INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONS AMONG PASHTUN WOMEN: THE ROLE OF ELDER PASHTUN WOMEN IN PRESERVING PASHTUNWALI (PASHTUNS’ CARDINAL CODE OF CONDUCT)

Abstract

Intergenerational studies are the core and contemporary fields within the Sociology of generations. The transmission of cultures broadly and value systems specifically from elder generations to the younger is a rarely studied phenomenon in the Pakistani context. This current scholarship is aimed at i) exploring the strategies and ways of preservation, and ii) transmission of Pashtunwali (traditional Pashtuns’ code of conduct) adopted by the elder Pashtun women towards the younger generations. The study was the first of its kind on Pakistani Pashtun women. It utilized the qualitative research design having 39 in-depth interviews with the Pashtun women of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Theoretically, the study has been informed by the standpoint feminism. The data were analyzed through the thematic analysis technique. The findings of the study revealed that Pashtun women highlighted the role of elders (Grandparents and parents) in the enculturation process among Pashtuns. Pashtun culture pays high tribute to Mour (mother) on all grounds. Pashtun women were very humbled about the status of the mother—described the mother as a true blessing and gift from Almighty Allah. Pashtun women were of the view that they have always learned to be kind, gentle, respectful, and obedient towards their parents, especially their mothers. It is concluded that Pashtun mothers and grandmothers have a defining & crucial position and hold in their family and are revered a lot. In this way, they have extraordinary status in preserving and transmitting Pashtunwali to the younger generations.