WOMEN'S INVOLVEMENT IN LIVESTOCK CARE AND MANAGEMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR THEIR SOCIAL LIFE IN THE PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Livestock is a natural resource of good quality food, milk, meat, yogurt, butter, etc. Rural women actively participate in livestock management activities but their role is undervalued even though their social life is negatively affected. This paper is an attempt to analyze women's involvement in livestock care and management and its implications for their social life. Multistage sampling technique was used for data collection. Two districts, two tehsils, two union councils and four villages were selected randomly. Six hundred respondents were selected by systematic random sampling technique through Fitzgibbon table. Data were collected with the help of a well-designed interview schedule and analyzed by using different statistical techniques. The results showed that a significant majority of women were involved in making dung-pads and cleaning sheds. Half of the women reported that their livestock work creates problems to meet relatives, attend family functions and for involvement in social activities. It is therefore recommended that families should provide opportunities to women to participate in social activities by sharing their livestock-related responsibilities.