UDC: 005.961:005.914.3(549.1) ; 334.722-055.2(549.1)  JEL: B54, L26, J16 
ID: 207720204 

ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH  
  
Female Entrepreneurship and the Women 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry: 
Economic Emancipation and Clout for 
Pakistani Women 

 

  

 
Khan Iqbal1 

Lahore School of Economics, Pakistan 
 
 
A B S T R A C T 
 

Socio-economics, culture, religious entrepreneurism and taboos have a 
massive impact on the societies in South Asia. Pakistan is a Muslim society that 
has lived side by side with the culture driven religion of the Indian society. There 
are numerous cultural overlaps though Muslim characteristic is an identity and 
practical way of life. In defining the entrepreneurial portrait of a Muslim female 
entrepreneur in Pakistan it has to be borne in mind that culture plays the dominant 
role as the hurdle. There is so much of complexity in the culture of South Asia that 
Amartiya Sen raises the question “How much of this can a foreigner with no more 
them a cursory knowledge of the factors involved – feel and respond to? --- and 
consequently warp the judgment”. And furthermore Roomi (2005) contends women 
face deep rooted discriminating cultural and social factors that hamper their 
growth. Yet the empowerment of women in Pakistan has come about following the 
example of Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) wife Khadija (RA). This contradiction 
in terms and this evolution among Muslim women is a subject of interest to 
researcher what inhibits the growth of female entrepreneurs in a Muslim society 
like Pakistan.  

The objective of this paper is to bring out for the benefit of the global 
community the nature of the environment and the impact of customs, traditions and 
culture and deterring factors of religious entrepreneurism. Existing literature on 
female entrepreneurship has been reviewed and especially the role of the Diana 
Project. But the constraint was owing to limited literature on female entrepreneurs 

                                                 
1 E-mail: ibajauri@gmail.com 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 61 

of the Muslim of South Asia and Pakistan in particular qualitative methodology, in-
depth interviews and case studies were adopted. The surveys recorded and 
transcribed the responses. The findings indicate that under the garb of religion, 
false philosophy is practiced. Women have discovered clout comes from having 
platform and hence the long down struggle to setup the Women Chamber of 
Commerce & Industry. 

Conducting the paper has identified that there is not enough literature on 
this subject. Yet it is still surviving on the theoretical aspect of papers written on 
Western society by the Western researchers. Research must now look beyond the 
current limited and scope go for studying the various culturally linked factors and 
how to change the future growth of female entrepreneurship. 
 
KEY WORDS: female entrepreneurship, religious entrepreneurism, Diana 
project 

Introduction  

The research paper aims to explore what environment prevails to 
prevent or foster female entrepreneurship in Pakistan. It explores the role 
played by some prominent female entrepreneurs that resulted in creation of 
a forum in the economic environment of Pakistan. The selected 
entrepreneurs all belong to a similar status except their leaders. It discusses 
some entrepreneurial leadership characteristics of the Pakistani female 
entrepreneurs. This paper attempts to analyze women’s emancipation and 
‘economic emancipation’ of women. The question arises how can you 
define the characteristic of a female entrepreneur and leadership 
characteristics without understanding the culture and the impact of culture 
on a society. In South Asia, culture is all pervasive. Therefore does this 
aspect of culture, impacts entrepreneurial characteristics and entrepreneurial 
leadership aspects.  

Culture is the most dominant influence in this region. So strong is the 
impact of culture that any minor deviation from the set pattern of life can 
spell disaster. A lot of culture revolves around women in South Asia. The 
culture in this region may be said to be female driven. Cultural practices lay 
barriers on a woman's marriage, her inheritance, her education, her 
independence, her emancipation, her entrepreneurial inclinations. The 
classical ‘caste system’ practiced by the Hindus of South Asia is an 
extended form of culture. In the wake of the dominance of culture and ‘caste 



62 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

system’, among the Hindus we have seen ‘sati2’, we have seen women 
married to the Holy Book3 among the Muslim and we have seen ‘4Karo 
Kari’ (honor killing) prevailing in all the societies of this region. All these 
cultural practices show a complete hold on women by men, restricting their 
mobility inheritance, marriage and contact with males outside the families. 
These are customs that have come down for ages. Breaking these shackles 
would mean a heavy price to pay. Hence the paper lays the case of culture 
which is a barrier for the Muslims or other societies or the religions existing 
in the South Asian region. It has to be seen if some women have penetrated 
the culture barrier, if yes, then they are the proverbial ‘Trojan Horse’. It 
should be understood that a significant influence of Hindu culture exists on 
the Muslims of this region and these practices hence are motivated 
culturally rather than religiously. 

Cultural divide between the East and West is not easily understood. In 
this region under the garb of religion ill-fated customs are practiced and 
sometimes it becomes difficult to separate religious from cultural practices. 
Hence this paper has presented the events in a cultural format showing 
where these are different from religious facts. Therefore the paper begins 
with the assumption that not enough research exist on the cultural and 
religious dimensions of female entrepreneurship among Muslim countries. It 
is planned to review literature pertaining to female entrepreneurs of South 
Asia. Their activities as entrepreneur are bound by cultural factors and the 
struggle is being analyzed, to see what they may have achieved.  

The cultural status of women in Pakistan has been summed up by 
Roomi thus: 

“The status of women in Pakistan is not 
homogenous because of the interconnection of 
gender with other forms of exclusion in the society. 
There is considerable diversity in the status of 
women across classes (the socio-economic status of 
a woman’s family), geographical regions, ethnic 

                                                 
1 Sati: An Indian woman who burned herself on her husband’s pyre: the custom of so doing 
is SATI Chamber’s Twenty Century Dictionary, 1968, W & R Chambers Ltd. Edinburgh.  
2 Marriage with the Holy Book: a practice whereby Muslim women are made to swear by 
the Holy Book that they forsake marriage. In this way men are able to hold their sisters, 
women’s share of inheritance. This is a custom among some societies not to share 
inheritance of their sisters with anyone and keeping it within in the hold of men, 
circumventing their religious requirement.  
3 Karo Kari: Honor Killing 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 63 

origin and the rural/urban divide due to uneven 
socioeconomic development and the impact of tribal, 
feudal, and capitalist social formations on women’s 
lives….  

(Roomi, 2007) 
This observation touches almost all those multifarious aspect that have 

stood as barriers and shackles for women in this region. A close 
examination of the culture of this region gives the realization that the entire 
culture revolves around the women of this region and these are almost 1.5 
billion people. And among them Muslim community is bigger than the 
entire population of USA. The size alone commands the need for research of 
the women’s claim to entrepreneurship.  

Research Questions and Problem Statement:  
The objective of this paper is to bring out the nature of the 

environment and the impact of customs, tradition, culture and religious 
entrepreneurship on the female entrepreneurs in Pakistan. And the study is 
driven by the research question. 

1. Given the cultural overcast, what entrepreneurial traits or 
characteristics or competencies can be indentified among the Pakistan 
female entrepreneurs, causes for gaining recognition and clout and specially 
what entrepreneurial leadership characteristics are depicted through the case 
studies, that brought about the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
in Pakistan?  

Hence we will be looking into the cultural context, the religious 
context, the characteristics of the female entrepreneurs in Pakistan and 
through in-depth interviews and case studies of the main players building 
momentum through their leadership of the women in Pakistan.  

