The Explorer: Journal of Social Sciences ISSN: 2411-0132, Vol-1, Issue (1):12-16 www.theexplorerpak.org
EDUCATION: A WEAPON TO DIMINISH THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Farooq Abdullah1, Nazneen Habib2, Nazia Rafiq3, Muhammad Shahzad4 Department of Sociology and Rural Development ,University of Azad Jammu andKashmir,2Department of Sociology and Rural Development, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,3Department of Sociology and Anthropology, PMAS-Arid Agricultural University Rawalpindi,4Department of Sociology and Anthropology, PMAS-Arid Agricultural University Rawalpindi 1
Corresponding Author: Khawaja Farooq Abdullah Department of Sociology and Rural Development UAJK gemini.soc@hotmail.com Abstract: Education is basic indicator to sweep the evils from the society and give better sense of living standard along with better future planning. The education is hallmark to social development and ultimately the progress of nation and country. The domestic violence is prevalent around the globe and the situation of Pakistani women are Vis a Vis to the developing countries of the world. The violence against women has its roots in the traditional system of society and especially the patriarchal system has made it more ideological for men and women are subjugated in all spheres of life. This study focused the violence against women which can be reduced by the prevalence of education in rural and urban setting whereas malfunctioning is seen at great expense. To explore the nexus of education and domestic violence on women the study was conducted in urban and rural area of Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The sample size was taken 600 household equally from rural and urban areas. The non-probability, convenient, sampling technique was used. The research concluded that education is very necessary to sway the evils from society mainly the domestic violence can be eradicated by adopting the education and hence the awareness can be raised among the marginalized sections of the society acutely.
KeyWords: Patriarchy, Ideology, Subjugated, Hallmark, Autonomy, Physical Running Title: Education can diminish domestic violence INTRODUCTION Domestic Violence
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines domestic violence as any act of “gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.” The important cause of mortality of women is manifested in domestic violence which is customary in each country (World Health Organization 1996). Symonides and Volodin, (2002) quoted, definition of United Nations General Assembly violence against women as: “Any act of gender based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life” A study described the prevalence of intimate partner violence was detailed in the range of 30% to 79% (Fikree and Bhatti 1999; Human Rights Watch 1992). Heise and Pitanguy (1994) investigated that the women are marginalized in many kind of domestic violence in developing countries and it is a
concern of public health issue. The women had been victims of domestic violence in many countries as 34% in Egypt (Sidible, et al. 2006) 17% in Canada (Cohen, et al. 2005) and 16.4% in Haiti (Gage 2005). A study by Ahmed and Elmardi (2005) conducted in medical clinic of Sudan reported in 2001, reported that low educated, unemployed and new married. Niaz described that battered wife with typical personality is restraint nervous with low self-confidence. The women mostly come from restricted and conventional environment where men and women are traditional and victimized (1995). Mumtaz and Shaheed (1987) itemized the Majlis-e-Khawateen, a fundamentalist women group established by government to oblige the women and women rights. Iqbal (1990) specified the behavior of sons and in-laws is indispensible that women are beaten by their sons, parents and in-laws. Women are snubbed, disregarded and even found intolerable by a large section of society (Report of the Commission of Inquiry for Women: Pakistan 1997). Khan and Sajid (2011) analyzed that women due to traditions and cultural norms are limited to their families. The traditional ways are still followed to oppress the rights and beat wives.
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In-laws and mother in-laws still oppress with authority and it consequently creates a space to live in nuclear family rather than joint family. Asif, et al. (2010) specified that violence has worst impressions upon the women’s life like autonomy, productivity, life standard and care, which has had alarming results like loss of life. The violence to women happens because of gender inequity. Nawaz, et al. (2008) indicated that domestic violence is an economic, educational, developmental and human rights issue. The NGO’s and Government should take steps to minimize the stereotypical thinking and empower women for active participation and gender equity. Social structure is considered to be a source of domestic violence, women are physically violated by men and men do justify violence where the women ultimately give in (Gelles and Cornell 1985). Lower level of education results violence and men justify physical violence to their spouses (Haj, 1998). Bawah, et al. (1989) augmented that all Muslim societies are critiqued for human rights violation and also for women rights. Two studies describe that 150 women were asked about health care facilities in Karachi, 34% of women faced physical abuse whereas 43% of male respondents justified the violence when a wife used contraceptive without her husband’s consent. Stordeur, et al. (1989) amplified the psychological abuse is fundamentally a systematic attempt to distort one’s thinking and behaviour including seclusion, persuaded incapacity, extreme jealousy and threats. Garcia, et al. (2005) intensified that WHO in 2005 conducted a multi-country study and concluded the high ratio of abuse. The violence against women by partner has been a main cause in health concerns. The most pervasive human rights violations across the globe. About one-third of the world’s women will endure an abusive relationship (UN Commission on the Status of Women 2000). Mintz and Cornett (1997) specified the status of women which became inferior when mistrust develops in environs. Domestic violence can be a result of stress and strains of family. The abuser and victim can have some features which give rise to abusive relationships. MATERIALS AND METHODS Quantitative and qualitative study was conducted in district Muzaffarabad AJ&K. A sample of 600 respondents was taken 300 equally from rural and urban area, based on non-probability convenience sampling technique. A structured close ended questionnaire was used to collect the information from the respondents along with observation and a key informant method was also used. The level of
the questionnaire was of layman understanding. The questions were enough easier and also explained to respondents by the investigator. On the basis of questionnaire designed the hypotheses were formulated and chi-square test was employed which resulted the association among the variables and relationship was categorized accordingly. The recommendations are given at the endof the writ up for the better social construction where the problems of domestic violence could be tackled accurately and the ends could be met. HYPOTHESES
