A Qualitative Study of Women Domestic Workers using Public Transport and the Adoption of Purdah

The aim of this research is to analyze the key issues concerning the mobility of women domestic workers working in Lahore, Pakistan, through a qualitative feminist approach. For data collection, the walking interview method, which entailed walking alongside the participants and asking them questions regarding the study questions. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the interviews with ten participants. The findings reveal that the key deterrent limiting women’s mobility includes the extremely patriarchal socio-cultural norms that surround women’s lives. Two broad themes were found including: (i) Purdah as an Extension of One’s Agency; and (ii) Personal Safety, Cost, and Overcrowded Public Transport. This paper changes the societal implications of purdah while also shifting the narrative that surrounds it through the way women participants use purdah to extend their very limited agency. The study also helps to shed light on Pakistan’s public transit system through the eyes of women domestic workers who view it as a deeply unsafe and uncomfortable mode of traveling within the city.

Exploring the Co-Relation of a Headteachers Decision Making and Her Prior Professional Experiences in Dealing With Challenges in Intial Years of Headship

This study explores the co-relationship of decision-making and prior professional experiences of a headteacher in dealing with challenges in the initial years of headship in a Government Secondary School in Karachi. The purpose of the study was to get insights into the process of how headteacher's decisions were informed by her prior professional experiences in coping with the challenges in the initial years of headship; and to understand the factors, other than professional experiences which tend to influence a headteacher's decisions in dealing with challenges. It is a case-study of a newly promoted female headteacher with twenty-nine years of teaching experience, posted in the same Government Secondary School. Multiple repertoire of data collection tools (interviews, observations, document analysis and reflective memos) were being used to collect informations about the inquiry. The findings of the study explored the assumption of the study that headteacher's prior professional experiences do influence her decision-making in dealing with the challenges in the initial years of headship. Moreover, it was found that decision-making processes and her prior professional experiences were co-related in teaching and learning, leading and managing the staff, efficient and effective deployment of the staff, strategic direction and development of the school, and resources and accountability. The intensity of the influence, however, varied was found very intense in three major areas of school leadership and management; in teaching and learning, leading and managing the staff and, in effective and efficient deployment of the staff. The findings depicted that a headteacher's decisions were highly dependent on her prior experiences. In the rest of the two areas, strategic direction and development of the school and, resources and accountability data showed that headteacher was dependent on others' professional expertise also. Other factors, which tend to influence the headteacher's decisions in dealing with challenges in the initial years, were found to be: pressure from high management and community, accountability, personal values and priorities, and relationships with stakeholders. The study has proposed recommendations and questions for further exploration.