Gender perception regarding impact of religion on voting behaviour in 2018 general elections: a case study of district Dir Upper, Pakistan

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.jhsms/4.1.4

Keywords:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, electoral politics, religion and politics, voters’ choice, demographic differences, sociological model, psycho-social model, politics

Abstract

Religious teachings have significantly shaped the socio-political lives of the people in Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Nevertheless, no systematic research study has been carried out to explore this aspect. This study is the first academic attempt to fill the gap by investigating the influence of religion on the voting choice of the research population of the study area, specifically focusing on gender preferences in the 2018 general elections. The study adopts a qualitative method of research using a well-structured questionnaire. As per Krejcie and Morgan formula 1970, the data is collected from 381 participants, including male and female respondents. SPSS is used for the analysis of data. The significance of the results has been determined through the P value and Chi-square tests. To achieve reliable results and a deeper understanding of the phenomenon, the study took guidance from two theoretical models, the Sociological Model or School of Columbia and the Psycho-social Model or School of Michigan, also known as Partisan Identification. The research results prove the significant influence of religion on the voting behaviour of the people of Dir Upper, irrespective of their demographic differences such as gender, age, education, marital status, professional status, monthly income, and residential area. 

References

Abbink, J. (2011). Religion and politics in Africa: the future of “The Secular.” Africa Spectrum, 49(3), 83-106. https://doi.org/10.1177/000203971404900304 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/000203971404900304

Ahmad, I. (2013). Islam and politics in South Asia. In J. L. Esposito, & E. E Shahin (Eds.), The Islam and politics in South Asia (pp. 324-339). Oxford University. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195395891.013.0021

Ahmad, M. S., (2010). Electoral Politics in NWFP. 1988-1999. PhD Dissertation, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Ahmad, I., & Aman, S. (2021). Women’s rights in Pakistan: A study of religious and alternate discourses regarding women’s participation in politics. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 5(1), 123–138. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.9

An-Na’im, A. A. (2011). Islam, politics and the state: the case of Pakistan. In Islam and State: Practice and Perceptions in Pakistan and the Contemporary Muslim World, 7-19. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2007islamforum_an-naim.pdf

Antunes, R. (2010). Theoretical models of voting behaviour. Exedra, 4(1), 145-70. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242653736

Aslam, T., Rehman, A. U., & Ullah, F. (2023). Determinants of Radicalization and Militancy amongst the Youth in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Criminology, 15(1), 156-173. https://www.pjcriminology.com/publications/determinants-of-radicalization-and-militancy-amongst-the-youth-in-pakistan/

Bashir, U., & Iram, K. (2019) Religion and electoral politics in Punjab: a case study of 2018 general elections. South Asian Studies A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, 34(1), 7–24. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344327928

Bashir, H., & Jan, M. A. (2021). Political apprenticeship and women leadership in a patriarchal society: Nasim Wali Khan’s political struggle through acquired skills. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 5(1), 320–337. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.21 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.21

Binder, L. (1963). Religion and politics in Pakistan. University of California.

Botterman, S. & Hooghe, M. (2009). The Christian democratic vote and religious belonging. The relation between religious beliefs and Christian democratic voting and the individual and community level in Belgium. In 5th General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Department of Political Science, Catholic University Leuven (Belgium).

Campbell, A., Convers, P. E., Miller, V. E., Stokes, D. E. (1960). The American Voter. University of Chicago.

Chengappa, B. M., (2001) Pakistan: the role of religion in political evolution. Strategic Analysis. http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsan20 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09700160108455346

Express Tribune. (2013, May 5). Political ‘fatwa’: voting for PTI is haram, says Maulana Fazl. https://tribune.com.pk/story/544667/political-fatwa-voting-for-pti-is-haram-says-maulana-fazl

Farmanullah, Khan, S., & Ali, S. (2017). Religion as a voting determinant in the electoral politics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: a comparative study of 2002, 2008 and 2013 general elections. PUTAJ Humanities and Social Sciences, 24(2), 1-20.

Farmanullah, & Shah, S. J. A. (2017). Patron-client politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: an analysis of 2008 general elections via Ordinal Logistic Regression Model. Pakistan-Annual Research Journal, 53. 192-209. https://www.pscpesh.org/PDFs/PJ/Volume_53/12_Farmanullah.pdf

Farmanullah. (2014). Voting behaviour in Pakistan (a case study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2008 general elections). PhD dissertation, University of Peshawar.

