Growing up in Pakistan: The separate experiences of males and females

This Population Council working paper examines gender differences in transitions to adulthood in Pakistan. The survey covers key aspects of adolescents’ lives, including the timing of several adult transitions and a detailed accounting of time use over the previous 24 hours. The results of the analysis confirm the fundamental importance of schooling to transitions to adulthood. Those without any schooling, which still includes 15 percent of young men and 46 percent of young women, assume the work burdens of adults prematurely and are deprived of the opportunity for learning in an institutional setting outside the family. Those who do attend school eventually take up gender-stereotyped roles; however, they do so with some delay, allowing them to experience a longer transition to adulthood. The nature of current opportunities available to young people, however, appears to reinforce traditional gender role stereotypes