ACCEPTANCE OF WIFE-BEATING IN PAKISTAN: A BEHAVIORAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

  • Khadija Malik Bari
  • Masood Ahmed Siddiqui
  • Syed Ammad Ali
Keywords: Pakistan, Women, Violence, Behavioral Determinants, wife-Beating

Abstract

The evidence regarding the acceptance of Intimate partner violence among women in different societies is mixed and sometimes scant. The hypothesis that female decision making role is negatively associated with the acceptance of such attitudes is tested by using 2012-2013 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey. The study results are indicative of the fact that despite large number of women exercising no role in decision making, whatsoever, the acceptance of wife beating in Pakistan is significantly lower than what is reported in other studies of the Muslim countries. In other words, women with less decision making power do not significantly differ in their perception towards wife beating when compared with women who have decision making power. However, the study results show that education and socioeconomic status are the two factors that impact behavior towards wife beating justification significantly. Wife beating justification consistently declines with increased educational and socioeconomic status.

Author Biographies

Khadija Malik Bari
PhD, Assistant professor, Department of Economics and Finance, Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.
Masood Ahmed Siddiqui
PhD. Scholar, Economics Department, IBA, Karachi.
Syed Ammad Ali
PhD, Assistant professor, Applied Economics Research Centre, University of Karachi.

References

Alam, M. S., Tareque, M. I., Peet, E. D., Rahman, M. M., & Mahmud, T. (2018). Female Participation in Household Decision Making and the Justification of Wife Beating in Bangladesh. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 088626051877211. Doi:10.1177/0886260518772111

Ali, P.A. & Gavino, M. (2008). Violence against women in Pakistan: A framework for analysis. Retrieved from http://jpma.org.pk/full_article_text. php?article_id=1372

Analytical study. Ramallah, Palestine Retrieved from http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/ Portals/_pcbs/PressRelease/Domestic_e.pdf

Boy, A., & Kulczycki, A. (2008). What we know about intimate partner violence in the Middle East and North Africa. Violence Against Women, 14 (1), 53–70. doi:10.1177/1077801207311860

Campbell, J. C. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet, 359(9314), 1331-1336. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)08336-8

Dhaher, E. A., Mikolajczyk, R. T., Maxwell, A. E., & Krämer, A. (2009). Attitudes Toward Wife Beating Among Palestinian Women of Reproductive Age from Three Cities in West Bank. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(3), 518-537. doi:10.1177/0886260509334409

Dunkle, K. L., Jewkes, R. K., Brown, H. C., Gray, G. E., McIntryre, J. A., & Harlow, S. D. (2004). Gender-based violence, relationship power, and risk of HIV infection in women attending antenatal clinics in South Africa. Retrieved from https://www.download.thelancet.com/pdfs/ journals/lancet/PIIS0140673604160984.pdf

Ellsberg, M. C., Peña, R., Herrera, A., Liljestrand, J., & Winkvist, A. (1999). Wife abuse among women of childbearing age in Nicaragua. American Journal of Public Health, 89(2), 241-244. doi:10.2105/ajph.89.2.241

Ellsberg, M., Jansen, H.A., Heise, L., Watts, C.H., & García-Moreno, C. (2008). WHO Multi-country Study, Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women Study Team. Intimate partner violence and women's physical and mental health in the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence: an observational study. The Lancet, 371(9619), 1165-72.DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60522-X

Fikree, F. F., Razzak, J. A., & Durocher, J. (2005). Attitudes of Pakistani men to domestic violence: a study from Karachi, Pakistan. Journal of men's health and gender, 2(1), 49-58.

García-Moreno, C., Jansen, H. A., Ellsberg, M., Heise, L., & Watts, C. (2005). WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women. World Health Organization.

Hindin, M. J. (2003). Understanding women’s attitudes towards wife beating in Zimbabwe. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 81,501-508.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). (2018). World report 2018: Events of 2018. Policy Press. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/world_report_download/201801world_report_web.pdf

Jejeebhoy, S. J. (1998). Wife beating in rural India: a husband’s right? Evidence from survey data. Economic and Political Weekly, 33, 855–862.

Javier & Herron, W.G. (Eds.). Understanding Domestic Violence: Theories, Challenges, and Remedies. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.

Khawaja, M., Linos, N., & El-Roueiheb, Z. (2008). Attitudes of men and women towards wife beating: Findings from Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. Journal of Family Violence, 23, 311 – 323.

Klostermann, K. (2006). Substance abuse and intimate partner violence: Treatment considerations. Retrieved from http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC1564385.

Koenig, M. A., Lutalo, T., Zhao, F., Nalugoda, F., Wabwire-Mangen, F., Kiwanuka, N., et al. (2003). Domestic violence in rural Uganda: Evidence from a community-based study. Lawoko, S., Dalal, K., Jiayou, L., & Jansson, B. (2007). Intimate partner violence and depression among women in Kenya. Retrieved from https://www. researchgate.net/publication/265884863_Intimate_partner_violence_ and_depression_among_women_in_rural_Ethiopia

Linos, N., Khawaja, M., & Al-Nsour, M. (2010). Women’s autonomy and support for wife beating: findings from a population-based survey in Jordan. Violence and Victims, 25(3), 409-419.

Martin, S.L., Tusi, A.O., & Maitra, K. (2019). Domestic violence against women in eastern India. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC2685379/

Muehlenhard, C. L., & Macnaughton, J. S. (1988). Womens Beliefs About Women Who “Lead Men on”. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 7(1), 65-79. doi:10.1521/jscp.1988.7.1.65

National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS) [Pakistan] and ICF. (2019). Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18. Islamabad, Pakistan, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: NIPS and ICF.

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. (2006). Domestic violence in the Palestinian territory.

Qaisrani A., Liaquat, S., & Khokhar, E. N. (2016). Socio-economic and Cultural Factors of Violence against Retrieved from https://www.researchgate. net/profile/Elishma_Khokhar/publication/306960104_Socio-Economic_ and_Cultural_Factors_of_Violence_Against_Women_in_Pakistan/links/

Rani, M., Bonu, S., & Diop-Sidibe, N. (2004). An empirical investigation of attitudes towards wife-beating among men and women in seven sub-Saharan African countries. African Journal Reproductive Health, 8, 116-136.

Rao, V. (1997). Wife-beating in rural South India: A qualitative and econometric analysis. Social Science & Medicine,44(8), 1169-1180. doi:10.1016/ s0277-9536(96)00252-3

Sathar, Z. A. & Kazi, S. (2000). Women’s Autonomy in the Context of Rural Pakistan. The Pakistan Development Review, 39 (2), 89–110.

Shaikh, M. A. (2000, September). Domestic violence against women-- perspective from Pakistan. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pubmed/11043022

Yahia Haj, M. M. (1998). A Patriarchal Perspective of Beliefs About Wife Beating Among Palestinian Men from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Journal of Family Issues, 19(5), 595-621. doi:10.1177/019251398019005006

Yahia Haj, M. M. (1998a). Beliefs about wife-beating among Palestinian women: The influence of their patriarchal ideology. Violence Against Women, 4, 533-558

Published
2021-01-15