RELIGIOUS MISAPPROPRIATION AND WOMEN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: A STRATEGY OR GENDER GAP IN PAKHTUN SOCIETY

Abstract

Men and women are similar in the eyes of God, teaching of Quran and Hadith (the spoken words and practices of the Holy Prophet PBUH) but as a common observation, the popular religion seems to prioritize men over women in many contexts including politics. Gender based discrimination has been the important and pivotal component of Pakistani society in general while the same has been central in Pakhtun society. The current study investigates the impact of religious misappropriation (in a culturally relative perspective) about women’s participation in politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan focusing on Malakand Division. The data was collected from a sample of 320 women councilors at the local bodies through a questionnaire while applying proportional representation. The collected data was analyzed with the help of SPSS 20, where univariate analysis were conducted for frequencies and percentage and bivariate analysis were conducted through Chi-square test with 0.05 confidence level (the tools were pre-tested and inclusion exclusion was made during data collection and analysis). The findings of this study revealed that women are underrepresented in public spheres including political participation through religious misappropriation. This study recommends that the role religious scholar to propagate the true spirit of Islam regarding women status is very important. Similarly, mass media (as one of the dominant socializing agent) shall take the lead in educating general masses regarding true spirit of Islam and importance of women in politics. The essence of education in this regard is overemphasized for understanding the true spirit of Islam among women.