Fastnow, C., Grant, J. T., & Rudolph, T. J. (1999). Holy roll calls: religious tradition and voting behaviour in the U.S. House, Social Science Quarterly, 80(4), 687-701. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42864400

Goldberg, A. C. (2014). The impact of religion on voting behaviour – A multilevel approach for Switzerland. Swiss Political Science Review, 20(2), 305–329. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/spsr.12068 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12068

Hussain, I., Rahman, Z. U., Shah, M. N. U. H., & Xingong, W. (2022). State-tribal relations in the British India: a study of the Yousafzai’s armed resistance in the Northwest Frontier region. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 6(2), 103–121. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/6.2.6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/6.2.6

Khan, G. D., & Ullah, H. (2023). Role of Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qaiyum Khan in constitutional reforms in the North-West Frontier Province of the British India. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 7(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/7.1.1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/7.1.1

Khan, H. U., Yiling, C., & Kerui, W. (2022). The role of local governments in the political and socio-economic development of Pakistan. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 6(1), 307–320. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/6.1.19 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/6.1.19

Lazarsfeld, P. F., Berelson, B., & Gaudet, H. (1968). The people’s choice: how the voter makes up his mind in a presidential campaign. Columbia University. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7312/laza93930

Madrid-Jr, R., Merolla, J. L., Yanez Ruiz, A., & Schroedel, J. R. (2022). The relevance of religion for political office: voter bias toward candidates from different religious backgrounds. Political Behaviour, 44(2), 981-1001. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-022-09782-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-022-09782-6

Mahsud, N. H. K., Wasai, & Hussain, M. (2021). An analysis of students’ attitude toward electoral politics in 2018 general elections: A case Study of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 5(1), 279–300. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.19 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.19

Mofidi, S. (2014). The electoral function of religion in contemporary India. International Journal of Contemporary Issues (IJCI), 2(1), 18-33. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275274923 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3482045

Munir, K., & Khalid, I. (2021). Analysing the voting cluster of political parties: A case study of district Lahore Pakistan (1970-2013). Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 5(1), 413–431. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.27 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.27

Rana, M. A. (2018, May 20). The role of religion in polls. Daily Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1408803/the-role-of-religion-in-polls

Rashid, M., & Amin, H. (2020). Voting pattern in district of Dir: a case study of three general elections (from 2002 to 2013). Sir Syed Journal of Education and Social Research, 3(3), 154-161. https://doi.org/10.36902/sjesr-vol3-iss3-2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36902/sjesr-vol3-iss3-2020(154-161)

Said, M. G. (2021). The impact of religion on voting behaviour. Humanities and Social Sciences Reviews, 9(2), 14-24. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2021.922 15 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2021.922

Shah, D. A. H. (2017). Constitutions, religion and politics in Asia Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Cambridge University. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316869635

Shah, H. (2019). Voting behaviour in Pakistan: an analysis of partisan and floating voters in general elections 2013 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. PhD Dissertation, Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar.

Shah, H., Mehmood, W., Ali, S., & Khan, I. (2020). Religious socialization and voting behaviour in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Global Media and Social Science Research Journal, 5(1), 57-71. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347985461

Ullah, H. K. (2014). Vying for Allah's vote: understanding Islamic parties, political violence, and extremism in Pakistan. Georgetown University. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/book28412

Visser, M. (1998). Five theories of voting action strategy and structure of psychological explanation. PhD thesis, University of Twente. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/five-theories-of-voting-action-strategy-and-structure-of-psycholo

Wilder, A. R., (1999). The Pakistani voter: electoral politics and voting behaviour in the Punjab. Oxford University.

Zubair, M. (2015) The interplay of religion and politics: a case study of Pakhtuns in Pakistan. PhD Dissertation, University of Peshawar.

Zubair, M., Raza, A., & Islam, S. (2022). The coexistence of religion and politics in Pakistan: an analysis of historical, social, and political factors. Journal of Humanities, Social and Management Sciences (JHSMS), 3(1), 435-446. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.jhsms/3.1.30 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.jhsms/3.1.30

Published

2023-06-30

How to Cite

Iqbal, M., & Farmanullah. (2023). Gender perception regarding impact of religion on voting behaviour in 2018 general elections: a case study of district Dir Upper, Pakistan. Journal of Humanities, Social and Management Sciences (JHSMS), 4(1), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.jhsms/4.1.4

Issue

Section

Research Articles