For Pakistan to escape the debt and poverty trap in which it is becoming inextricably immersed, it must prioritise social development, the empowerment of women, and the expansion of civil society over economic growth strategies. (...) By prioritising social development, enabling women to become...

The paper explores the elements that constitute women’s autonomy in rural Pakistan. Hitherto most research on women’s status in Pakistan has either been restricted to proxy measures of women’s status generally or to the urban areas. Community or region, each of which has distinctive...