RESEARCH OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SMC-PRIVATE) LIMITED(ROSS) & PAKISTAN SOCIAL SCIENCES REVIEW (PSSR) adheres to Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. The authors submitting and publishing in PSSR agree to the copyright policy under creative common license 4.0 (Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International license). Under this license, the authors published in PSSR retain the copyright including publishing rights of their scholarly work and agree to let others remix, tweak, and build upon their work non-commercially. All other authors using the content of PSSR are required to cite author(s) and publisher in their work. Therefore, RESEARCH OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SMC-PRIVATE) LIMITED(ROSS) & PAKISTAN SOCIAL SCIENCES REVIEW (PSSR) follow an Open Access Policy for copyright and licensing.
How to Cite
Abandoned and Destitute: A Case Study of Divorced Women Residing in a Welfare Complex in Pakistan
Abstract
This paper investigates the implications of divorce for women. Using in-depth interviews, observation and participant observation, it generates rich qualitative data that sheds light on the reasons for divorce and its consequences for women. The locale of the study is a government run social welfare complex in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It highlights how there is no ideal type marital arrangement that can guarantee conjugal happiness. In addition, loss of job, moral lewdness of men as well as interference of relatives and the lack of a dowry can cause marriages to break-up. The consequences of divorce for women range from emotional stress and psychological problems to the loss of social as well as financial status. But the worst consequence is rejection by husband and abandonment by the natal family, extended relatives and friends. Destitute and abandoned, these women have nowhere to turn and end up in shelter homes.
Authors
Dr. Aisha Anees Malik
Assistant Professor, Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tanzila Saba
Research Scholar, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Dr. Saadia Abid
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
