Islamic Traditional Values: Towards Women Empowerment and Housing Microfinance in Pakistan
Fariha Tariq
Although the roles of women have evolved with the urbanizing world, conventional house designs have failed to accommodate the spatial needs of the contemporary woman. The majority of houses in Pakistani cities are owned, designed, and constructed by the male head of the family. After working with several houses in Lahore, it was revealed that there are issues of hygiene and privacy for women, who are usually ignored in the process of building homes. This is the case despite the fact that they are the primary users, who spend most of their time at home, either as housewives and/or as entrepreneurs running a business from home. Presently, there are numerous NGOs in Pakistan working towards women entrepreneurship but there is a disconnect between entrepreneurship, Islamic traditional values and empowerment. This paper will try to build an assembly for women empowerment through the outcomes of entrepreneurship and their involvement in household decisions based on Islamic traditional values.