Unpacking the Link between Cousin Marriage and Women’s Paid Work

Abstract: Some researchers link cousin marriage to increased autonomy for women and improved outcomes in the labor market. Conversely, others interpret cousin marriage as a symbol of coercion that restricts women’s liberties and economic prospects. Despite this ongoing debate, quantitative investigations on this subject are limited. This study uses a sample of 15,068 married women from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18 to investigate the link between cousin marriage and women’s involvement in paid employment in Pakistan. The findings suggest a modest correlation between cousin marriage and reduced participation of women in paid work. However, cousin marriage has a more pronounced connection with women’s domestic labor at home, potentially channeling women toward unpaid work for kin. Additionally, the descriptive analysis reveals that while there is little difference in participation in various household and mobility decisions between both groups of women, there are remarkable differences in attitudes toward justification of spousal violence. Women in cousin marriages are more likely to rationalize acts of spousal violence in favor of patriarchal familial roles. In this regard, cousin marriage could potentially perpetuate traditional patriarchal gender roles.

 

Keywords: Women’s work, household decision-making, gender roles, cousin marriage