Islam and Forced Conversion: A Misunderstood Concept

Religion and marriage are two vital components of an individual’s life. Major world religions have guided human beings not only in theology but also in the matter related to marriage. Islam recognizes the need of its adherents for having matrimonial relationship with the women of the people of scripture in a pluralistic society. It has permitted its males followers for getting married with Christian females and vice versa is not permitted. In history, Muslims have been practicing such interfaith marriages and some of Muslim rulers also availed this relaxation. This paper discusses the marriages of Muslim rulers with Christian ladies enumerating various married couples. Among such rulers are included Umayyads caliphs, Spainish amirs, Ottoman sultans, Mughal emperor and some contemporary rulers. The effects of these interfaith marriages have also been analyzed.

An Exploration into the Nature and Causes of Low Female Labor Participation in Pakistan

Higher female labor force participation (FLFP) is one of contributing factors in achieving economic growth, poverty reduction and women empowerment. Though FLFP has increased from 14 % in 2001-02 to 22 % in 2017-18 but still Pakistan is lagging behind in FLFP rate as compared to other developing countries in the world including those in the South Asian region. The present study has explored four important dimensions of labor market by looking into: a) the contributing factors of low FLFP in Pakistan b) the important factors associated with different employment statuses of women c) the high share of unpaid family workers in total employment of women and d) the issue of out of labor force educated women. For addressing, the first three objectives we have used latest micro data set of Labor Force Survey (LFS) of Pakistan 2017-18. For the out of labor force analysis of educated women we have used individual and household data set of Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey 2013-14. We found very important insights from our empirical analysis of nature and causes of low FLFP in Pakistan. The empirical evidence for the contributing factors of FLFP indicates that women residing in urban areas are less likely to be the part of labor force activities. Higher secondary and above levels of education are positively associated with FLFP in Pakistan. Women who have never migrated, living in joint family systems, and those who have ever received technical or vocational trainings are also more likely to participate in labor force activities. In order to observe the quality of employment we have analyzed different factors associated with different employment statuses of women. According to the empirical analysis urban women are more likely to be engaged either as paid employees or employers as compared to their rural counterparts, whereas women who are residing in rural areas are more likely to be engaged in employment statuses such as own account workers or unpaid/contributing family workers. As the level of education increases then there is more probability for women to be engaged as paid employees or employers. Number of children at home (age 5 years or below) is seen to be negatively affecting a woman’s employment status as a paid employee, and as an unpaid/contributing family worker. The study also highlighted the issue of high share (52%) of unpaid/contributing family workers in total employment of women. According to our study the young girls (10 to 15 years) are more likely to work as unpaid/contributing family workers than the women of other age groups. At the same time the empirical evidence also suggests the presence of disguised unemployment in unpaid/contributing workers category. Besides that, women who are residing in urban areas and who have migrated from other provinces are less likely to work as unpaid/contributing family workers. The issue of out of labor force women is another important reason of low FLFP in Pakistan. According to the empirical evidence women who decide for themselves to opt for paid employment are more likely to the part of the labor force. The study provides important insights for policy makers to improve the FLFP profile of Pakistan.