Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2023

Date of Submission

2023-07-15

Advisor

Dr. Abdul Haque Chang, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Abstract

In my research paper, I want to look at how working women belonging to the lower-middle income echelon participate in the highly gendered public sphere of Karachi. By conducting participant and field observations in a women-only marketplace, I aim to understand the personal relationships among women and their interaction with the city of Karachi by looking at different themes of safety, protection of honor, traditional gender roles, gendered urban experience, and female friendships. Some of the questions that I explore are how working women are handling to be safe while making an income for themselves alongside protecting their honor and ultimately being safe in the masculinized urban fabric of Karachi. By taking an overview of their everyday life, I will focus here on the aspect of transportation to discuss the impact of a single urban amenity on the lives of working women. I will also discuss the uniqueness of the women-only bazaar, as it is one of the only places in Karachi exclusive for women and depict how lack of male presence impacts a women’s professional trajectory, where they feel safe, secure, and comfortable. However, this safety comes with many perils like taking a hit at one’s financial prospects. Here, I will talk about the importance of female friendships in dealing with everyday difficulties.

Pages

xv, 53

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