Literature Review 

For the purpose of this paper we will study literatures that have 
bearing upon the objectives to look at culture, religion, female entrepreneurs 
and clout. Culture and environment, massively influence entrepreneurship 
phenomenon, though there are many dimensions of influences on women 
entrepreneurs. As reported by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM 
2007) that even the most enabling environment for entrepreneurship, USA, 
indicates that the male entrepreneurial activities surpasses female 



64 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

entrepreneurial activity almost two to one. Kauffman Centre for 
Entrepreneurial Leadership compiled a report on obstacles facing women 
entrepreneurs and identified human, social and financial capital as major 
constraints (Guerrero, 2008). The Diana Project was and is the major push 
for research on female entrepreneurship. It brings in the Western societies 
female entrepreneurship out of the domain, of minority or marginalized 
society’s entrepreneurship. It is considered an extra ordinary and high 
impact research. Prior to this female entrepreneurship was an under-
researched field (Holmquist & Carter 2008). However irrespective of culture 
& environment, women are found to be less active as entrepreneurs (Minitti 
2005). (Then men) 

Female Entrepreneurship Development Theories have therefore 
emerged primarily from research carried out in developed countries with 
specific social norms and values regarding women’s participation in 
economic activities. The initiative to setup the Diana Project itself is an 
example of the way women in the West think and act to create an enabling 
environment for themselves. There is a dearth of studies conducted in 
different social contexts especially in Islamic societies. But what compound 
the issue is the cultural aspects of some societies. Women have not been 
seen to-gather together a rally for a cause as has been done in the West. It is 
unheard of as no literature exists.  

Female entrepreneurship research domain grew in phases though a 
pioneering study as early as 1976 by Schwartz notes that women were 
motivated by need to achieve or economic necessity and desire to be 
independent. These motivating factors have prevailed in the West. But it 
was in the real sense in 1990s that female entrepreneurship became well 
established. The development in this domain is literature driven and a 
constant search for novel topics. But all of this does not apply to the South 
Asian women development (Holmquist & Carter 2008). These researchers 
have also stated that women generally are found to run smaller business 
compared to men as entrepreneurs. This disparity and imbalance is generally 
an accepted norm. Contemporary existing disparities that are universal on a 
global perspective are that a typical female entrepreneur is more educated 
than her male counterpart, but her professional experience often falls short 
and is usually outside the traditional business sector (Gurrero, 2008). It was 
also found that they seldom founded their business in sectors that had to do 
with their educational qualifications and it was observed that they had high 
need for achievement, were highly educated, had someone in the family as 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 65 

entrepreneur, have a strong support system from her spouse or family but 
having limited network of resources (Brush, Greene et al., 2001) showing 
distinctive behavioral differences from male. “Glass ceiling” was one factor   
that drove most women to entrepreneurship. They are known to be steadfast 
to their business and customer satisfaction as compared to their male 
counterpart and these are the general characteristics of female entrepreneurs 
universally. This paradox is universal across all societies. 

Iiris Aaltio, Paula Kyro, and Elisabeth Sundin (2009) make this 
observation quoting Mills “The feminist researcher may be better served 
avoiding a search for cues that support a notion of progress over a period of 
three years progress, instead examining events to see what they tell us …” 
Thus change is more important than progress. I concur with this observation 
because the experience of researching the women entrepreneurs in Pakistan, 
this researcher, also faced similar experience. Hence the evidence gathered 
was empirical and through in-depth interviews by repeated visits. The 
examination of events over a sufficient length of time (5 years) revealed the 
change in status rather than the progress overtime. The events typically went 
back and forth but the ultimate development was the establishment of a 
platform (PWCCI) for the women entrepreneurs. As to the progressivity of 
the women entrepreneur it was minimal. Shehla the popularly chosen leader 
of these women entrepreneurs felt that there was still very low involvement 
of the members and a general apathy. The author of the paper suggests that 
Women Entrepreneurship be studied from multiple angles and especially 
one of them could be Self-Efficacy and Leadership. Information on the 
struggle for Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry is available on 
www.reformsnetwork.org/women  

The Female Entrepreneurship Landscape across South Asia: 
Beginning from the perspective across the border in the neighborhood 

of Pakistan in India and Bangladesh the cultural tradition and situation has a 
number of similarities though there is a significant difference at the level of 
culture tradition and development. In “A reflection of the Indian Women in 
Entrepreneurial World” Kollen & Parikh (2005) trace the history of 
economic emancipation of the Indian female entrepreneurs from the era of 
the fifties to the 21st century. The women of the fifties would give up their 
education to support their families at the expense of their aspirations if there 
was no income generating males. There were also those who were landed 
with the family business in their lap in the event of loss of the male family 
member. The paper calls them ‘extremely courageous women’. In the sixties 



66 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

the educated females had started taking small steps to start their small 
enterprises. Whereas the women of the seventies were new radical women. 
They were those who had completed their education and were in the field to 
take professional assignments. They opened the new frontiers for women 
entrepreneurs. But they showed clear cut evidence of wanting homes, 
marriage   and children as well as occupation, who accepted the restrictions 
of their parents and grandparents but expected their husbands to give them 
understanding for their choice of occupation. By the eighties the women 
entrepreneurs of India were educated in highly sophisticated technologies 
and professional education. So many preferred degrees in engineering, 
medical field and bioengineering. But the choices of business were typically 
clinics, nursing, boutiques, garments, beauty parlors, schools and the like. 
Yet the society was hostile and environment was male dominant. The 
Nineties was a qualitative different era for women. They had two decades of 
role models and hence these become more assertive entrepreneurs. They had 
now acquired economic independence, high self esteem and could deal with 
situations single handedly. Whereas the 21st century’s first decade is an era 
of telecom, IT and financial institutions. Many pioneered in these new 
ventures and the opportunities were alike for men and women and a melting 
pot for professionally trained and enterprising women.  

The real change visible in the 21st century was somewhat different as 
the focus shifted to the elite class of women. Women have become aware of 
their existence, their rights and their work situation. However, women of the 
middle class are not too eager to alter role in fear of social backlash and this 
was reflected in other part of the region such as Pakistan. The progress is 
more visible among upper class families in urban India. “Society designs 
and defines roles for women”, where as each country has its cultural, social, 
religions and political back ground, it in turn develops for the society its 
economic thrust trough industrialization resulting in new occupational roles 
for women. A parallel change in Pakistan is also visible as we see the 
emergence of the Women Chamber of Commerce lead by a couple of elite 
women in the Pakistan society. One can draw a parallel with the status of 
the women and in particular the female entrepreneurs in Pakistan though at a 
lower degree. The authors go on to say that despite the dilemma of being an 
entrepreneur the women maneuvered into this position out of a desire to be 
independent and do something meaningful and to have their own identity 
instead of remaining “closeted behind their husband’s name plate”. They 
also found that they were less concerned with making money and often 
choose entrepreneurship as result of career dissatisfaction. Indian female 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 67 

entrepreneurs were either house wives or fresh graduates with no 
experience.  Generally ran traditional business like garments, beauty care 
and fashion designing which grow usually from hobby to serious business. 
The famous Indian examples of a successful female’s entrepreneur are of 
Herbal Queen Lady Shehnaz Hussain who began from her kitchen and 
ended with an herbal empire and a chain of beauty parlors. And Sarabai, 
Mrinalimi set up dancing schools and later Malika expanded the ‘Darpana 
Institute’ as a household name in dancing (Kollen & Parikh 2005).  

Sujal Kumar Maiti (2008) has given a profile of Bengali urban 
educated women entrepreneurs in Kolkata India. The paper focused on the 
women who were engaged in home delivery catering services in Salt Lake 
area Kolkata, West Bengal India. The paper has concluded that educated 
Bengali women are not shy to engage in the business ventures. They are 
ready to take risk for their economic freedom. They are quick to adopt to 
this business as a source of income and source of pleasure to utilize their 
leisure after having given adequate time for bringing up their children and 
taking care of their families. The average age of these women was above 40 
years. All 40 surveyed happen to be married and were above graduation 
qualification, and rarely did they have more than five years of professional 
experiences. But their education and independence to pursue a business 
gives them a status of being elite. This again explains the similarity of 
women entrepreneurs across the border in Pakistan. Afreen Haq and Abdul 
Moyeen (2008) have also drawn similar conclusion about Bangladesh 
women entrepreneurs. Bangladesh has witnessed a growing group of well 
educated urban based women who have shown potential for starting their 
own business as an economic option.  This growing phenomenon has not 
been noticed much in developing countries but developed countries have 
witnessed a surge of literature and research on this subject of urban educated 
elite business women. This phenomenon has been referred to as “the 
quietest revolution of our times” by Afreen Haq and Abdul Moyeen (2009) 
with respect to Bangladesh. Such women have demonstrated that the key 
elementary factors that have brought about this phenomena are good formal 
education, work experience, socio economic status, networking, and type of 
business. In the past the main focus on research on women entrepreneurship 
has been on rural poor or urban poor. However it was observed that women 
have smaller network restricting their access to business support services. 
They are also handicapped by being unable to access business associations 
and government agencies. (Haq, Moyeen, 2008). This creates an awareness 
of the need and significant importance of women chamber of commerce. 



