SURVEY ON PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM, PERCEPTIONS AND BARRIERS AMONG YOUNG FEMALES

Aims Of Study: In Pakistan, the level of physical inactivity among adults is 26%. This survey aims to determine the participation in structured physical activity among young females and their perception and barriers towards SPA. Methodology: Purposive sampling was used to gather data from young females aged 16-30 in Karachi. Demographics, perception, and barriers were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Pearson chi-square was used to draw associations between qualitative variables. Results: According to a study of 319 participants, more than half did not participate in structured physical activity. Those who did found it beneficial for their health and happiness. Barriers to participation included transportation and gender-specific facilities, but these were not significantly associated with participation. Limitations & Future Implications: The study did not explore variations in physical activity participation among different ethnic, educational, socioeconomic, or occupational groups. Future studies should investigate these factors among both genders to understand perceptions and barriers to structured physical activity across diverse populations. Originality: To promote physical activity among young females and prevent health issues, it's crucial to recognize their understanding of SPA barriers and perceptions and develop appropriate strategies to overcome them. Conclusion: The barriers to structured physical activity had no significant effect on participation among young females. Also, participation in structured physical activity was not affected by marital status, age, and education level.

Girls Access and Equity in Primary Education in the Slum Areas of Karachi

“Educate a boy, and you educate an individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community” The present research was conducted to explore the existing situation of girls’ primary education in the slum areas of Karachi, Pakistan. The main objectives of the study were to uncover the reasons behind the problems and challenges of girls’ primary education in the slum areas of Karachi, Pakistan; to identify supporting factors that can ensure equity and access in girls’ primary education; to explore the perceptions of teachers, students, school heads and parents about girls’ education; to review the education policies and reports, and to find out to what extent our educational policy has catered to the basic needs of girls’ education. The literature review comprised of a number of studies, which included research articles, reports of national and international organizations and reviews of educational policies about girls’ primary education in Pakistan. Efforts were made to collect primary sources as well. Current study was qualitative in nature. Researcher used a grounded theory approach and conducted a qualitative survey to describe the real and existing situation of girls’ primary education in the slum areas of Karachi. The population of the study comprised of all school heads, school teachers and girl students of the fourth and fifth grade of girls’ primary schools as well as parents of slum areas of Karachi. The study was confined to eighteen towns of Karachi. Thirty-six schools were selected as participant schools through purposive sampling technique. Seventy-two teachers and thirty-six school heads, two hundred students and one hundred and ten parents were selected for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. In depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), descriptive field notes and document review were used as a method of data collection. The instruments of data collection were developed and validated. The data was collected during personal visits and was analyzed through thematic analysis method. A theory was developed that explains access and equity of girls’ primary education in slums of Karachi. Results indicated that gender disparity was found in the slum areas of Karachi and the condition of girls’ education is alarming. Several social factors such as socio economic status, religeo-cultural barriers and law and order situation are responsible for the low motivation of girls’ education in the slum areas of Karachi, the resultant of which schools of slum areas have high dropouts and low enrollment ratio. Schools of slum areas had poor infrastructure, lacked basic facilities, had inadequate teaching staff and several management issues. The significant inferences of the study were that girl students were highly motivated towards education but the administrators ran schools in an unlikely miserable manner. The researcher highly recommended that the concerned higher authorities should pay special attention to the promotion of girls’ education of the slum areas of Karachi. Administrative issues such as shortage of teaching staff, inadequate facilities and infrastructure of schools should be solved based on top priority, the government should provide security to the staff of schools and special incentives should be given to the school heads and staff in order to motivate them to work in the slum areas of Karachi.