How does education affect personal involvement in spouse selection?
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Direct answer
Education is strongly associated with reported involvement, although it does not prove that schooling alone caused the difference. In the 2017–18 Pakistan DHS, about 74.8% of women with no education reported having a say in choosing their husband, compared with roughly 92% among women with higher education. A regional mixed-method study of 500 educated women in Malakand also linked education with greater mate-selection agency and attention to compatibility. Household income, urban residence, age at marriage and family norms may contribute to the same pattern.
Sources used
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017–18
National Institute of Population Studies and The DHS Program
National survey evidence for marriage timing, women, households and health indicators.View sourceEducation and mate-selection agency among educated women in Malakand Division
PubMed-indexed research
Mixed-method regional study using 30 interviews and a questionnaire completed by 500 educated women.View source