68 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

Female Entrepreneurship Environment in Pakistan:  
To understand the Pakistani environment and to study the women 

entrepreneurs and their efforts, the findings of USAID survey gives a fairly 
good idea.  Nabeel Goheer and Susan Penksa (2007), have made some 
observation about women in the Pakistan economic context? We quote the 
relevant text as the USAID report also signifies the socio-cultural context 
for studying female:  

“It is imperative to understand the unique socio-
cultural context of Pakistan before planning to 
“engender” economic growth. A characteristic 
feature of Pakistani society is its family orientation 
and an inside/outside (private/public) dichotomy of 
gender relations. 

As can be observed almost all research have been able to touch and 
feel the sensitivity of the family orientation in the environment and the 
mobility aspect of the women. Roomi (2009) has also described this 
phenomenon. 

Even while considering ‘engendered’ economic growth report 
recommends to understand socio-cultural context of Pakistan. Which 
various from place to place even within a Provence based on variation in 
language and ethnicity of the society?  

The intensity of this social feature may vary from urban to rural areas 
and from one province to the other but its flavor can be seen almost 
everywhere in Pakistani society. 

The male members of the family are supposed to take care of the 
productive or more precisely, the remunerative aspect of public life while 
women work in private, “inside” their homes. They bear and rear children, 
maintain social relationships with the extended family and friends perform 
household work. The gendered division of work effectively prohibits women 
from participating productively (and remuneratively) in the economic 
growth of Pakistan. 

The report goes on to emphasize the gendered division that prohibits 
women from economic activity outside the home. The concern ranges from 
security to reputation.  

Another important feature of Pakistani society is a cultural restriction 
on the mobility of women. This restriction is due to concerns for the safety 
and security of women who venture outside the home and fear that the 
family will lose “reputation” or “honor” due to illicit relationships in 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 69 

which females might become involved (either through consent or by force). 
Secondly, and related to the former problem, is the social stigma attached to 
women working outside the home. 

Cultural restriction on mobility has safety, security, honor and stigma 
concerns but there are indication of change.  

A number of factors are altering these social norms but the pace of 
change still is incremental. Two potent forces of change are the spread of 
secular education for women and men and increasing economic pressures. 
Pakistani women - especially those from the middle class - are now 
emerging and participating in the productive sphere of life both as 
employees and as entrepreneurs but their ratio of participation, as 
compared to men, are still very small.” 

An incremental change is visible in the social norms but huge majority 
still labors under these cultural norms. Breaking away from these traditions 
are considered radical and courageous.  

Another survey has brought out some converging observation 
examining recent development of women entrepreneurship in Asian 
developing countries. Tulus Tambunan (2008) has taken account of the 
entrepreneurship enabling environment among women entrepreneurs in 
South Asia. Some studies have shown that successful women entrepreneurs 
generally belong to rather well to-do families and live in nuclear family 
rather than extended families as it gives them freedom from social & 
cultural restrictions. As a part of the profile it was observed that female 
entrepreneurs are generally found in sole proprietorship, they also have a 
higher closure rate. But the motivation behind female entrepreneurship 
comes from the desire for economic emancipation because entrepreneurship 
‘implies being in control of one’s life and activities’. The factors identified 
in this paper that hinder & growth are psychological, social, cultural, 
religious, economic and educational factors depicting lower status of 
women in Pakistani society. The under estimation of women’s economic 
contribution is confounded by factors that emerge from factors such as 
tribal, feudal culture and cultural practices in the name of religion; 
inadequate public transport and the notion of ‘Pardah’ & ‘Izzat’ as also 
pointed out by Roomi (2008).  

Culture: An all Pervasive Impact on Female Entrepreneurs: 
Explaining the impact of Culture 

Generally there are two meanings of culture; in the narrow sense 
civilization (Art Science and Education). In the broad anthropological sense 



70 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

“A collective programming of the human mind”. The Western society lives 
in the individualism mode but the Eastern society of South Asia lives the 
collectivism mode. People belong to in-group are supposed to be looked 
after by in-group. It is dangerous to be kicked out of your in-group. Loss of 
face has to be avoided. Face saving is important.  

For the purpose of this paper and its objective a deeper look at the 
environment and culture of the region needs to be taken. This region has 
been the cradle of a typical culture for all the nations residing herein. 
Opinions are pre-determined by groups. Everyone has to fulfill obligation to 
and society and in-group. Otherwise face shame and penalties are sever.  
Amartya Sen (2005) explains through the works of Satyajit Ray that the 
environment consists of indigenous ‘factors such as habits of speech and 
behavior, deep seated social practices past traditions, present influences and 
“so on”. He asks “How much of this can a foreigner with no more than a 
cursory knowledge of the factors involved – feel and respond to?” and goes 
on further to say “which can only puzzle and perturb – and consequently 
warp the judgment of – the uninitiated foreigner”.  In effect both these 
notable tinkers and keen participants of this society feel that the tendency to 
assume that there cannot be such big difference in the culture of the region 
with that of the Western society would be a fallacy.  

Sen quotes a Singaporean Foreign Minister at a Human Right 
Conference in Vienna 1993, which further elaborate the Asian perspective 
of culture as opposed to Western perspective thus “universal recognition of 
the ideal of human rights can be harmful if universalism is used to deny or 
mask the reality of diversity”.  

In the “Argumentative Indian” Amartya Sen (2005) the winner of the 
Nobel Prize in Economic defining this region says “Cultural conservatism 
and separatism that has tended to grip India from time to time” has left an 
indelible mark and each society is an Island on its own. He also establishes 
Rabindarnath Tagore’s pride in Indian culture by saying that “India’s 
culture is not as fragile and in need of ‘protection’ from Western influence”. 
Such is the impact of culture in this region. It is strengthened by the lack of 
education in this entire region, and Pakistan or Bangladesh have not escaped 
the strong impact of culture. Each has its own flavor and doses of religious 
edicts by the ‘religious entrepreneurs’. And to use Amartya’s quote 
“Important as history is, reasoning has to go beyond the past” where then 
do we go from the influence of culture? Of course he is advocating opening 
up of culture of South Asia to the world. How do we deal with culture with 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 71 

such pervasive influence? And in speaking of Indian culture one takes it to a 
great extent to include the Pakistani Culture where of course there is also the 
expansion of religious sectarianism – and fueled by ‘religious 
entrepreneurism’ for vested interest. Even when it is not religious 
motivation, the garb of religion is quick to invoke severe punishment.  

Herry Kissinger (2011) in his book “On China” explains the stark 
difference in the Eastern (Asian) Cultural thinking and Western Cultural 
thinking by giving an example. The Chinese philosopher Confucius was 
unlike Machiavelli. The Confucian philosopher is concerned with the 
cultivation of social harmony not with the accumulation of power and 
using power. Rather it was incumbent as a spiritual task to recreate proper 
order and recovery of forgotten principles of self-revelation (p.14). 
Harmony is the drawing force in the Asian culture. Furthermore Sun Tzu 
(Art of War) proclaims that not every problem has a solution and too much 
emphasis on total mastery over specific events upset universal harmony. 
Harmony has to be maintained. In contrast the Western traditions prefer 
decisive clash.  

The Significance of Association and Chamber of Commerce in 
Building Clout for Women Entrepreneurs: The need for External Support 
System.  

