جو اُجلا تن نہیں تو کیا میں اُجلا من تو رکھتا ہوں
میں تشنہ لب ہوں آنکھوں میں مگر ساون تو رکھتا ہوں
اگرچہ تیرگی ہی تیرگی ہے چار سُو میرے
میں ایسی تیرگی میں بھی دلِ روشن تو رکھتا ہوں
مرے دامن میں رنج و غم کی ہے اشکوں کی دولت ہے
مجھے مت جانیے مفلس کہ ایسا دھن تو رکھتا ہوں
میں بستا شہر میںہوں پھر بھی صحرا سے مجھے نسبت
نہیں میں قیس تو کیا ہے میں پاگل پن تو رکھتا ہوں
میں اُن کو دل میں رکھتا ہوں جو تائبؔ دور رہتے ہیں
اگرچہ بے ہنر ہوں پھر بھی اتنا فن تو رکھتا ہوں
The paper sets out to discuss impact of socio-cultural barriers on social empowerment of rural women in term of decision making related to their personal as well as social life in Sahiwal division. Pakistan is a patriarchal society characterized by patri-local residence and exclusion of women from the right of inheritance and succession, which pave ways for male-headed society. In addition, socio-cultural factors strongly favour male-dominance and an inferior status of females in all walks of life. A quantitative approach was adopted for carrying out current study. A survey instrument was designed and employed for data collection from 384 respondents from rural areas of Sahiwal division. The findings of the study revealed that less than one third (31.25%) of the respondents were consulted in decision-making about domestic matters. Likewise, more than half (51.8%) of the respondents were not independent in moving out of home for meeting any social need. Similarly, more than one third (41.4%) of the respondents were not free to visit their friends in the neighborhood. The study concludes that women in the rural areas are less empowered and still suffering socially, economically and psychologically in their day to day life. The study provides an insight for professional social workers, policy makers and stakeholders in public and private sectors for influencing policy-making and planning for revisiting and redesigning existing policies and plans intended for empowerment of rural women in Pakistan
The main objective of the study was to develop a standardized academic achievement test at Intermediate level in the subject of English. For the test, 59 multiple-choice items were selected. Stratified random cluster sampling design was used in this study. A sample of 12280 students including male and female from different government colleges/ higher secondary schools of Punjab was selected randomly to administer the test. The process of standardization was based on Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Mean, range and standard deviation for total sample were 33.96, 59, 13.21, for urban sample were 35.56, 59, 13.78, for rural sample were 32.13, 57, 12.28, for male were 33.63, 59, 13.05, for male (urban) were 35.18, 59, 13.55, for male (rural) were 32.12, 57, 12.35, for female were 34.34, 59, 13.39, for female (urban)were 35.94, 59, 13.99 and for female (rural) were 32.15, 56, 12.18 respectively. z-test was applied to determine the gender wise and location wise performance and values of z for Male-Female, Urban-Rural, Urban Male-Rural Male, Urban Female-Rural female, Urban Male-Urban Female, Rural Male-Rural Female were -2.96, 14.58, 9.58, 10.88, -2.23, -0.09 respectively. Item analysis was done by calculating difficulty index, item discrimination, and effectiveness of distracters. By applying Rasch model, map of latent distributions (Item-Person Map) was made and items’ parameters were estimated. The reliability of the test was calculated that was 0.92, 0.94, 0.93 and 0.93 by Split – half reliability, KR 20 reliability method , KR 21 reliability method and Chronbach,s Alpha respectively. The face validity was found to be high that is 91.47%. The content validity was also found. The study of the impact of parents’ education and favourite subject towards academic achievement were done and significant difference was found on academic achievement. This study suggests that to cover the whole syllabus of English for class 12, number of items should be enhanced.