Pakistan, like other developing countries in the region, has witnessed accelerated process of urbanisation. Rural to urban migration is seen as a two-stage process. During the first stage, the unskilled workers spend some time in informal urban sector from which they move on to the second stage, where they find a more permanent modern sector job in the formal sector, thus further intensifying double-dualism.
Between 1951 and 1981, the urban population quadrupled. By early 1994, about 32 percent of all Pakistanis lived in urban areas, with 13 percent of the total population living in three cities of over one million inhabitants each Lahore, Faisalabad, and Karachi.
The urban migrant is almost invariably male. Although he has moved to the city, in practice he retains his ties with his village, and his rights there are acknowledged long after his departure. At first, the migration is frequently seen as a temporary expedient, a way to purchase land or pay off a debt.
Typically, the migrant sends part of his earnings to the family he left behind and returns to the village to work at peak agricultural seasons. Even married migrants usually leave their families in the village when they first migrate. The decision to bring wife and children to the city is thus a milestone in the migration process.
Although this migration has had little effect on Pakistan demographically, it has affected its social fabric. While a man is away from his family, his wife often assumes responsibility for many day-to-day business transactions that are considered the province of men.
For the women involved, therefore, there has been a significant change in social role. They tend to feel a sense of social isolation, culture shock, and are depressed by the harsh working conditions in these countries. They also suffer from a sense of disorientation resulting from the sudden acquisition of relative wealth and from the guilt associated with leaving their families.
AMNA ZAHID
Lahore