In a paper “Women Entrepreneurs in the Global Economy” Susanne 
E. Jalbert (2000) has examined how women entrepreneurs affect economy, 
why women start businesses, how women’s business associations promote 
entrepreneurs, and to what extent women contributed to international trade. 
She has also emphasized economic clout that women have built up and 
quotes Irene Natividad, Chairperson US National Commission on Working 
Women at the 15th Global Summit of Women “Global Markets and women 
are not often used in the same sentence, but increasingly statistic show that 
women have economic clout – most visibly as entrepreneurs and most 
powerfully as consumers”. She finds that women bring commitment and 
integrity because they care about economic empowerment. But according to 
her finding women entrepreneurs are dependent upon professional and 
personal support that is found in business associations. The paper goes on to 
say that women entrepreneurs look for role models and mentors that help 
them to carve out paths to follow. Citing Susan Caminiti the paper says that 
conventional mentoring role of women has changed. Women by nature are 
given to offering advise based upon years of experience they have gained. 
Mentors usually see mentoring as a responsibility. It’s a payoff for the gains 



72 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

of their life. Therefore members of associations, consultants, and trainers are 
all acting as role models. This finding supports the findings of our paper and 
the role played by Shella with the role models discussed in Jalbert’s paper 
and the Chamber of Commerce has taken on the role of association. The 
economic empowerment of women, the clout, comes from being together on 
a platform that provides the support services discussed above. This platform 
is the associations or the Chamber of Commerce. Talking of support 
systems from within the family and society Rajani & Sardar (2008) state 
that enterprises started by women are influenced by the interest and 
influence of the relatives and family. Two contrasting cases have been 
analyzed in their paper. Once again the research within this region reveals 
that similar problems and difficulties are faced by female which revolve 
around culture, and tradition and way of life.  

The external support system is of great significance in such 
environment. This does therefore brings out the significance of associations. 
Business women’s associations in Malawi, Nepal, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, 
Mexico and UK all have provided psychological advocacy required to start 
small businesses. They create growth oriented atmosphere and vision for 
their members through wide spectrum of activities such as networking and 
political and economic empowerment of women. In many societies 
women’s ability in accessing mainstream organizations is limited. By 
establishing and joining a Chamber of Commerce, one can demonstrate 
economic clout and force larger organizations and government to pay 
attention to their cause. Associations also provide a system of bonding 
because they share same problems & issues and the bond of being a 
business woman overrides the cultural differences. The paper most 
powerfully establishes the significance of Associations or the Chambers of 
Commerce as a platform. In other words Chambers of Commerce or 
associations provide a formidable clout to women and gives them economic 
emancipation. (Jalbert 2000) 

The realization of the acquiring clout by being together in the 
Chamber of Commerce has played a significant role to overcome cultural 
barriers. We will see this in some of the interviews of Pakistan female 
entrepreneurs.  

The conceptual understanding of female entrepreneurs, of their role in 
the family and then in the society weighs heavily on the women in Pakistan.  
The number of female entrepreneurs has increased. Hence there is a need for 
research that covers the area of female entrepreneurs and their efforts in a 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 73 

male dominant society like Pakistan. But the phenomenon is much the same 
in other societies as well as we see from the observation of Brush and 
Maltay  

“… Despite the tremendous growth in the number of 
women-owned enterprises and their increasing 
aggregate impact on society and the economy, there 
are few studies researching women business owners 
in general”  

(Brush, 1992)  
The observation made much later on by Matlay (2005) still paints a 

similar tone. But also refers to the difficulty in theory building aspect in 
female entrepreneurship.  

“The dramatic rise in female entrepreneurship in 
contemporary Europe cannot be realistically or 
adequately investigated, let alone explained or 
theorized, as a new and isolated phenomenon. It is 
our contention that theory building in this as well as 
other aspects of entrepreneurship should be 
conceptualized in the wider body of knowledge. -----
---------------------------------------------------”.  

(Matlay, 2005) 
Despite a growing enthusiasm among researchers, there has been a 

greater failure to build adequate theory around the concept of female 
entrepreneurs in Islamic societies. This vacuum is more pronounced in a 
wider socio-economic context because women business has a growing 
contribution to the economy. The challenge here is to understand what 
motivates female entrepreneurs in society as traditionally patriarchal and 
difficult for woman as Pakistan. The best we could make of this was from 
the series of interviews that were conducted on the 30 female entrepreneurs 
and we are in the process of analyzing and discussing their views. Not all 
have been reported but they all belong to a similar status in society and 
similar educational background. Except for their leadership which happens 
to be highly qualified and educated abroad also.  

Female entrepreneurs in Pakistan are realizing their status and position 
in society. They have also improved their conditions in society to some 
extent. Roomi (2009) goes on to present the role of women entrepreneurs in 
a Muslim country like Pakistan. 



74 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

“Two factors especially influence women’s occupational roles: the 
cultural norm of pardah (veil) and the notion of Izzat (honor) (Roomi and 
Parrott, 2008: 2). Pardah has significance as an instrument of sexual 
segregation and seclusion based on spatial boundaries, (Roomi, 2008) In 
the strict sense these are inclined to be socially and culturally oriented. The 
definition has to be more precise to demarcate the social & cultural from 
the religious requirements. ‘Izzat’ is the notion that women are repositories 
of a family’s honor, and that their chastity and good reputation, being 
highly valued, must be guarded.” (Shaheed, 1990) He further goes on to 
state  “There is considerable diversity in the status of women across classes 
(the socio-economic status of a woman’s family), geographical regions, 
ethnic origin and the rural/urban divide due to uneven socioeconomic 
development and the impact of tribal, and feudal, social formations on 
women’s lives” (Roomi & Harrison 2008: 2).    

While he has also hastened to support the conditions of openness for 
women in Pakistan by saying they are able to cross the barriers and 
participate in economic activities. But in his conclusion he has confirmed 
“that socio-cultural variables play an important role in the growth of 
women owned enterprises in Pakistan.” This statement establishes once 
again the inter connectivity of culture and business venturing of female 
entrepreneurs. In the true Islamic sense, religion has not forbidden business 
to women. A lot of confusion prevails with regards to social norms and 
cultural practices and religious biddings.  

This doubt is put to rest as he says in his Practical Recommendations 
about the role of women in the Islamic context by quoting the Quran and 
Sunnah/ Hadith5 (sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W.) 

“The most important point to mention is that there is nothing in the 
Qur’an or in the Hadith which prevents women from working outside the 
home. In fact the Qur’an extols the leadership of Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba 
for her capacity to fulfill the requirements of the office, for her political 
skills, the purity of her faith and her independent judgement (Al Naml, 
27:23-44). If a woman is qualified and the one best suited to fulfill a task, 
there is no Qur’anic injunction that prohibits her from any undertaking 
because of her sex. The hadith literature is replete with women leaders, 
jurists and scholars, and women who participated fully in public life. There 
                                                 
5 Sunnah/Hadith: Saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) recorded by Scholars, 
Jurist and Scribes and later on compiled as parallel interpretation of the Quran based upon 
Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) sayings  



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 75 

is another hadith which states that 9/10 of our sustenance comes from 
business. For those who are able and are competent, Islamic society should 
encourage them to become entrepreneurs or get involved with other types of 
business activities.” (Roomi, 2009) 

He concludes by indicating that women face deep-rooted 
discriminating cultural and social factors that hamper their growth. Only 
few receive encouragement from family members, who have spatial 
mobility, private transport, tend to grow. The paper also highlights 
educational qualification, good HR policies. The paper comes up with 
original identification of socio-cultural variables affecting growth of female 
owned enterprises in Islamic countries.  

The empowerment of the women in Pakistan has been the result of the 
precedent and the Role Model of Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) wife 
Khadija (RA). Women in Business are no new phenomena in the Muslim 
society but the traditions in Pakistan have prevented the development. 
Despite its significance, recognized worldwide, not much work has been 
done to study the growth of women entrepreneurs in a Muslim society. in a 
more, homogenous society it becomes all the more necessary to study the 
growth of females in business so as to establish closer linkages among the 
Western society and the Muslim society. Dove Seidman the Author of 
“How” says “When the world is bound together this tightly, everyone’s 
values and behavior matter more than ever … we have gone from connected 
to interconnected to ethically interdependent” all the more reason to 
research the female entrepreneurs of Pakistan because they are growing into 
a force and are going global as well. The Muslim of India, Pakistan and 
Bangladeshi are roughly estimated to be a little over 500 million and all 
representing the cultural complexity of South Asia.  

