The Women Vegetable Growers in Hopay, Bagrote: An Anthropological Study on Women’s Contribution to the Household Economy through Subsistence Activities

Abstract

Women play a key role in rural areas across world. Women are primarily responsible for providing for their families in rural area of Gilgit-Baltistan. The study was carried out in Hopay, Bagrote which Valley sub-village. Although women in every household were a significant source of income generation, from the entire 140 households, one woman was selected from each of twenty households. A qualitative study was done for this study, and ethnographic research techniques were used in the collection of data from each respondent through in-depth interviews and semi- structured questions. Yet the aim of the study was to study the subsistence patterns trough which they practiced and contribution of women to household economy. Likewise, understanding one's experiences as a major contributor in the decision-making process in each household, as well as the obstacles that every woman faces while performing responsibilities, will aid in overcoming the obstacles she faces. The study opened up the fact that the women in the village practiced various subsistence patterns to earn money, including chakoo, stitching, selling milk and eggs, and other agricultural activities, but growing vegetables was the foremost pattern in terms of household management. The ethnographic research has showed the lower influence of patriarchy in the village that somewhere positive site of the village. However, women do not have a sort of boundaries male their spouse whereas they are equally empowered in mobility, major decision concerning children, and it could be marriages. Keywords: women contribution, subsistence activities, household status, decision power