Thanks TL
How about interaction between both the sexes....@ education institutes....social events.....in general..
I am guessing that this question probably comes from the oft-propagated myth regarding Pakistan being a very insular, closed and conservative society. I understand that the myth exists, but it really is nothing more than a myth. Women and men freely intermingle in most sections of society, whether it is village belles working the fields with other men, making bricks at brick kilns, flying PAF jets, working together in positions of government, running companies or teaching and studying at schools and universities.
The largest private school systems in Pakistan (interestingly, Pakistan has the world's largest private school system) provide co-educational schooling. Almost all colleges and universities are co-educational as well. Interaction between men/women and girls/boys is pretty much how it would be in any other country, with the exception that public displays of affection are not considered in good taste.
Pakistani weddings are quite large; you could expect 1,000 guests at a mid sized wedding. Obviously, this is not all family... there are men and women from the wider social circle present. In most Pakistani weddings, men and women intermingle, sing and even dance. This happens in villages as well as in cities. There are, of course, personal preferences involved always, but typically these gatherings are enjoyed by large sections of society.
There are, of course, some conservative areas such as FATA, where most of the social interaction happens within the extended family. Women do work in the tribal areas also, but typically, their regular social interaction is either with males within the extended family or other women. Now that said, you have to consider that family sizes in these areas tend to be fairly large and the definition of a family can extend to your second/third cousin. So generally, this constitutes a fairly large social circle. Also, the myth of having women "locked up" is not true even for the tribal areas. In much more conservative Afghan society, in fact, the Taliban law of disallowing women from leaving the house without a male family member was one of the most despised policies. In Pakistan, this has never been either the law or a requirement.
In general, the vast majority (I would guess 90+ %
of the Pakistani population - both urban and rural - experiences regular and usual social interaction with both sexes.
There are hardly any workplaces where women have not made their mark. You may have heard that the PAF is one of the few world air forces that even has women fighter pilots. This phenomenon extends in many other areas. The outgoing Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, for example, was a woman. So is the speaker of the National Assembly. Some of the most dynamic and well known politicians are women (Abida Husain, Maarvi Memon, Fehmida Mirza etc.)
Short of wearing shorts (excuse the pun!), there is generally no frowned-upon dress code. You will see women in burkhas, hijab, shalwar kameez, jeans and dresses in almost all the cities of Pakistan. In universities like LUMS, Aga Khan, IBA, LSE etc. you will find absolutely no barriers in interaction between men and women. I was trying to look for some pictures from any one of these universities and I found one to give you an example of the range of dress:
3 girls at lums universty pictures from people photos on webshots
To get a sense for social interaction in the upper middle class and rich sections of society, you can visit:
Daily Times - Sunday
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/sunday/Default.aspx?c=eye_spy_l.html
Daily Times - Sunday
Daily Times - Sunday
The Sunday Magazine from Daily Times, along with GT Magazine and many others are a weekly chronicle of dinners, parties and other social dos in Pakistan.