In Pakistan, many women are able to cross these barriers and this is 
the new trend observed by Roomi, 2008 & 2009. One of the strength of 
Pakistan Female Entrepreneur has been their social capital. They are able to 
actively participate in economic activities. It has been found that women in 
Pakistan are receiving moral support from immediate family members. A 
correct interpretation of the perceptions of Islamic values have played a role 
in allowing spatial mobility, access to transport, and interaction with male 
members at school, college, university and office level, has helped them 
grow confident and to venture in business (Roomi: 2009). This correct 
interpretation of Islam has come about because of wide range of translating 
the Islamic literature to English and Urdu which is a Pakistani language. 



76 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

Previously the Quran & Hadith was only read in Arabic without 
understanding what it meant. Today it is read bilingually and not through a 
teacher but by most students in their language. It has corrected many 
perceptions.   

Research Methodology 

This study took a case study approach as a tool of gathering data & 
information, and has a Qualitative methodology, and now spreads over a 
period of 05 years. We outline the preliminary results of 30 illustrative case 
studies from Pakistan out of which 10 have been reported in this paper.  The 
selected entrepreneurs has a similar status in society and similar educational 
background except the few leaders such as Shela who have been educated 
abroad and belongs to a upper class of society. they already experienced 
nearly 3-5 years experience before discovering the advantage of getting 
together on a common platform for collective benefit. Case study approach 
has been adopted as it provides in-depth knowledge regarding the 
phenomenon being studied such as the understanding of the culture, the 
sentiments and to understand personal self-reflection captured through the 
story telling. In this research paper female entrepreneurs were interviewed 
repeatedly over a spread of time and reported the ‘voices’ of the female 
entrepreneur participants; It presents a valuable opportunity for 
understanding their learning experiences (Guerrero, 2008). These case 
studies helped to uncover commonalities with female entrepreneurs of this 
region and the learning experiences shared by female entrepreneurs(Rae, 
2005)Further this research methodology may determine the underlying 
factors responsible for their progress and success in getting ‘clout’ and 
recognition. Case studies are narrated incidences of life experiences. They 
have focused on two variable: one the problems faced in getting started and 
two the building of the platform in the shape of the Women Chamber of 
Commerce & Industry. Some case studies carry critical life events but all 
along these are emotive narrations recorded by the author and later 
transcribed by the author. The interviews were recorded as they were 
narrated in a story format. The story format has acted as historical 
background with a multiple of case studies to support the understanding of 
the prevailing environment. The main case study is that of Dr. Shehla 
Akram the entrepreneurial leader of this movement which has been 
embedded with smaller case studies. However the theoretical framework has 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 77 

also been embedded with these case studies. The survey took place in the 
same period that the women were struggle to establish the Chamber of 
Commerce hence the women were overwhelmed by their efforts and were 
inclined to bring in the emergence of the Chamber of Commerce. No doubt 
it was something new happening and they knew it so common ground was 
the Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The author has spent five or 
six month with the WCCI. Given that the participants reflected on the 
learning experiences, they considered it central to development of 
entrepreneurial leadership. Further findings may contribute to the further 
development of a conducive environment for women entrepreneurs.   The 
interviews generally look one hour at the premises of each entrepreneur. But 
the interviews and discussion with Shela Akram extend over months 
intermittently. This was followed by the formulation of a theoretical 
framework which formed a structure for the study. A set of research 
questions to be used in interviews was later constructed. The case studies 
thereby support the theory and create evidence of sentiments, the emotions 
the experiences and the behavior pattern of   a whole social environment 
surrounding the emergence of these entrepreneurs. Those case studies that 
were not included have been screened for further research papers.  

Research sample and Instrument: 
Snow-ball sampling was used in this research as sampling strategy. 

This happened because of numerous repeat visits by the Author to the office 
of the Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Most of the female 
entrepreneurs were contacted and introduced at the WCI office. However, 
respondents were also selected on the basis of researcher’s personal 
judgment through quota sampling on the basis that they could provide 
information required for research. Documentary sources official and 
unofficial documents were also utilized for validating information gathered 
from interview. Points of convergent and divergent have also been recorded.  

Case Studies 

There were two parties claiming ownership for the women’s struggle 
and challenge for the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
(WCCI). The platform was divided into two zones and Shehla was made 
PWCCI president for Islamabad and Punjab and NWFP cities. (Northern 
Pakistan). The other claimant to ownership of the women’s chamber was a 
Karachi-based woman entrepreneur named Salma Ahmad, who was given 



78 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

responsibility for SWCCI offices in Sindh and Balochistan (Province of 
Pakistan comprising Southern Pakistan).  

Shehla said, “We felt there was a need for such a chamber because 
the existing institutions of this kind do not pay enough attention to women. 
We feel that one of the most effective methods of promoting women 
entrepreneurship is to empower them; this requires an institution solely 
devoted to this cause’. “For many months I have argued with government 
officials and private organization about the ownership of the WCCI and 
finally, I have won even if its been divided into two territories”.   

The aspect of dedication and desistance and willingness to take the 
mantle of leadership is the hallmark in her personality. Here leadership 
acumen was high and show knew there would be a price to pay. 

One of the steps taken by PWCCI which brought immediate 
acceptance was the conference organized as “National Beautician 
Conference” in the September of 2005. This event turned out to be a 
resounding success and it somehow gave great confidence to women 
entrepreneurs. It laid the foundation for women to recognize their own 
strength that came through networking and through being united on one 
platform. It propelled them into a higher economic status. As Lahore has a 
large number of small and micro beauticians they took pride in their 
profession and felt encouraged to carry on their business. Some found 
support from their family for their business because this business pertained 
to women. It was a female oriented business area. It received less hurdles 
from family and society though a decade ago this profession and this 
business was looked down upon. 

Uzma Beauty Clinic and Institute - Living with extended family & 
petty bureaucrat. 

Uzma belongs to a modest middle class background. Her story began 
when her husband supported her dream to setup a beauty parlor; The Uzma 
Beauty Clinic. Though they pioneered the venture at a time when there was 
an absolute vacuum in the market, 1984, she faced numerous threats some 
real and some perceived. She could not stabilize her business as she was 
constantly firefighting. Her relatives at one time turned their back on her 
family and her children suffered humiliation within relatives. “The family 
plays a very important role in a traditional Pakistani woman’s life. Face 
saving is essential within the family. Your profession or your activities can 
damage the reputation of the entire extended family from uncle and aunts to 
in-laws of the family members. You cannot cut yourself off from your family 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 79 

to do your business. Women are not generally seen as bread earners or 
businesswomen in this culture” explained Uzma, as she remembered how 
she had to deal diplomatically with her father-in-law to continue with her 
profession.  

“Today I find that our society has turned more ‘grey’ and she 
explained this by saying “To establish my business I have had to work 18 
hours a day. Today I can say that my networking and my membership of 
PWCCI has been a great support. However, the journey was never easy. My 
real problem has been dealing with these petty bureaucrats that come from 
various government agencies. It is not easy to deal with these Mettlesome 
officers from Electricity department, or from Municipality or from the 
Police, or from the Tax department. They come threateningly and spreading 
fear among my girls working for me. At that moment it appears as if 
someone has pulled the rug from under your feet”.  

She narrated incidents of how she continuously wastes time in 
firefighting and depriving herself from quality work. She feels she could do 
much more if the environment was more conducive. “Our system has 
evolved as a culture of unfriendly environment. Everyone perceives that 
women entrepreneurs can be harassed and made to give illegal gratification 
to avoid further disturbance. Its this ‘grey’ culture, immature attitude, 
towards your own society that is depriving our society the fruits of growth 
and development. I think we, the members of PWCCI can now contribute 
towards improvement and empowerment of women for a better tomorrow”. 

