‘I never go anywhere’: extricating the links between womenʹs mobility and uptake of reproductive health services in Pakistan

An integrated analysis of large-scale survey data and detailed ethnography is presented to examine the patterns of womenʹs mobility and their relationships with contraceptive and antenatal care use in Pakistan. Findings confirm that womenʹs mobility is circumscribed but also illustrate the complex and contested nature of female movement. No direct relationship between a womanʹs unaccompanied mobility and her use of either contraception or antenatal care is found. In contrast, accompanied mobility does appear to play a role in the uptake of antenatal care, and is found to reflect the strength of a womanʹs social resources. Class and gender hierarchies interact to pattern womenʹs experience. Poor womenʹs higher unaccompanied mobility was associated with a loss of prestige and susceptibility to sexual violence. Among richer women, such movement did not constitute a legitimate target for male exploitation, nor did it lead to a loss of status on the part of their families. The findings caution against the use of western notions of ‘freedom of movement’ and associated quantitative indicators. At the same time, the wider impact of mobility restrictions on womenʹs reproductive health is acknowledged and policy implications are identified.