Sociological Research And Innovation

Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors and Coping Strategies: A Qualitative Study of Women in Urban Slum Areas of Lahore, Pakistan

Manahil Farhat — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study seeks to explore the health practices of women living in the slums of Lahore, Pakistan, a group known for poor health outcomes and high incidence of chronic illnesses like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. A qualitative research methodology was employed to collect data from 20 women across four slum regions, with a focus on demographics, health behaviors, perceived impediments, and coping methods. The study adopts a socioeconomic determinants of health approach, emphasizing the importance of financial stability, employment, education, housing, social support, and access to healthcare for women's health. The findings demonstrate major impediments to healthcare access, such as inadequate housing and infrastructure, which all contribute to high infant mortality and poor health outcomes. This study highlights how women residing in slums rely on traditional treatments, limited health literacy, cultural norms, and prioritize household chores over personal health. The findings suggest that culturally sensitive, gender-specific interventions, as well as improved healthcare infrastructure, are required to enhance health outcomes. The study advocates for government intervention to ensure equitable healthcare access for all women, regardless of their financial position, and emphasizes the broader societal consequences of improving health in slum communities.

Drivers and Impacts of Internal Displacement to Kano City, Nigeria: An Empirical Study and Strategic Options

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The increasing rate of internal displacement in Nigeria has raised significant concerns regarding its impact on urban management. Forced migration is often seen as an outcome of unpalatable experiences in migrants’ communities. This study aims to identify the factors driving mass internal migration to Kano and to explore the relationship between forced migration and the evolving socio-economic conditions in the city. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, including surveys with 1,000 respondents, interviews with 30 individuals, and six focus group discussions (FGDs). The discussion is anchored in Lee’s push-pull theory of migration. The analysis reveals that insurgency, banditry, communal conflicts over socio-economic space, and herders-farmers conflicts are major factors contributing to unprecedented internal displacement, with Kano emerging as a significant recipient of these migrants. The socio-economic life of Kano's slums has been altered, and migrants are exposed to different risks, including unemployment, hunger, disease, drug abuse, and poor upbringing of young ones. An uncertain future and danger loom ahead if proactive measures are not taken to address conflicts and insecurity in the north. The government should develop strategies to resolve northern crises and facilitate the return of forced migrants to their communities, thereby mitigating the socio-economic disruptions in Kano.

Perceptions of Undergraduate Students with Hearing Impairment about their Job Placement

Tayyaba Shamas — Sun, 30 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research aims to investigate the perceptions of undergraduate students with hearing impairment about their job placement. The study is descriptive in nature and conducted through questionnaires. Researchers embarked on a journey to understand the perceptions of students with hearing impairment about their job placement. The main objectives of this study are to investigate the problems that undergraduate girls and boys with hearing impairment face regarding their job placement, and to compare the problems that hearing-impaired (HI) girls and boys in private and public sector universities encounter with respect to their job placement. For this purpose, the researcher collected data from 78 students of private and public sector universities in Lahore city through convenient sampling. The variables related to students’ perceptions under the statement of perceptions of undergraduate students with hearing impairment about their job placement were demand, job readiness, employment, and barriers. The data from the research tool were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS. It was found that HI students felt it was harder to get a job because of their hearing impairment, as they considered their impairment to be a significant barrier to even getting ready for entry into the job market.

MANIPULATED NOTIONS OF ISLAM REGARDING WOMEN: AN ANALYSIS OF THE BREADWINNER BY DEBORAH ELLIS UNDER ISLAMIC FEMINISM

Hafza Arshad — Sun, 30 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research attempts to scrutinize the constrained lives of women in Afghanistan as depicted in the novel The Breadwinner (Ellis, 2000), through the lens of Islamic feminism as presented by Fatema Mernissi in Islam and Democracy (1992). From the perspective of Islamic feminism, Islam preserves all fundamental rights for women. Despite being under the protection of men, women ought to retain their individuality, as both genders are held equal for their deeds on the Day of Judgment. This research will identify the manipulated notions of Islam regarding women in the novel through the framework of Islamic feminism. Islamic feminism emphasizes that Islam allows women to celebrate their femininity, but misinterpretations of Quranic verses have led Muslims to believe otherwise. Thus, the research contributes to the effort to identify Afghan women’s rights within both the public and domestic spheres, which have been undermined by men, with the aid of Islamic feminism. In The Breadwinner, the Taliban’s agenda is to set a religious narrative that women are submissive and should be confined within four walls. In contrast, the reality is entirely different; Islam provides equal rights to both sexes on human grounds.