Negotiating gender equality among Pakistani Baha'is: A qualitative study

Saleha, Ayesha Zaka, Humaira Tehsin

Abstract

This article examines how gender equality is interpreted and enacted within the Pakistani Baha'i community, a religious minority whose teachings explicitly endorse egalitarian principles. Drawing on twenty in-depth interviews with Baha'i men and women, the study explores how religious ideals of gender equality are negotiated in everyday life within a patriarchal Muslim-majority society. Using a qualitative thematic analysis, the findings reveal that gender equality among Pakistani Baha'is is not a fixed outcome of doctrine but a lived and negotiated practice shaped by cultural norms, minority status, and social constraints. Baha'i teachings function as a moral and interpretive framework through which participants justify egalitarian practices related to education, work, and family roles. However, persistent patriarchal expectations-particularly around masculinity, breadwinning, and leadership-continue to influence gendered experiences. Women's agency emerges through strategic negotiation and religious legitimation rather than overt resistance. The study contributes to feminist sociology of religion by highlighting how egalitarian religious ideals are mediated through everyday practice and minority positioning. It also adds to South Asian sociological scholarship by offering rare empirical insight into the internal gender dynamics of a minority religious community in Pakistan.