Abstract:
The historical quarry for a lasting solution to the problem of rural
development has led scholars and development planners to the realization that without a
participatory approach, especially the participation of women in the developmental
process, all the development efforts are inequitable and non-sustainable. Because of this
truth, a participatory approach acquires universal importance and like many other less
developed countries, a number of participatory initiatives were supported in Pakistan.
With respect to participatory initiatives in Pakistan, Aga Khan Rural Supports Program
(AKRSP) is one of the main contributors who has made valuable contributions in
promoting rural development through community participation. The main focus of
AKRSP is on fostering village organizations (VOs) and women organizations (WOs) and
linking them with development institutions to accelerate the process of development.
The prime rationale of the following study is to visualize the composite role of
Women Organizations (WOs) in the socio-economic development both at micro and
macro levels in Northern Areas (NAs) of Pakistan because as a part of the world wide
range of development activities in NAs, WOs established by AKRSP, were conceived a
new approach to development especially for women living in extreme poverty. The
present study has drawn on a broad spectrum of case studies and experiences in Northern
Areas of Pakistan to evaluate the economic interventions of Aga Khan Rural Support
Program (AKRSP) which are implemented with the participation of local women
A multistage random sampling technique is used to select the districts, number of
villages and then interviewees. For this study the data was collected through interviewing
xxi
the two groups of women i.e., “registered and non-registered”. The data is analyzed using
different statistical techniques including multiple regression, paired t-test and poverty gap
index. The study concludes that AKRSP plays a major role in the socio-economic
development of rural women and hence in rural development through credit and savings
schemes, providing training in different fields of agriculture and also by social
mobilization.