Uzma has identified all the areas that were mentioned in various 
literature review. Here emphasis on face saving and her experience of the 
petty officers is a reminder of the way the environment existed. But her 
positivity is reflected in her statement that ‘our society has turned more 
grey’ meaning that there was a slight change in the environment. The shows 
exceptional emotional intelligence and resoluteness to continue.  

Another event that gave boost to the Women Entrepreneurs was the 
public display by the Government that they supported the struggle of 
women entrepreneurs. The then Prime Minister Mr. Shaukat Aziz awarded a 
shield to Shehla, President PWCCI, on September 14, 2005, in recognition 
of her accomplishment and performance of promoting the Chamber of 
Commerce for Women. It was an acknowledgement for the struggle for this 
Forum. Until this time it was not recognized officially or legally as the 
Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, though even this was not a 
legal recognition, yet it gave them enough clout to be heard. 



80 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

‘Re-Grow’: Herbal Hair Oil 
Taking Care of Members: Counseling and Mentoring by the Chamber 

of Commerce Leadership of the WCI was a responsible and understanding 
role by Shela as an indication. 

The events that led Rukhsana Zafar to become an Entrepreneur is yet 
another story. She had a master’s degree in zoology, and had invented 
herbal hair oil that she named as ‘Re-grow’. She wanted to sell it. However, 
her husband was a businessman and was doing quite well so he did not 
allow his wife to pursue it. So she came to Shehla and said “I have invented 
this product and I want to sell it in the market and you have to take care of 
my husband, I have a lot of faith in you”.  

 “This meant that I would schedule a counseling session with her 
husband and giving him confidence and assurance of his wife’s capabilities, 
which he should empower and take pride in”.   

Shehla was thinking of the past on providing this account said; “She 
was one of the first who came to me when my chamber was announced, she 
brought with her a very old and shabby looking pamphlet which I think she 
might have made when she was in school or college. She also brought with 
her a very old packaging. I didn’t know how old it was, but all I can say is 
that it was years and years old. One good thing by now her children were 
grown up. Now she is very successful and is traveling with us everywhere 
we go. It was all done with a bit of counseling”. One of the thing she felt 
that this incident taught her was to become a counselor to the families of her 
members. It had become essential in her capacity as a leader of these women 
to give counseling. She felt she was strongly positioning herself for 
counseling not just the women but also their husbands.  

Once again the depicts an educated entrepreneur having conviction in 
her idea and going about it with an approach to achieve it. Shela once again 
displayed a high sense of emotional intelligence and adopted the role of a 
mentor and leader and not shirking any responsibility in her role as a leader. 

Social, Cultural and Traditional Taboos: Women’s Role in Business: 
The social, cultural, and traditional taboos on women allow men to 

carve legitimacy for themselves in public affairs, as well as in the sphere of 
production and related economic activity. Women are not acceptable, seen 
as running businesses. Tradition and convention and culture have never 
allowed it. This culture and traditional taboo even prevented women from 
obtaining education. 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 81 

As Shehla said “The main issues were ownership of property, lack of 
control over capital land and business. That if a woman wants to do any 
business her husband or her father would not give her property (to be used 
as collateral). They will give it only to the son, but not to her. This puts her 
at a disadvantage with her banker, who advances only against collateral”. 
There is also inherent lack of encouragement from male family members. 
The absences of networking mechanism and patriarchal social norms have 
prevented women from running businesses. The situation was more grave, 
serious and to great extent dangerous for rural women. There were no role 
model of rural women who rose up against the traditions and taboos till 
then. It was inconceivable that a woman would have the guts to defy the 
norms of society and become an entrepreneur or a social entrepreneur. 

Mukhtara Mai – the rural scenario 
It was probably the worst of times or best of times for women.  
One could see that an environment was developing that supported the 

rights and recognition of women. It was in June 2002 that a woman, 
Mukhtara Mai was raped by the landlord family of Meerwala near Jatoi in 
the remote corner of Rural Punjab. She was the victim of one of Pakistan’s 
more ‘politics of rape’ a infamous crime against women. She shocked the 
traditional mindset by approaching the Government and the Police for help 
against ‘politics of rape’ in Pakistan. This incident also received 
international attention. “After she was brutally assaulted the illiterate 
Pakistani was supposed to restore her family honor by killing herself. 
Instead, Mukhtara Mai chose to live, to fight for justice and to find a better 
life for women like her. She became the symbol of women’s right”. “I want 
to remain a symbol of oppressed women until someone shoot me” she says. 
The Government rose to the occasion and supported her and provided her 
legal support. (Reader Digest JAN 2008). Ultimately, it was the financial 
support from the Government of Musharraf and donors from Canada and 
Norway that helped her in setting up the Mukhtara Mai Model Girls School 
and Mukhtara Mai Women’s Crises Relief Centre, home for women hit by 
crises. Today its educating 650 girls who would have faced a dismal future 
and it employs 50 providing shelter to women exploited. She remains today 
a source of inspiration, relentless to pressure to withdraw case against the 
perpetrators of that horrific crime. (Express Tribune July 25, 2010)  

The case study of Mukhtara Mai depicts – the change and 
empowerment of women at this period in time. What is important is that 
these little incidents add to the change of the whole picture. It’s the progress 



82 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

which is more relevant for such a movement and change follows. The point 
in this case is that women as social entrepreneurs or as entrepreneurs are 
noticeable.  

The logical outcome of a gender biased environment was the low 
status and weak bargaining position of women. That indicated the 
disadvantaged position of women who try to start or run a business in 
Pakistan. However as we have seen in Islam women in business are not 
frowned upon. The greatest example Muslims can quote is that of the 
Prophet Muhammad’s (S.A.W.W) Wife Khadija (RA) who is a glowing role 
model of a business women of the Muslim world. (Roomi 2007) 

Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan and Impact of 
PWCCI: 

According to a survey report, (prior to the emergence of WCCI), 
‘Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan’ (Nabeel Goheer) ILO Islamabad 2003, 
eighty percent of the women in business were between the age 20-49 years. 
They were generally found to have only one or two children (65%). It was 
also found that a woman entrepreneur usually belongs to family living away 
from extended family with husband and unmarried children. That helped 
them to keep out of the social cultural influence. Similarly their literacy rate 
was above national average, and had obtained professional training. 
Barriers, some real, some perceived and some self-imposed, confront 
women entrepreneurs. In the area of export marketing, obstacles include 
limited international business experience, inadequate business education and 
a lack of access to international networks. A similar observation was made 
by Roomi (2008). His sample consisted of 265 and of these 54% managed 
micro enterprise, 36% managed small enterprises and 10% medium 
enterprises. Roomi found 82% engaged in traditional sectors of textile, 
apparel, education, food, beauty, and health sector. It is here he noted deep 
rooted social cultural values segregating female entrepreneurs they were 
serving female customers. Small investment and they usually began with 
pilot project at home. Usually in their sector male, female interaction was 
almost nonexistent.  

Whereas Gehori also observed most women headed businesses 
operated from home, and financial matters were taken care of by male 
family members. Women entrepreneurs were seen in subordinate roles; with 
low levels of education and technical skills; low exposure to business; 
lacking role models; lacking peer support and business associations; and, 
low income and poor investment capacity. About sixty percent of women 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 83 

entrepreneurs in Pakistan have opted for traditional business such as parlors, 
bakeries, boutiques. However, the largest numbers were in the garments and 
handicrafts businesses. 

Other than these, societal, cultural norms and forces of patriarchy and 
a systemic subordination of women by men also impeded women in 
business. Other challenges faced by women in particular are; financing, 
globalization of social and economic environments, marketing, and 
management. Economies such as Pakistan’s economy can pose difficult 
hurdles such as banking, legal contracts, political contracts, customs tariffs, 
and impediments by petty bureaucrats who daily invent new mechanism for 
the simplest procedures. However Roomi (2008) states that literacy rate 
plays important role in creating awareness of their rights. 82% of his 
samples were high school graduate, 53% had bachelors and 15% post 
graduate. Roomi (2008) states that women have been denied the right to 
education despite Islam having made it compulsory for men & women to 
peruse education. He also draws attention to the rights given to own 
property, inheritance, business, to keep her madden name and to hold 
political office. Based on these facts verified from Hadiths and the Quran, 
the dichotomy is that religious entrepreneurism is misleading the general 
public and wrongly denying the female entrepreneurs of their position in the 
economy.  

