Women's empowerment and its impact on children's nutritional status in Pakistan

Abstract

Research has shown that children of empowered mothers are generally well-nourished and have good health outcomes. Therefore, empowering women is a straightforward policy recommendation to improve child health. However, the literature on the factors correlated with women empowerment in Pakistan is relatively scarce. Therefore, this study seeks to address two research objectives: 1) re-estimation of the relationship between women’s empowerment and nutritional status of children, and 2) identifying the factors associated with women’s empowerment in Pakistan. The latest nationally representative data is taken from Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18. Women’s age and education along with husbands’ education level, women’s employment status, and their access to media are incorporated in the model as relevant indicators for assessing the level of empowerment. Likewise, diet diversity, immunization status, and hygienic disposal of stools are used for estimating child health. Logistic regressions are estimated to study both research objectives. The findings of the study confirm a positive and significant relationship between mother’s decisions-based empowerment and improved nutritional status of children (i.e. lower prevalence of stunting).