The following hypotheses were tested and hence tabulated along the Pearson value. a. Higher the Education of Respondents, Lower will be the Physical Torture of Partner b. Higher the Qualification of Husband, Lower will be the Physical Torture of Partner c. Higher the Education of In-laws, Lower will be the Physical Torture of Partner RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The study entails the following findings interpreted, analyzed and tabulated Table.1: Qualification of Respondents Education
Frequency
Valid Percent
Illiterate
200
33.3%
Primary
57
9.5%%
Middle
53
8.8%
Matric
129
21.5%
Intermediate
69
11.5%
Bachelor
65
10.8%
Masters
27
4.5%
Total
600
100.0%
Table 1 shows the ration of education where higher ration counters the illiterate section of the women more than 33% and as it grew higher in the rank the percentage lowers except the Matric where the women are normally studied in the rural and urban area. Table.2: Qualification of Husbands Education Illiterate
Frequency 127
Valid Percent 21.2%
Primary
22
3.7%
Middle
63
10.5%
Matric
190
31.7%
Intermediate
86
14.3%
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Bachelor
77
12.8%%
Masters
34
5.7%
Any other
1
.2%
600
100.0%
Total
Masters Any one
29
10
21 17 21
20 19 45
12 12 42
4 5 21
10
25
25
9
11 3 185
13 5 186
24 8 152
17 11 77
20 0 57 53 12 9 16 9 65 27 60 0
Total
Never
Once
Twice
often
84 9 26 35 12 12
25 9 29 80 24 17
14 4 7 50 32 35
4 0 1 25 18 13
15 1
34 1
18 186 5 Pearson Chi-Square = 1.955 P-Value = 0.000
152
77
600
127 22 63 190 86 77
df = 21
The respondents whose husbands having matric level education were more vulnerable to physical torture and illiterate husbands also commit torture to their spouses while intermediate qualified husbands also torture their wives. Moreover, the education level as it goes up in the hierarchy the torture decreases and finally the education level lessen the torture against the women (wives at the household level). The results endorsed the validity of hypothesis as it was proposed for the study. Table.3: Association of In-laws Education with Physical Torture of Partner Are Does your partner torture you your inphysically? laws Never Once Twice Often educat ed? 182 7 2 0 191 No Some
Pearson Chi-Square=1.129 df = 18 P-Value = 0.000 Table. 4: Association of Education of Husband with Physical Torture of Partner Qualification Does your partner torture of the you physically? Husband
Illiterate Primary Middle Matric Intermediate Bachelor
10 0
Total
Often
Once
Twice
Never
Total
59
Total
Table. 3: Association of Education of Respondents with Physical Torture of Partner Qualification Does your partner torture of the you physically? Respondents
102
2 0
Total
The above table illustrates that physical violence against respondent varies according to the education level, among which the greater ratio of physical torture is found be respondents having matric qualification and illiterate respondents also face physical torture while all other categories of education bear physical torture in any case but the interesting thing for which we have our hypothesis is that with the increasing education level of respondents the physical torture decreases and ultimately the education counters the torture against women in the urban and rural areas of Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Illiterate Primary Middle Matric Intermediate Bachelor Masters
7 0
Mostly
1
176
0
0
177
2
3
149
0
154
0 0 All Total 185 186 Pearson Chi-Square = 1.690 P-Value = 0.000
1 152
77 77
78 600 df=9
The torture enforced by the in-laws was calculated in the category that some of the in-laws are more violent and a ratio of people who are mostly tortured by the in-laws while other categories are less marginalized to such torture which endorsed the hypothesis being tested and the results showed that most of the women were tortured physically. The results of p-value endorsed the hypothesis. DISPARITIES It is generally, assumed that malfunctioning is sorted out in the rural areas regarding the domestic violence where literacy rate is low and people live a traditional life along conversant thinking and do not let their daughters to learn even at the early stages and counter stereotypical milieu. The women are always restraint to work from dawn to dusk in their fields with men and men on the other hand suppress them and restrain them in getting education which resultantly cause domestic violence because they have no way out to 14
participate and contribute towards the development of their children. It is converse relation and produce hell of difference in the social mobility and understanding the social construction of the society. The extent of domestic violence on women was chalked out quite opposite to the assumption that it is higher in rural setting because when enumerated and analysed, the urban setting was found more vulnerable in comparison to the rural setting which nullify that domestic violence is not parallel in both setting. In the rural and urban areas of Muzaffarabad there was a minor difference found in the prevalence of domestic violence because it was enumerated at lower scale and urban ration was found higher comparatively. The education matters in creating the awareness among the people and the potential efforts in this regard are needed to comply collectively for minimizing the difference and making the women aware of their actual significance to contribute and participate as an active entity of the society. POLICY IMPLICATION The study concluded that the physical torture is because of the low education of respondents, they either have less awareness or totally lack the knowledge of the abusive behavior with their spouses. Furthermore, the level of education rises and decreases the torture at the household level. a. The education plays an imperative role in modifying the attitudes and behaviours. The violence decreases by increasing the level of education. So, there should be at least free primary education for all and specially the informal (adult and functional literacy) programme for the people to comprehend the social problems and should be sensitized to address the issue of domestic violence. The education brings down the level of violence as it is evident from the results of hypothesis that the more educated people the less will be the violence. b. It is usually said that the ratio of domestic violence is high in rural areas because of low literacy rate and unavailability of facilities as compared to urban areas where more educational opportunities are accessible but it can be quite contrary so urban and rural areas both need equal attention to address the domestic violence . Different programs of education should be started along with adult literacy program for the awareness and education of illiterate people for their capacity building so that they could come to understand the gravity of problem.
