SEARCH ARTICLE

28 Pages : 293-303

http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2020(V-II).28      10.31703/gssr.2020(V-II).28      Published : Jun 2020

Migrating into Poverty and Malady: Psychosocial Challenges Rural Pakistani Women in a Post Migration Scenario

    This research explores the psychosocial challenges faced by rural Pakistani women in the wake of their migration to the city. A focus group and ten in-depth interviews were conducted with women from a migrant household. The study revealed that migrant women's frustration of unmet needs, the stress of unfulfilled expectations along with pressing socio-economic circumstances paves the way for a range of psychological problems like hopelessness, demoralization, lack of motivation, shame, social withdrawal and isolation, psychosomatic complaints anxiety and depression. The findings revealed that Persistent poverty does not only affect the psychological well-being of these migrant women but also keeps them trapped in impoverishment. It also highlighted that the psychosocial challenges for these migrant women increase twofold in the urban settings as they are compelled to exist on the margin of the margins as the poorest of the poor.

    Migration, Poverty, Psychological, Rural Women.
    (1) Riffat Haque
    Assistant Professor, Department of Peace & Conflict Studies, National Defense University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
    (2) Maria M. Malik
    Assistant Professor, Department of Gender and Women Studies, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
    (3) Rahia Aftab
    Lecturer, Department of Psychology, National Institute of Psychology, Quaid I Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.