Interpreting Gender Norms Concerning Domestic Violence among Female University Students in Pakistan

Abstract

The current study geared towards investigating how gender norms are comprehended by Pakistani Female University students, using a constructivist qualitative framework. We scrutinized the broader inequalities mirrored in personal perspectives and mundane experiences anchored in ecological and feminist perspectives. Through deep-dive interviews with 7 female university students located in Islamabad, data was collected. To ascertain pattern and themes across chronicles of participants, the thematic analysis was conducted using open coding course of action. “Gender stereotypes and supremacy”, “cognizance and resistance”, “control masked as care”, and “silent and vindication of violence” emerged as four major themes. Men were ascribed to authority and women to rearing, creating gender hierarchy which configure the appropriate behavior and practices in a relationship. Though the escalating awareness coexists with the traditional paradigms, participants frequently devised domestic violence through privacy, emotional reasoning and honor, and this sometimes abstruse harm. “The behavior and its comprehension is outlined by gender norms” and “explication of how domestic violence is acknowledged, ignored or defied” were the main implications of the study. Hereby, a substantial volume of attention not only to actions but also to the cultural meaning of those actions is imperative to tackle with violence.