Social Protection of Women Through Benazir Income Support Program

Abstract

This dissertation examined the role of social protection of women through Benazir income support program which was launched by government of Pakistan to eliminate the poverty. The unconditional grant program targeted poor women of rural and urban area. The research is based on an ethnographic study conducted in Shah Sadar Uddin village, District Dera Ghani Khan, Punjab. The data for the research was collected by utilizing anthropological techniques by selecting a purposive sampling of 20 in-depth interviews with beneficiaries of BISP, census survey, and participant observation and these techniques were guided by structured interview guide and fieldnotes taken during fieldwork. Social protection programs aim to include women in economic activity to empower women politically, economically and socially in society, but the data of the research is aligned with critiques of social grants programs that such programs including BISP only add little amount of cash into the poor families incomes but such programs do not affect the social, political and economic structure of the society and state to empower women to take decisions according to their will, exercise their agency and invest the money in profitable sector for sustainability of income. BISP grant only empowered women for the time being to purchase and meet personal needs and sometimes little contribution to bear the family expenditures. Key words: Pakistan, social protection programs, outreach, poverty alleviation, Benazir Income Support Program, women empowerment.