Re: Are women subjugated in Pakistani society?
A lot of the discussions here touch on 2 topics.
1) Why would a woman work?
2) Women not working in Saudi Arabia
The answers to the two are linked. A woman would would out of the economic neccessity to achieve and maintain a desired standard of living, both before and after marriage, or when her life has reached a stage where the household no longer requires her maintenance.
Before marriage: work enables a woman to purchase more things for herself and her family than her father and/or brothers incomes alone could provide.
After marriage: a working wife enables a family to purchase more than the husband's means alone could provide. What if a young couple truly desires a BMW but the husband's income alone could only buy a Honda? What if a young couple desire expensive private education for their children but the husband's income could not afford this?
Secondly, the topic of Saudi Arabia. The country's massive oil wealth translates into a huge social subsidy program for Saudi Nationals that means that one income is all that is needed for a family to live extremely comfortably. Saudis are heavily provided for by their state.
In Bahrain, which is a very conservative but much poor country that cannot afford to provde for its citizens, it is normal for women to go out to work because the income of husbands alone cannot provide well for families.