SOCIO-CULTURAL DYNAMICS AND RESILIENCE SKILLS IN FEMALE HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF DISTRICT LORALAI, BALOCHISTAN

Abstract

The educated female role is significant in the socio-economic development of a country. Unfortunately, female participation in socio-economics growth is unsatisfactory because of the low literacy ratio. The current study aims to understand sociocultural and economic factors' impacts on female higher education in the Loralai District. This study employs a qualitative approach to examine the perception of female students about the barriers in higher education. For the data collection, semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the socio-cultural hindrance female students face in getting enrolment into higher education in Balochistan. The data was collected from (11) participants including enrolled and dropped-out girls from university. Interviews were analyzed using thematic coding analysis. The results indicated that conservative families’ mindsets, rigid societal norms, financial constraints, parent educational backgrounds, early marriages, and co-education limit female access to higher education.

According to the study, peer-led programs like study groups, informal mentoring, and group problem-solving help female students show remarkable social resilience in spite of these obstacles. Especially in areas with inadequate formal resources, these grassroots support networks promote resilience in education and decrease institutional gaps. In conclusion, the development of peer leadership and group coping strategies shows the adaptive strength of female students in Loralai, even though sociocultural constraints still play a significant role. This emphasizes the necessity of identifying and promoting these unofficial resilience strategies within educational policy frameworks.