Yet the major problem seen was the lack of confidence of women 
entrepreneurs and extreme shyness to approach organizations for support. In 
the opinion of Shehla, they also did not have the capability to present their 
case or proposal hence they were unconvincing to the bankers or the 
financers. 

This survey (ILO 2003) also recorded some experiences of Women 
Entrepreneurs: These mini cases reflect a spectrum of experience over a 
long time span. It is a fairly good description of the environment confronted 
by the women entrepreneurs.  

Nikki’s Beauty Saloon 

Mrs. Ayesha had lost her husband at a very young age. They had four 
daughters and a son and three of whom were minors and two were as yet 
teen-agers. ‘Nothing is more devastating then to have your world shattered 
while you are still young. In a country like Pakistan, women take the 
backseat and are taken care off by their husbands. It takes time to get your 



84 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

bearings and I found myself fumbling with my husband’s business - an auto 
car sale agency “Soon I realized I must do some business to survive but it 
was not my cup of tea to run a car agency. Therefore, I soon negotiated a 
sale of my husbands business and went into the beautician business”. 

What had raised her confidence in the business of beauty saloon was 
her friends who admired her makeup skills. Occasionally she would do the 
makeup of some brides getting married in her family and among friends. 
She had a natural talent for it and now she was being appreciated by her 
friends and peers. It was at that moment in time when she was convinced 
that beauty saloon was the kind of business she wants to be in.  

As a matter of fact the business of beauty saloons had come of age. 
PWCCI had given it a big boost by organizing a conference on the subject. 
The concept in Pakistan of beauty saloon was initially introduced by 
Chinese Parlors. All weddings require bridal makeup and the Chinese 
beauty parlors performed this service. Another source of business were the 
professional working women who had no time to take care of themselves. 
Hence beauty saloons were becoming responsible for grooming women. 
Technology too had played a vital role. (Based on the interviews conducted 
by Maira Taqi and Kinza Malik) 

This case depicts scenario when women inherent business when they 
loose the male member of the family. But it also depicts the enterprising 
side of the female entrepreneur. 

Anjum Rafi the owner of ‘Qashang Boutique’ and ‘Heritage School 
System’ is a Masters in Textiles. Though she successfully came out of her 
teething problem, still faced numerous problems. She quickly learnt that to 
be a member of a chamber or association was really beneficial for her in a 
male dominated society. Hence, first she joined Lahore Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry and later the Pakistan Association of Women 
Entrepreneurs. It was a great boost to her to join the PWCCI. She felt that 
this had empowered her to think in terms of international business and to 
participate in fashion shows abroad. But most of all, this gave her status 
among the Business Community. 

On the other hand, Bushra Iqbal who had been running one of the first 
beauty clinics Bushra Iqbal Beauty Clinic in Lahore after qualifying from 
Hannereuth says that “The worst of all was dealing with orthodox 
government officials”. At that time, there was no support or sympathy for a 
woman entrepreneur.  



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 85 

Farah Yousaf of Comeily Collection, a garment unit, reflected 
questions she confronted, “Doing business is the responsibility of men. Why 
are you doing it?” For a long time the absence of a support system 
hampered her growth as with every woman entrepreneur. It was essential for 
her to join the Women Entrepreneur Society of Pakistan and the Lahore 
Chamber of Commerce in 1998 and eventually the Punjab Women Chamber 
of Commerce and Industry.  

Robina Jamil not only confronted the humiliation of the male 
dominated business environment but also the derogatory attitude of the 
relatives. On the other hand nobody was willing to do business with her 
because she was a woman. All the whole-sellers would not respond to 
business deals handled by her and would insist on doing business with the 
male.  

These mini cases are reference points that lay the ground to establish 
the theory of female entrepreneurship in Pakistan environment. The multi-
dymentional social factors that hinder women entrepreneurship and despite 
the cultural taboos these women have emerged as a force and have gained 
acceptance. There may be the need to study deeper to profile the emerging 
picture of Pakistan female entrepreneurs. 

What choices did women have? They have always led a dominated 
life without an outlet. The options were limited. With that kind of 
background, it was not possible to conceive a Women Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry. As a matter of fact there are only a handful of 
examples of WCCI existing in the world though progress has been made in 
Asia and Africa. But Pakistan is a society of paradoxes where a women’s 
exclusive bank existed (First Women’s Bank). It is a society where all over 
the country there are many schools, colleges and universities segregated and 
exclusive only to women, besides co-education institutions. It is a society 
with tradition of a woman being its Prime Minister twice. It proves that the 
women have a conviction of purpose and cause to pursue. Yet the paradox is 
that women are really very weak in this culture. The other paradox is that 
where as women are striving for economic emancipation, they never desired 
emancipation from their family. There is no place for a single woman; she 
must have her family standing in the back ground. Her husband or her 
children have to be in her picture. Their strength comes from the association 
with the family. (And Muktara Mai is one example of a woman finding her 
way back in her society among her own people). Legitimacy came from the 
strong association with the immediate family so a new norm of society has 



86 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

emerged. PWCCI was the new platform of culture and emancipation from 
dependence but not from family. Culturally Pakistan is an emerging culture, 
a society which has influences of different cultures of societies, specially 
those that were in the subcontinent like Hindu society, the Turkish and 
Iranian culture.  

It was Shehla’s persistence and conviction that the women need a full-
fledged chamber. She used every source in her reach to propagate a separate 
chamber for women. But it was on ‘bridge championship’ organized by the 
family in memory of her father that she had got a chance to meet the 
President of Pakistan and talk about promulgating an ordinance for a 
women’s chamber. She finally approaches President Musharraf at the 
Bridge Championship and the President eventually agreed to promulgate a 
new Ordinance to support the establishment of Women Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry. 

Eventually after long struggle by the Women in Karachi and Lahore a 
final recognition of the women’s right to do business was established in the 
Pakistan 2006 Ordinance called the Trade Organization Ordinance (2006). It 
allowed more representative associations including the women to have their 
own Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The women are now able to form 
their own associations without male sponsorship. Hence women such as 
Shehla in Lahore and Salma in Karachi moved for achieving legal 
registration of their respective Chambers. But it was not as easy as it 
seemed.  

Conclusion 

Women entrepreneurship in Pakistan is in a transitory phase. The 
emerging role models in the 21st century have given a lot of weight to 
women entrepreneurs. Each woman is a case uniquely responsible to bring 
about a change. The case studies are not in isolation from the theory but 
support them. They are the “voices” of the Forum the PWCCI. They are the 
evidence of the sentiments, the emotions the experiences and the behavior 
pattern of a whole social environment surrounding the emergence of these 
female entrepreneurs. On the other hand they also reflect the grit and 
perseverance of Dr. Shehla and the challenges she accepted as a leader of 
the women entrepreneurs.  

The leadership style of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan has been the 
same as in other regions. The consultative style has been the hallmark of 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 87 

their leadership traits. Shehla herself showed flexibility and accommodation 
to the prevailing circumstances, yet stood her ground relentlessly to achieve 
her goals. Culturally neutral concepts such as the theory of leadership have 
been equally applicable in this environment. What could not be considered 
suitable was the entrepreneurial intention or motivation of other regions 
such as European or American or Russian. Each region has its own unique 
characteristics and traits. The conclusion that one can draw from the 
comparison of different cultural background and different societies is that 
theories developed so far in the western societies do not apply to Pakistani 
environment as there is not sufficient evidence and research knowledge of 
the women in business. 

It was observed that the experiential learning developed the 
entrepreneurial competencies of the women and in turn increased the 
confidence and level of entrepreneurial leadership capabilities among all the 
women entrepreneurs. Yet the most basic principal of management was the 
most sought after training by the members of the newly formed PWCCI.  

