Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre at LUMS

The practice of oral history is the documentation of people’s words, memories and experiences. This research methodology engages historical frameworks and relies on interviewing, transcribing…

The lived experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic are starkly divided along gender lines, and the pandemic has already exacerbated gender inequalities within the home and in the labour market across countries...

The lived experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic are starkly divided along gender lines, and the pandemic has already exacerbated gender inequalities within the home and in the labour market across countries...

In 1992, Larry Summers in his lecture at the Annual Pakistan Society of Development Economics titled, “Investing in all the people”, presented a compelling argument in favor of girls’ education for development. The main academic debates...

In April 2020, following a national lockdown due to Covid-19, numerous jobs across Pakistan became home-based. Although this represented a significant disruption to all sectors and genders, women seemed to become especially ...

Past crises in Pakistan have never been gender-neutral and women have suffered disproportionately for a long time (Tariq and Bibler, 2020). Indeed, evidence from previous disasters and pandemics suggests that women are more vulnerable...

Any continuous area or expanse which is available for consumption is typically referred to as ‘space’. In the Urdu language, this can translate to ‘khalaa’ understood as the ‘absence’ of forms, but at the same time generative of other or newer forms, much like silence in a musical composition...

There remains an overwhelming need to reduce the gender gap in labor force participation rates in Pakistan. As of 2021, women’s participation rates remain at around 22 pc with the country recording the slowest progress in closing the gender gap in the Economic Participation...

In a study conducted as part of the Action for Empowerment and Accountability multi-country research programme, we found that Covid-19 has accelerated the shrinking of civic space in Pakistan. A narrowing civic space...

With Pakistan facing a fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and new restrictions being imposed in major cities, research from the IDS-led Action for Empowerment and Accountability programme sheds new light on the gendered impacts and experiences of the pandemic in urban Pakistan...

Covid-19 lockdown measures resulted in an increase in care and housework in homes around the world. But with the greater presence of men at home as a result of lockdown and job losses, why are women...

Over the past two decades, Pakistan has experienced a ‘paradigm’ shift in its approach to social protection ( Gazdar, 2011 ). Prior to the creation of the Benazir Income Support...

While positive swings most certainly indicate improving trends in women’s political inclusion, should we see the lack of a gender gap in turnout as indicative of women’s political agency? My recent research in rural India suggests maybe not...

BISP has a stated objective of reducing gender inequalities and empowering women while combatting poverty.Yet, the expectation that transfer (and otherwise) income improves women’s options outside of marriage and changes household dynamics in their favor does not always hold. This is especially true when...

Feminist activism has faced new and diverse challenges over the past decade. These have led to an increased dismantling of civil liberties, freedom of speech, expression, and...

Why aren’t much higher levels of women entering the labour market given the levels of aspiration in the population? Addressing this puzzle is important because...

In urban Pakistan, limited access to, and the safety of, public transport is estimated to reduce female labor force participation. Minibusses are...