RURAL WOMEN’S INVOLVEMENT IN DECISION-MAKING REGARDING LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT

Women play an important role as livestock caretakers in many countries including Pakistan. They undertake various activities of livestock management like fodder cutting, watering and feeding of animals, animal shed cleaning and milking. However, their involvement as decision makers regarding these activities is questionable. Hence the present study was conducted to determine the contribution of rural women in decision- making in livestock management. A sample of 120 female respondents was selected randomly from Tehsil Jhang through multistage random sampling technique. The data were analyzed by computing weighted score, rank order, mean values and standard deviation. Analysis of the data shows that rural women’s participation was relatively high in activities like treatment of animals, deciding about size of herd, purchase of animals, sale of animals’ produce and feeding of animals. However, their participation was relatively low in activities like sale of animals, breeding of animals, fodder cultivation and construction of animals’ sheds. About 66% of the respondents were satisfied with their existing involvement in decision-making in livestock management. A large majority (about 75%) of the respondents believed in male dominance in decision-making. Age of rural women, male dominance and traditional belief system appeared to be the main factors which had affected the involvement of rural women in decision-making process.