Abstract
Conducting research in rural Pakistan poses a number of challenges, particularly in the area where this research was carried out. This chapter explains the methodological choices made for the study and the challenges faced by the researcher during the fieldwork. I conducted fieldwork in six villages; I describe how I negotiated access in these villages, the use of intermediaries and my experiences in each of the villages. My journey through these villages provides me with an opportunity to reflect on my own life compared to the women in my sample and elaborate their situation in which they did not have the opportunities and facilities that an ordinary woman like me has enjoyed. Certain elements simultaneously made me an insider and an outsider in the location in which I was working. I discuss how they helped me to interact with villagers, but most importantly, I describe my experience of using multiple methods of data collection, pointing out what worked and what did not work in the rural setting.
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Notes
- 1.
Although this comment was made in the context of feminist approaches to violence, this is also central to my project. Though I am not working on violence, I deal with male power which is central in shaping women’s lives in this setting.
- 2.
All names of intermediaries and participants are pseudonyms.
- 3.
Pecca is a common word which stands for concrete, the opposite of pecca is katcha.
- 4.
Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is associated with the former late Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto. The programme aims at poverty reduction and women’s empowerment among unprivileged people. In 2020, the government changed its name to Ehsaas Emergency Cash to provide relief to poor people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 5.
A marriage in which two women are swapped, this marriage involves brother-sister pairs (see Chap. 4).
- 6.
Having a mobile phone is age- and gender-specific. Women, particularly young women, are less likely to possess mobile phones. I saw some older women having early style mobile phones that too without latest technology.
- 7.
Only one woman showed willingness to have her photo taken while she was doing her informal work; I promised her that I would obscure her identity in the photo.
- 8.
I had sought prior ethical clearance from the University of York ethics committee before embarking on my fieldwork.
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Agha, N. (2021). Exploring Rural Women’s Lives: Methodological Choices and Challenges. In: Kinship, Patriarchal Structure and Women’s Bargaining with Patriarchy in Rural Sindh, Pakistan. Gender, Sexualities and Culture in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6859-3_3
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