Is women's empowerment enough for intimate partner violence in Muslim-majority nations?

Objective

This study investigates the roles of women's empowerment through employment and decision-making power on the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and gender traditionalism in Muslim-majority nations.

Background

Women empowerment and gender ideology perspectives argue that women's resources or egalitarian ideology decrease the IPV that women experience. Many studies, in various nations, found backlash effects where women were exposed to more IPV.

Method

Using Demographic and Health Surveys of Afghanistan 2015 (N = 19,862), Egypt 2014 (N = 6,283), Pakistan 2017–2018 (N = 3,167), and Tajikistan 2017 (N = 4,864) and negative binomial regression analyses, we examined the effects of married women's empowerment on IPV (emotional, physical, sexual, and husbands' controlling behaviors [HCB]).

Results

Overall, we found that women's gender traditionalism increased IPV in all nations. Women's empowerment, however, decreased the total IPV associated with gender traditionalism in four nations, but women's employment increased the total IPV in Egypt.

Conclusions

We conclude that total IPV and HCB are related to gender traditionalism, but they depend on women's empowerment in some Muslim-majority nations.

Implications

Governments might consider making policies that would increase women's knowledge on gender equity and working women's rights, such as including gender quotas in workplaces to empower women. This could lead to a long-term decrease in attitudes that tolerate IPV.