Abstract
Women play an important role as livestock caretakers in many countries including Pakistan. They undertake
various activities of livestock management like fodder cutting, watering and feeding of animals, animal shed
cleaning and milking. However, their involvement as decision makers regarding these activities is questionable.
Hence the present study was conducted to determine the contribution of rural women in decision-making in
livestock management. A sample of 120 female respondents was selected randomly from Tehsil Jhang through
multistage random sampling technique. The data were analyzed by computing weighted score, rank order, mean
values and standard deviation. Analysis of the data shows that rural women’s participation was relatively high in
activities like treatment of animals, deciding about size of herd, purchase of animals, sale of animals’ produce and
feeding of animals. However, their participation was relatively low in activities like sale of animals, breeding of
animals, fodder cultivation and construction of animals’ sheds. About 66% of the respondents were satisfied with
their existing involvement in decision-making in livestock management. A large majority (about 75%) of the
respondents believed in male dominance in decision-making. Age of rural women, male dominance and
traditional belief system appeared to be the main factors which had affected the involvement of rural women in
decision-making process.
