condition of women and health condition of women. It is expected that by
carrying out this study it will help the policy makers to frame a better policy to
decrease the gender discrimination.

4.10. Developing rapport with the respondents

It was very important to encourage the respondents to answer or comply with

researcher’s request. Development of rapport felicitated spontaneity of response and
easy information flowed from both sides. For such development of rapport, the

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respondents were politely approached, made understand the purpose of the response
collection and ensured that the ethical principles were followed completely. In the
forefront of collecting the required data from the respondents, a thorough briefing
with each respondent was undertaken, explaining them the nature and purpose of the
study, the scope and subject areas as well as details on the research and they were
assured that no point during future analysis they can be identified. In this way, the
researcher developed rapport with the respondents and sought answers to questions
put to them. An attempt was made to seek answers from the respondents individually
and not in groups in order to avoid repetition of answers by respondents from each
other.

4.11. Difficulties faced by the researcher

This is an established fact that the collection of data is an arduous task requiring
motivation, consistency, and patience. So the researcher also faced numerous
difficulties while working in the field for the collection of data. Given the fact that
women were busy with their work and sometimes they don’t respond due to paucity
of time. And their women feel threat to their privacy to provide exact information.
The researcher had to adjust his time schedule so that he may convince the
respondents to provide the required information. It was quite difficult to motivate the
respondents to give their valuable time to the researcher. The difficulties were new
and unexpected because collection of data in the social sciences is itself a difficult
task, requiring a considerable patience and encouragement on the part of the research.
It is always difficult for a researcher to convenience an ignorant person to cooperate
knowing that it no way helps them monetary or in other forms, but only wastes their
precious time, as they are busy in their daily routine work right from dawn to dusk.
When the investigator visited their houses, the respondents have been often not
readily available. Since some respondents were doing job and were usually at their
offices, some were at their business, shops and some were busy in their household
work, laborers were at their work spot or else. And after work they came back
exhausted and it was very difficult to meet them.

The illiteracy of the respondents made the investigator to spend more time to explain
certain facts in detail due to which there was a delay in getting the required data. The

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cooperation of the respondents in the collection of the data varied. Some of the
respondents welcomed the investigator thinking that their report would provide more
financial assistance to them. And some of the respondents were not ready to provide
the family privacy to the investigator they thought that our privacy will be disclosed.
The investigator had to spend a lot of time in extracting information and then
classifying, tabulating and analyzing it and this process was quite enervating.
Nonetheless, despite all these problems, the researcher managed to get the required
data with the help of the Almighty God.

4.12. Limitation of the study

Although the present research was done with utmost care to study the ‘critical study
of women empowerment in contemporary Kashmir. “There is always a possibility of
some factual errors, because of the fact that a sample can never actually represent the
whole. This is why it is also possible that there may be some findings or conclusions
which have limitations. Due to these limitations, the researcher can’t be generalized to
infer or form a final conclusion regarding the women empowerment. However, it does
not mean that this research has no significance at all. It has its own significance and
can help in many ways in underlining the problems faced by the women in Kashmir.
4.13. Aggregation and tabulation of data
The interview schedules of 500 respondents were aggregated on according to age,
occupation, income, residence, type of family, marital status and tabulated afterwards.
The further aggregation and tabulation of data was done according to various sub-
headings to have all related information needed for preparation for results.

4.14. Data analysis

The data collected during the field study was consolidated, analyzed and interpreted
according to themes and objectives of the study. The data was presented with the help
of tables. Finally, the explanation of the collected data paved the way for finalization
of the study. The tabulated data was utilized for giving explanation and interpreted in
a way to arrive at logical conclusion of the study. The data was treated and the
conclusions were drawn on the basis of averages and percentages only. No specific
statistical treatment was applied.

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