61% of Pakistanis say women should dress as they wish: online survey

In the original survey by University of Michigan, only 22% of Pakistanis said the same.

DESIGN: EMA ANIS

In an online poll conducted by The Express Tribune, 61% of Pakistanis voted in favour of the statement that women should dress as they wish. 

The questions in the online poll were based on a survey by University of Michigan.


Earlier this month, University of Michigan's Population Studies Center had published the results of a survey in which it had asked respondents from seven Muslim countries to identify an 'appropriate' dress for women to wear publicly.

Respondents were shown six head shots which showed women wearing a shuttlecock burka, a niqab, different forms of headscarves and one without any head covering.

The report revealed that 32% of Pakistanis believe the niqab is the most appropriate dress for women.

Also, only 22% of Pakistanis in the original survey voted that women should dress as they wish.

The Express Tribune ran some of the questions from University of Michigan's report in an online poll and, over a period of five days, 2235 people responded.

Of these,  1692 (76%) of respondents were male.  74% were from Pakistan, 18% were Pakistani expatriates and 8% identified as 'other'.

In comparison, University of Michigan's survey polled 3,523 Pakistanis of whom 51% were male.


Survey results

Please note these polls are non-scientific, reflect only the online audience and can be manipulated.

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In the online survey, the most popular option was Woman 6 with 39% of votes.

In the original survey, Woman 2 who is shown wearing the niqab was deemed the most appropriately dressed with 32% of votes.  Only 2% of the Pakistani respondents had voted for Woman 6 who is shown without any veil or head-covering.

According to University of Michigan's report, in which respondents from Iraq, Saudia Arabia, Egypt Tunisia, Lebanon and Turkey were also polled, only the Lebanese respondents voted in the majority for Woman 6.

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University of Michigan also had asked respondents if it should be up to women to dress as they wish. In their report, only 22% agreed with the statement (4% of Pakistanis strongly agreed with the statement and 18% agreed).

In Tribune's online survey, 48% strongly agreed that women should dress as they wish and 13% agreed, with a total of 61% being in favour of the statement.

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In the original survey, 8% of Pakistanis disagreed with the statement that women should always obey their husbands. In Tribune's version of the survey, 43% disagreed with it.
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