The Short- And Long-Term Effects of Women’s Participation in A Social Movement: Evidence from the Anjuman-E-Mazareen Punjab Movement

Abstract

This study analyzes the implications that women’s participation in social movements may have on the level of empowerment in a developing country context. A social movement is a multifaceted phenomenon as it aspires to change not only specific policies but also, simultaneously, broad cultural and institutional structures. Women-specific as well as mixed gender movements provide examples of how collective action can influence mobilization and public opinion. Such collective behavior not only challenges limitations on gender roles but also mobilizes women to demand for equal opportunities in all spheres of life. We estimate a model for understanding this phenomenon by taking the Anjuman-e-Mazareen Punjab Movement as an intervention due to the emergence of women as active actors in this movement. This study provides empirical insights of short- and long-term effects of participation in a social movement by exploring into the employment conditions and educational developments. For this purpose, we draw data from the Labor Force Survey for the years 1990 to 2012. We use a flexible Difference in Differences technique to compare potentially “economically active” women and potentially “school going” girls from rural regions in the treatment districts with two groups: rural women in control districts and urban women from both control and treatment districts. Evidence from the results show a rise in the number of working women after the movement took place but the amount of time they spend at work remains unchanged. We also observe an increase in literacy rates which indicates a preference towards basic learning among women of all ages. Moreover, there is a positive shift in the enrolment rates and years of education obtained by “school going” girls subject to treatment. In addition, we exploit within household variation to show that the treated households are relatively more likely to increase investment towards girls’ education in comparison to women and men of the older generation in the post-treatment time period.