Pathways
Lady Healthworkers in Pakistan
2007 - 2011
Lead Researcher: Ayesha Khan
The purpose of this study was to explore the empowerment-related possibilities experienced by women in a major public sector community health initiative in Pakistan. The Lady Health Worker (LHW) scheme has engaged almost 100,000 women across Pakistan to work in their local communities as primary health and family planning service providers through visiting households door to door to document basic health indicators and offer selected services. The study locates the LHW experience within the geography of gender in diverse parts of Pakistan, and attempts to identify whether the work has any transformative effect on LHWs themselves, and/or has affected the views of communities regarding women’s paid work.
Resources For This Project
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Lady Healthworkers And Social Change In Pakistan, Economic and Political Weekly, XLVI.30
Pakistan's Lady Health Workers' programme has trained over 1,000,000 women to provide community health services in rural areas. Not only has the programme revitalised the primary health care system, it has also helped overcome the gendered division of public and private space that is a major obstacle to women's access to basic services, including education, and employment opportunities. However, there are a number of shortcomings that need government intervention to ensure that it fulfils its aims. …
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Look! That's Me On TV: Lady Healthworkers In Pakistan
The Lady Health Workers Programme is a major public sector initiative to provide reproductive health care to women in Pakistan, employing almost 100,000 women. This qualitative research study is based on interviews with LHWs and community members in four districts to explore dimensions of women’s empowerment. They are analysed in terms of how context and circumstance can positively shape the LHW experience. Four possible trajectories are illustrated based on case studies. …
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Women Health Workers Creating Particular Pathways Of Change
The Lady Health Worker Programme (LHWP) is a major public sector initiative to provide reproductive health care to women in Pakistan, employing almost 100,000 women as community health workers. The LHWP directly addresses women’s reproductive health needs by providing them with information, basic services and access to further care. The experience of LHWs can provide valuable insight into the impact of paid work on their lives and communities, and how processes of women’s empowerment are shaped. The LHWP is a huge employer of women and the most important link between communities and primary health care in the country. …
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Women's Empowerment And The Lady Health Worker Programme In Pakistan
The present study explores the topic of empowerment through the experience of women in the Lady Health Workers Programme, a government-run project that employs almost 100,000 women across Pakistan as community health workers. The LHWP directly addresses women’s reproductive health needs by attempting to provide them information, basic services and access to further care if necessary. It is also a major employer of women, and therefore the experiences of LHWs can provide valuable insight into the impact of paid work on their lives and gender relations in their homes and communities. The discussion that follows will begin with some background information on women and paid work in Pakistan, followed by details of the LHWP, and an analysis of selected interviews with LHWs. …
