Socio-Cultural Challenges Faced by the Eloped Married Women: A Study of Ghizer Gilgit Baltistan

Abstract

This qualitative research examines sociocultural issues faced by eloped married women in District Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan, from the perspective of Liberal Feminist theory. In a patriarchal society highly embedded, women who make choices on who to marry often endure extreme social, emotional, and family repercussions. This research examines the reasons for elopement, the resulting consequences, and communication patterns between daughters and parents. Through an interpretive philosophical stance, face-to-face interviews were conducted with purposively sampled participants who had undergone elopement. Thematic analysis yielded prominent themes, such as parental control, financial hardship, strict class expectations, emotional alienation, and family communication breakdown. The results suggest that an authoritative and strict family setting particularly a failure in open communication between parents and daughters drives young women towards seeking independence through elopement. Our research underscored that marriage ought to be a free choice and not an imposition on the family. Our research supports dismantling patriarchal institutions that restrict women's agency and urges establishing an enabling, communicative, and respectful family atmosphere in which daughters have space to voice personal wishes.