NCSA 2022 Presidential Address: Critical Analysis of Violence against Women in South Asia: Focus on Pakistan

ABSTRACT This paper – a version of the presidential address delivered at the North Central Sociological Association (NCSA) annual meeting in April 2022 – details research undertaken between 2020 and 2021 on violence against women in Pakistan. Three data sources are used to critically analyze the frequency and magnitude of violence against women in Pakistan: secondary data collected by Pakistan government and international organizations, social and print media in Pakistan, and in-depth interviews conducted with 337 women in Pakistan. Findings address the relationship of several variables highlighted in the literature and Hein’s model of violence against women, including type of marriage, background, education, income, occupation, drug use, experiences of childhood violence, the dowry system, and control tendencies of men.