Gender Based Discrimination in Punishments at Schools: A Study of Selected Schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Jamil Ahmad Chitrali, Noor Sanauddin & Syed Owais

Abstract
This study explores the attitudes of students towards gender based discrimination in punishment at schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.A case study of selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was carried out in districts Peshawar and Mardan with the purpose of eliciting the students‟ perception on violence/punishment. The study intends to find
reasons of school violence through its perpetrators, in light of its manifestations on the basis of gender, ethnicity and class, by looking into the methodologies owned by the schools and suggesting policy recommendations. A sample size of 522 respondents was randomly
selected on proportional allocation basis from Grade 10 students. Frequency and percentage distribution along with Chi-square test was carried out at uni-variate and bi-variate levels. Through this study five major issues are addressed to clear the image of students‟ perception of gender based violence/discriminations in punishments at school. These five indicators determining the variable includes students‟ economic status, sexual orientation, physical appearance, body or beauty or age, nature of school, and personal relationship with authorities or access to power. Results of the study are provided along with conclusions at the end.

Keywords: Gender based violence, economic status, sexual orientation, physical appearance, nature of school, access to power