c. The Government, NGO’s and other organisations should also initiate the programmes in urban and rural areas so that they could enhance their awareness among the people to avoid the violence against the women. d. Media must play role in socializing the masses against the domestic violence and should create a sense of optimizing the situation. REFERENCES Asad, Niaz 1995 Violence against Women. Psychological Aspects of Domestic Violence Rawalpindi:. Color Line:16-18. Asif, F., Zafar, M. I., Maann, A. A., Ahmad, M. 2010 Domestic Violence – Rural-Urban Current Age and Age at Marriage Differential Impact on Women Physical Health in Punjab, Pakistan:Pak. J. Agri. Sci., Vol. 47(2), 178-182. Bawah, AyagaAgula, Patricia Akweongo, Ruth Simmons, and James F. Phillips 1999 Women’s Fears and Men’s Anxieties: The Impact of Family Planning on Gender Relations in Northern Ghana. Studies in Family Planning 30(1):54-66. Elmardi, Ahmed Eltigani, and Awad Mohammed Ahmed 2005 A Study of Domestic Violance Among Women Attending a Medical Centre in Sudan. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 11(1/2). Fikree, F.F. Bhatti, L.I. 1999 Domestic Violence and Health of Pakistani Women. InternationalJournal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 65(2):195-201. Gelles,
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2005 WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women. World Health Organization. Human Rights Watch1992 Double jeopardy: police abuse of women in Pakistan, USA. Haj-Yahia, and Muhammad
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1998 A Patriarchal Perspective of Beliefs About Wife Beating Among Palestinian Men from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Journal of Family Issues 19(5):595-621. Iqbal, J. 1990 Crimes against Women in Pakistan. Journal of South Asian. Khan, Sarfraz.,Mirza, RizwanSajid 2011 Violence against Women in Pakistan: A Case Study of Wife Bettering in Rural Gujarat. Department of Statistics and Sociology, University of Gujarat, Pakistan: World Applied Science Journal 12(11):21682174, 2011.
Stordeur, Richard A., and Richard Stille 1989 Ending Men's Violence against Their Partners: One Road to Peace: Sage Publications, Inc. Symonides, Janusz, Volodin, V. 2002 A guide to human rights Institutions, standards, procedures -women and human rightsFrance: UNESCO Publications. United, Nation 2000 UN Commission on the Status of Women Report on the Forty-Fourth Session, 2000 New York: United Nations. World Health Organization 2005 WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence. World Health Organization 1996 Violence against Women. WHO Consultation, Geneva. © 2015 “The Explorer” Journal of Social Sciences-Pakistan
Lori, Heise, and Pitanguy Jacqueline 1994 Violence against Women: The Hidden Health Burdom. The World Bank Publisher. Mintz, H. A., Cornett, F. W. 1997 When your patient is a batterer. What you need to know before treating perpetrators of domestic violence. Postgrad Med, 101: 219-221, 225-228. Mumtaz, K., Shaheed, F. 1987 Women of Pakistan: Two Steps Forward: One Step Back? Zed, London. Nawazi, Naima, Zeeshan Nawaz, and Irum Majeed 2008 Mental and Phyiscal Victim-mization of Rural Women. Journal of Agriculture and Social Sciences 4(2) :74-76. Report of the Commission of Inquiry for Women: Pakistan, 1997, p. 78. Sidibe, Gabourey, and Joseph Campbell 2006 Domestic Violence Against Women in Egypt-Wife Beating and Health Outcomes. Social Science and Medicines 62:1260-1277.
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