The appropriation of mobile phones by women in the context of gender relations in Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Pakistan)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Martin Sökefeld
• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
• Term: from 2012 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 230033369

This project will study the appropriation of mobile phones by women in the high-mountain area of Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Pakistan). Gilgit-Baltistan's society is characterised by strong gender segregation which waries, however, according to affiliation with different Muslim groups. Thus, it is much stricter among Sunni and Shia families than among Ismailis. The project departs from the hypothesis that mobile phones which were introduced to the area a few years ago may considerably extend the women's range of communication, and thus their realm of social relations and interaction, but that the use and appropriation of mobile phones by women is nevertheless determined by the predominant gender relations within specific groups, i.e. by the often strict control of the women's space by men (especially fathers and brothers). The project will research how women make use of the mobile phone (appropriation) and to what extend and how the introduction of mobile phones is changing gender relations in Gilgit-Baltistan. Through researching the gender-specific appropriation of mobile phones the project aims at contributing to research on gender in Gilgit-Baltistan.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Pakistan
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Azam Chaudhary