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 2024

Date of Submission

2024-09-14

Advisor

Dr. Adam Abdullah, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, School of Economics and Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Abstract

This research examines the structural impact of urban transport on university-going women’s autonomy. The primary focus of the study is how challenges of safety and security within urban transport i.e. risk of cat-calling and physical harassment influence the psychological autonomy of university-going women. I investigate women between the ages of 18-25 years who are enrolled in an undergraduate program at a university in Karachi. They belonged to either of the ten categories as modes of transport: Private Transport (Self), Private Transport (Driver or family member), Carpool, Bus, Rickshaw, University Pickup Point, Private Van, Ride Hailing Services (Car), Ride Hailing Services (Rickshaw), and Bike. This study adopts a quantitative approach: an online survey was circulated on online social media platforms via Google Form, collecting data from 105 women across different universities in Karachi. The survey was divided into five parts - Consent, Basic Profile, Choice of Transport (Trip 1), Choice of Transport (Trip 2), and Autonomy (replicated from the Noom, 1999 questionnaire). Mobility (the free right to movement) is an essential aspect of the analytical framework. There are three main primary indicators of autonomy examined in terms of self-determination theory: functional, attitudinal, and emotional autonomy. Transport, on the other hand, is examined in terms of time, mode, and duration of travel. The results highlight that commuting from home to university and university to home can cause severe levels of anxiety that are manifested through physiological indicators. Moreover, experiences of cat-calling and physical harassment contribute to reduced levels of autonomy.

Pages

69

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