How does marriage affect women's mobility in Pakistan according to research?
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Direct answer
Marriage can change where women live, who is consulted about travel and how care duties constrain time outside the home, but Pakistan lacks a national before-and-after mobility experiment. The 2017–18 DHS found that 49% of currently married women participated in decisions about visits to family or relatives; this is a decision-making indicator, not a direct measure of freedom to move. Effects differ by residence, education, paid work, household structure and safety. Cross-sectional associations should not be interpreted as proof that marriage alone caused a mobility restriction.
49%currently married women participating in decisions about family visits, PDHS 2017–18
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 sourceFemale Labor Force Participation in Pakistan
World Bank
Research context on women’s work, marriage and structural barriers to labour-force participation.View source