Religious Culture and Agency: Exploring the Impact of the Majlis on Shi’a Women Community in Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

This study explores how religious culture impacts the lifestyle and identities of Shi’a Muslim women in a particular sector of Islamabad, Pakistan. The current research explores the ritualistic activities of the respondent group and their impact on women's empowerment and agency, hence contributing to triggering a ripple effect in exploring the rituals and experiences of the Shi’a communities at a broader level. Using Theodore Roosevelt Malloch’s theory, this research revealed that their faith-based activities have significantly contributed to empowering them at communal as well as individual levels. The existing spiritual capital nourished their social and human capitals, making them agents of freedom and empowerment. Their commitment to ritualistic activities played an essential role in empowerment, contributing to the development of faith-based economies and faith-based skills. The respondents of this study reported various forms of skills and abilities that they earned through their spiritual capital–hence, the study concluded that human and social capitals were complemented by the spiritual capital of Shi’a women of the G-11 community.