Rizwan Ahmad, Roshan Jadoon

The Impact of Cultural Norms on Women’s Leadership in Swat: A Feminist Study

Introduction

The impact of cultural norms on women’s leadership in swat: a feminist study. Explore the impact of cultural norms on women's leadership in Swat, KPK, through a qualitative feminist study. Discover how socially constructed norms both support and hinder women leaders.

Abstract

Women's leadership is one of the major concerns of the current time in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). A significant number of studies have been conducted regarding women and challenges faced by women in Swat but lesser focus is given to the impact of cultural norms on women's leadership, which needs to be addressed thoroughly. This study aims to explore the impact of cultural norms on women's leadership in Swat KPK. The study is qualitative in nature and carried out with a feminist lens. Moreover, the data were collected from four different women leaders in Swat. After the thematic analysis of the data, the study shows that women are under the influence of cultural norms that are socially constructed in Swat. Furthermore, in some cases, those norms are advantageous but at the same time also create hurdles for women to reach a high position as women leaders.

Review

This study addresses a highly relevant and critical topic: the impact of cultural norms on women's leadership, specifically within the under-researched context of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The authors correctly identify a gap in the existing literature by distinguishing their focused examination of cultural norms from broader studies on general challenges faced by women. Adopting a qualitative approach through a feminist lens, the research aims to provide an in-depth understanding from the perspective of women leaders themselves. The preliminary findings suggest a complex interplay where culturally constructed norms are found to be both enabling and hindering factors for women aspiring to or holding leadership positions. The strength of this proposed study lies in its focused attention on the specific dynamics of cultural norms, moving beyond generic challenges to a more nuanced exploration. The choice of a feminist lens is particularly apt, promising an analysis that critically examines power structures and gendered experiences within the cultural fabric of Swat. Furthermore, the acknowledgement that norms can be "advantageous" in certain contexts, rather than solely detrimental, indicates a sophisticated understanding that avoids oversimplification and could lead to valuable insights into resilience and adaptive strategies employed by women leaders. The qualitative methodology is well-suited for exploring such complex, context-specific phenomena. While the study presents a compelling premise, some aspects raise questions regarding its scope and depth. The data collection from "four different women leaders" appears exceptionally limited, even for a qualitative study, potentially impacting the representativeness and the richness of the thematic analysis required to fully unpack the diverse cultural norms and their varied impacts across Swat. It would be beneficial for the full paper to elaborate on how this small sample size allows for robust thematic development and to what extent the findings can be contextualized within the broader social landscape. Future iterations of this work would also greatly benefit from a more detailed discussion of the specific cultural norms identified, the mechanisms through which they exert their dual influence, and a clearer articulation of how the feminist theoretical framework specifically informs the interpretation of these findings beyond a general acknowledgement of social construction.

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