Analysis of Gender‐Inclusive Rural Transformation and Policies in Pakistan

ABSTRACT Despite rapid technological advancements and rural transformation in many Asian agricultural economies, persistent sociocultural norms, patriarchal barriers, and limited access to funding pose significant challenges to rural womenʼs participation in agricultural development. However, studie...

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Main Authors: Farah Naz, Abedullah, Maria Fay Rola‐Rubzen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-05-01
Series:Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.70023
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author Farah Naz
Abedullah
Maria Fay Rola‐Rubzen
author_facet Farah Naz
Abedullah
Maria Fay Rola‐Rubzen
author_sort Farah Naz
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Despite rapid technological advancements and rural transformation in many Asian agricultural economies, persistent sociocultural norms, patriarchal barriers, and limited access to funding pose significant challenges to rural womenʼs participation in agricultural development. However, studies addressing gender disparities in this context are absent in Pakistan, highlighting a critical research gap. The present address this gap by conducting an analysis based on 78 districts over the period 2004 to 2019 to investigate whether gender inclusion has any role in the rural transformation process at the regional level or not. Using fixed effects panel model, findings highlight the role of educated women in advancing rural transformation. These impacts vary in magnitude across regions and stages. Education is significantly related to share of high‐value crops in agriculture, especially in districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the impact is more pronounced compared to Baluchistan. However, education does not significantly increase female off‐farm employment in Punjab compared to Baluchistan, likely due to regional heterogeneity. In Sindh, increased female education correlates with a shift from farm to off‐farm employment. Additionally, female employment rate, female labour force participation rate, and per capita income positively influence rural transformation, especially at advanced stages.
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spelling doaj-art-101a09cbf16a42beb74ede125264d8c32025-08-20T01:56:56ZengWileyAsia & the Pacific Policy Studies2050-26802025-05-01122n/an/a10.1002/app5.70023Analysis of Gender‐Inclusive Rural Transformation and Policies in PakistanFarah Naz0Abedullah1Maria Fay Rola‐Rubzen2PIDE School of Economics and Econometrics Pakistan Institute of Development Economics Islamabad PakistanPIDE School of Economics and Econometrics Pakistan Institute of Development Economics Islamabad PakistanCentre for Agricultural Economics and Development, UWA School of Agriculture and Environment University of Western Australia Crawley AustraliaABSTRACT Despite rapid technological advancements and rural transformation in many Asian agricultural economies, persistent sociocultural norms, patriarchal barriers, and limited access to funding pose significant challenges to rural womenʼs participation in agricultural development. However, studies addressing gender disparities in this context are absent in Pakistan, highlighting a critical research gap. The present address this gap by conducting an analysis based on 78 districts over the period 2004 to 2019 to investigate whether gender inclusion has any role in the rural transformation process at the regional level or not. Using fixed effects panel model, findings highlight the role of educated women in advancing rural transformation. These impacts vary in magnitude across regions and stages. Education is significantly related to share of high‐value crops in agriculture, especially in districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the impact is more pronounced compared to Baluchistan. However, education does not significantly increase female off‐farm employment in Punjab compared to Baluchistan, likely due to regional heterogeneity. In Sindh, increased female education correlates with a shift from farm to off‐farm employment. Additionally, female employment rate, female labour force participation rate, and per capita income positively influence rural transformation, especially at advanced stages.https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.70023educationgenderinclusivenessper capital rural incomerural transformation
spellingShingle Farah Naz
Abedullah
Maria Fay Rola‐Rubzen
Analysis of Gender‐Inclusive Rural Transformation and Policies in Pakistan
Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies
education
gender
inclusiveness
per capital rural income
rural transformation
title Analysis of Gender‐Inclusive Rural Transformation and Policies in Pakistan
title_full Analysis of Gender‐Inclusive Rural Transformation and Policies in Pakistan
title_fullStr Analysis of Gender‐Inclusive Rural Transformation and Policies in Pakistan
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of Gender‐Inclusive Rural Transformation and Policies in Pakistan
title_short Analysis of Gender‐Inclusive Rural Transformation and Policies in Pakistan
title_sort analysis of gender inclusive rural transformation and policies in pakistan
topic education
gender
inclusiveness
per capital rural income
rural transformation
url https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.70023
work_keys_str_mv AT farahnaz analysisofgenderinclusiveruraltransformationandpoliciesinpakistan
AT abedullah analysisofgenderinclusiveruraltransformationandpoliciesinpakistan
AT mariafayrolarubzen analysisofgenderinclusiveruraltransformationandpoliciesinpakistan