Research is shaped primarily by participants, their experiences, and responses. Their demographics, interactions with researchers and sometimes also their body language are all important aspects that make up ‘insights’ gained from research projects. While the information that builds the foundation of any mindful and nuanced research comes from participants, analysis goes beyond just the responses of participants. They are shaped by interactions between participants and interviewers, facilitators (individuals who help set up interviews with relevant participant) and the research team, observations in the field, on the commute, as well as through the researchers’ own perceptions. Each conversation inside and outside the interview room with parties directly involved in the process of conducting research helps create a multidimensional lens for interpretation.
Over the last two years, our work at the Gender and Tech Research Cluster at LUMS has conducted research with women across Pakistan in both urban and rural areas. The questions we are broadly interested in exploring in our project and as a cluster, are questions of autonomy and empowerment specifically through the access to and use of digital technology, among others. This means asking personal and complex questions around decision making in the household, financial independence over personal earnings, as well as more general questions about mobile phone ownership and perceptions. It is important to note that the women we have interviewed to this effect have largely been from low-income, low-literate populations; populations that are always the first to be instantaneously and directly hit by changes in the economy.
To be conscious of our position in the interview room as privileged women, it was vital for us to dedicate special focus to work away from our biases starting from how we developed our questionnaire to data collection, as well as analysis and research review for ethical concerns. It included multiple discussions with the company the participants were affiliated with. Every step in the research had multiple reviews from the well-known researchers in the field and also from the key informants. The research was also started after an approval from the research ethics and accountability board.
Over the last two years, our work at the Gender and Tech Research Cluster at LUMS has conducted research with women across Pakistan in both urban and rural areas.
While feminist research literature is correct in stating that women studying women “allows the development of a less exploitative and more egalitarian relationship between a researcher and her participants,” (McDowell) how do class differences fit into this narrative? Class differences play a very important role in the way participants respond and interact with us during interviews. Asking women who struggle to survive every day with earnings that barely meet the minimum wage such questions can seem impervious. For example, when domestic workers are asked why they don’t have access to smartphones, participants are generally defensive in their responses. A common answer given by participants is how everyone desires a smartphone but not everyone like them can afford to even think about buying it. Considering that even the cheapest android technology costs more than the salary these women make, it’s not surprising that the only factor playing a role in deciding whether to own one or not simply comes down to not having the finances for it.
Additionally, coming from a privileged background shows in the way we talk, dress, and carry ourselves; participants are quick to apologize for their opinions, defend their decisionmaking and sometimes even reiterate that they “are not lying” when responding to questions about income and assets. What prompts women to respond like this? Women from low-income backgrounds often have to be on guard about their opinions and way of life lest someone judge them for their choices (which are rarely in their hands) and assume them to be more well-off than they let on. This is illustrated by the fact that when women agree to have ownership of assets such as a TV or a motorcycle in their household, they are quick to assert that the assets were a result of their dowry, not personal spending. While being conscious of this class dynamic in the data collection and analysis is important, simply acknowledging the discomfort is not enough. An attempt needs to be made to try to balance out the power imbalance, even by something as small as the way the interview room is setup.
When women agree to have ownership of assets such as a TV or a motorcycle in their household, they are quick to assert that the assets were a result of their dowry, not personal spending.
Our approach as interviewers throughout the feminist research we conducted was to take the time to establish a comfortable and respectful environment for participants where we were seated equally. Furthermore, we would actively listen to their experiences, grievances, concerns, and perspectives, and validate their contributions assuring them that the experiences and opinions that they give are in no way wrong or insignificant. Rather, they are the backbone of our work and our understanding of how they understand society and what they prioritize in their daily lives. Ultimately, this helps us to be empathetic and create a safe space for participants to share their thoughts openly, something that they rarely get the opportunity to do within the household.
A further important aspect in feminist research is how perceptions about certain ideas vary across class and education levels. One of the ideas that feminist research has been interested in since the beginning is the concept of independence and empowerment. In a world where patriarchy and misogyny are the norm, how does a woman carve out a space for herself where she can make her own decisions? Consequently, how do women from various classes, races and geographical locations define things such as independence? When talking about abstract concepts such as empowerment, it is very important to accept and respect the fact that notions such as these are fostered differently for different women. How upper-middle class, educated working women, think about independence or autonomy or any feminist concept is going to be very different from how low income, low-literate women who work in completely different sectors think.
While doing our research, we came across diverse perceptions of empowerment mainly driven by women’s experiences in their locality. We got to hear a lot about honor and its particular relation to women in society. Women were of the view that females should only care about their honor before taking any step-in life. The marriage institution was the primary driver of women’s motivation them to be? Are they not abstract concepts that change with individuals depending on their own experiences and circumstances?
Our research was conducted in rural and urban centers of the city, and what we find is that attitudes of men towards working women on the street or on commute are grossly disturbing.
Moreover, the actual act of conducting feminist research through fieldwork and data collection is also something that informs the conclusions made at the end of a project. In the context of Pakistan, a patriarchal society, while traveling to fieldwork sites we often found ourselves in maledominated spaces which led us to experience situations that working class women in rural and urban areas face on a daily basis such as stalking, verbal and physical harassment. Our research was conducted in rural and urban centers of the city, and what we find is that attitudes of men towards working women on the street or on commute are grossly disturbing.
Our field sites mainly required us to walk through the abandoned narrow alleys, or on the sidewalks of highways and main roads which were filled with street vendors and peddlers with the presence of only a handful of women wholly covered in a veil or wearing shalwar kameez. Where in one instance we faced inappropriate touching and catcalls on the street, in other instances men would simply lurk around us and stare. Reactions such as these are no surprise if you consider how unlikely it is for young women in these areas to come out of the house, let alone interact with strange, and unrelated men. Such incidents of harassment create a different challenge in feminist research whose impact on project findings is rarely talked about when it comes to giving a nuanced account of applying feminist methodologies.
Conducting feminist research has revealed to us the significance of participants’ experiences and responses, influenced by factors such as class differences, diverse perceptions, and societal dynamics. Efforts to mitigate biases, create a safe space, and respect individual perspectives are crucial in fostering egalitarian relationships and obtaining comprehensive insights from the field. Combining these limited yet important aspects of conducting feminist research as feminists in a largely patriarchal society, it’s critical to keep in mind not only the ways in which participants shape research but also how conducting a study and asking personal, vulnerable questions can impact the position of a female researcher in society, on the street and in the interview room.
Maria Nazar is a research associate at the GenTech Research Cluster. Her research interests include intersectionalities between gender, class, and urban policy.
Taqdees Aziz is a research associate at GenTech Research Cluster. She is interested in gender and
development and wants to work as a development sector practitioner.