Socio-Economic Factors of Differences in Public Health-Related Variables among Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study examines the association of living areas (slum and non-slum) with the selected public health-related variables in the presence of socioeconomic variables among married women and also having a child. A total of 150 women aged 18 to 49 are selected of which 50 women from slums and 100 women are from non-slum areas of Multan by applying the cluster and random sampling techniques. The cross-tabulation method is used to find the results. The dependent variable is Body Mass Index (BMI) and it is analyzed with the socio-economic variables such as mass media index, household characteristics and education. The findings exhibit that the BMI of the women living in the slum areas is low due to a low level of education, lack of mass media access, bad household structures, and poor or ignorant area. The women of the slum area have fewer mass media access, poor status of household characteristics and less education as compared to the women living in the non-slum areas. BMI is significantly affected by area, women's education and household characteristics except for physical work, job status, mass media access and husband education. The findings of this study suggest that to provide health facilities or to reduce the gap in public health, education, mass media access and households characteristics might be considered while making any decision related to the slum and non-slum areas.

آیات محکمات اور متشابہات: تفاسیر اور علوم عصریہ کی روشنی میں

The Holy Quran is the last revealed Book of Allah. It is a source of perfect guidance and inspiration for all the Muslims of the world. It has specific terminology and every word of it implies a number of meanings and shades. In Surah 3 entitled "The Family of lmran" two contrastive terms, Muhkamat (Clear in Meaning) and Mutashabihat (Not very clear in meaning or resemblances) have been used in its verse 7. The Muhkamat and Mutashabihat dichotomy has been widely debated by the medieval Arab scholars and prominent theologians. The literature of exegesis is full of great variety of meanings, dimensions and explanations. However, the word Mutashabihat was not perceived well until the recent time and the present age of science. When the matter was looked into its real perspective of present scientific knowledge it revealed another side of the story. So it was made the subject of PhD thesis under the above mentioned caption. The thesis was divided into five subsections comprising the following. 1. Muhkamat and Mutashabihat - Meanings and Division. 2. Muhkamat and Mutashabihat - Identification and Examples. 3. Verse 7 of Surah Al-e-lmran (Family of lmran) in the light of Exegesis. 4. Muhkamat and Mutashabihat - In the light of Usool-e-Fiqh. 5. Muhkamat and Mutashabihat - In the light of Modern Knowledge In the fifth section the writer has tried his best to clear picture of Mutashabihat verses. At the end of the work substantial annotated illustrations provide a detailed and comprehensive guide to the topic. Now it is up to the readers and the scholars to conclude how well the author has contributed, interpreted and disclosed the much hidden message of the verse.