It was also observed that the female entrepreneurs are more educated 
than her male counterpart as seen in the western societies. But her 
professional experience often falls outside of traditional business sector e.g. 
an engineer may set up garment business or a boutique or bakery. 

Women by nature are inclined to go for mentorship or coaching and it 
has been amply demonstrated that the success of the establishing the 
PWCCI was because of the coaching & mentoring role of Shehla and their 
team. Women entrepreneurs look for role models and mentors that help 
them carve out paths to follow. However the impact of experience and 
training has been observed as a factor for building leadership self-efficacy 
among the female entrepreneurs similar to western societies. Such theories 
are culturally neutral. Mentoring and coaching is a payoff for the gains of 
their life.  

None of the barriers that stood in the way of these aspiring pioneering 
women entrepreneurs were religious or Islamic ideology based. These were 
socially and culturally oriented and represented the norms of the society. (A 
society that still preserved certain customs and traditions and norms). Some 
were deeply rooted for centuries and had taken this form and appeared to be 
religious edicts. 

It has also been established that economic emancipation was not 
emancipation from men dominance or against family bond. It was economic 
freedom and more an expression of capability, an expression of an art form, 



88 Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2014, No. 1-2, 62 -91)   

an expression of skill and ability and competence to do what one had chosen 
to do. In fact it was an expression of equality given by Islam as stated by 
Quran and Hadith.  Women entrepreneurship is not alien to Islam. The 
‘Izzat’ and ‘pardah’ was the defensive mechanism provided to women and 
it, protected her if she knew how to allow it to be implemented. Religious 
entrepreneurship imposed its own version of Islam on women entrepreneurs; 
it was under the guise of religion that this concept was being used to prevent 
women from spatial mobility. But the awareness and education has made 
women realize their status and position in society. 

The social cultural and traditional taboos on women allow men to 
carve legitimacy for themselves on women. It was this exploitation by men 
that led the women to set up a common forum to claim equal rights that 
were theirs by virtue of Islam. Once the platform was legally established 
and officially recognized, it brought more opportunity and clout to assert 
their economic and legal rights. As time passed these members realize their 
growing strength and the value of the association or the platform of Women 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They have opened the gateway for 
women in other parts of this country. 

Family and spouses played a very strong supportive role as in the case 
of their western female entrepreneurs, acting as advisors and legitimizing 
the entrepreneurial ventures in the society. However successful women 
entrepreneurs were found to be living outside the domain of extended family 
allowing the parental controls but expecting husbands to give understanding 
and support. 

We also conclude that the economic empowerment of women, the 
clout, comes from being together on a platform that provides the support 
services and to be able to raise their voice and that was the Chamber of 
Commerce & Industry. It infact provides a formidable clout to women and 
gives their economic emancipation.  

Though the serious work on female entrepreneurship and now there is 
a range of it available, there is always reference to the influences of culture 
on women but it has not brought out the strong South Asian impact that 
exists among the female entrepreneurs of Pakistan; Roomi has time and 
again emphasized the freedom to do business in Islam and has given the 
role-model in Islam for the Muslim women but has not focused on the 
various crucial cultural barriers which are the real hindrance and 
precipitators of sufferings by the women in pursuit of economic 
independence. In this respect much work remains researchers could well 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 89 

bridge this gap by undertaking step by step cultural taboos, geographical 
regions, ethnic origin, rural and urban divided, tribal & feudal bearing on 
culture and influence women in Pakistan. There is vast scope for such 
serious research, which will evolve into a situation of change as has the 
correct knowledge of Islam done to the current leaders and female 
entrepreneurs in Pakistan. This would have an impact on all other 
neighboring countries of South Asia.  

References 

[1] Aaltio, I., (2009). ‘How Women Entrepreneurs Identify Themselves in Current 
Russian Business Culture’. ICSB world conference Seoul. 

[2] Aaltio, I., Kyro, P., Sundin, E., (2009). Women Entrepreneurship and Social 
Capital as a Heuristic for Understanding Innovations.’ ICSB World Conference 
Seoul. 

[3] Amartya Sen (2005). “Argumentative Indian”.  
[4] Brush, C. (1992). ‘Research of Women Business Owners: Past Trends, a new 

Perspective, Future Directions, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice’, 16: 5-30. 
[5] Fried Mau, Thomas, L., (2011).  “A Cultural Revelation” Global Edition of the 

New York Times. 
[6] Gale A. & Polnareva L. (2004). ‘Women in Management in Russia. in Women 

in Management Worldwide. Facts, Figures and Analysis’. M. Davidson and R. 
Burke (eds.), Ashgate, Cornwall. 

[7] Gishkori, Z. (2010). ‘Against all Odds’ The Express Tribune Magazine: Karachi 
[8] Guerrero, V. (2008). ‘Women and Leadership: Examining the Impact of 

Entrepreneurial Education on Leadership Self Efficacy’ (Doctoral dissertation, 
Pepperdine University). 

[9] Hisrich, R.D., & C.G. Brush, (1986). ‘The Woman Entrepreneur: Starting, 
Managing and Financing a Successful New Business’ (London, Lexington 
Books). 

[10] Holyquist, C. Carter, S.,(2009). “The Diana Project; Pioneering Women 
Studying Pioneering Women” Small Business Economics, Springer. 

[11] Huq, A., (2009). ‘Feasibility of Business Ownership by Educated Urban 
Women: A Developing Country Perspective’. ICSB World Conference Seoul. 

[12] Jalbert E.Susanne, (2000). “Women Entrepreneurs in the Global Economy,” Ph. 
D. March 17, p. 10-11. 

[13] Kollan, B., and Parikh, I., (2005). ‘A Reflection of the Indian Women in 
Entrepreneurial World’, working paper Indian Institute of Management: 
Ahmadabad-380 015.  

[14] Matlay, H., (2005). ‘Researching Entrepreneurship, Part 1: What Is 
Entrepreneurship and does it Matter?’ Education and Training, 47, 8/9, 665-677. 



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[15] Minitti, M. Arenius, P. & Langowitz, N., (2005). “Global Entrepreneurship 
Monitor 2004 report on Women and Entrepreneurship” Babson Park, MA: 
Babson College. 

[16] Nabeel A. Goheer, (2003).‘Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan; How to Grow 
their Bargaining Power’ ILO: Islamabad. 

[17] Nabeel Goheer and Susan E. Penksa, (2007). ‘Gender Intelligent Economic 
Growth Work in Pakistan’, United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID). 

[18] Rajani, N., Sarada, D. (2008). “Women Entrepreneurship & Support System” 
Kamla-Raj Stud Home Comm Sci : 2(2): 107-112.  

[19] Roomi, M, A., (2008). “Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan: Profile, Challenges 
and Practical Recommendation”.  

[20] Roomi, M, A., (2009). ‘Entrepreneurial Capital, Social Values and Islamic 
Traditions: Growth of Women-Owned Enterprises in Pakistan’ ICSB World 
Conference. Seoul. 

[21] Roomi, M. A.& P. Harrison (2008). “Impact of Women-only Entrepreneurship 
Training in Islamic Society,” in the Dialogue of Woman Entrepreneurship and 
Social Capital. Eds. 

[22] Sajal K. Maiti, (2008). ‘Women Entrepreneurs and Emerging Profession: A 
study on Women Entrepreneurs Engaged in Home Delivery Catering Services in 
salt Lake Area, Kolkata, West Bangal’ Management and Labor Studies: Vol. 33 
No 4. 

[23] Sen, Amartya (2005) “The Argumentative Indain: Writing on Indian History, 
Culture and Identity” Picador N.Y.  

[24] Tambunan, Tulus T.H. (2008), Development of SMEs in ASEAN, Read Worthy 
Publications, Ltd, New Delhi. 

[25]  WCCI (undated Publication), “Community of Women Entrepreneurs. Weekly.  
 
 
Žensko preduzetništvo i Ženska komora privrede i 
industrije: ekonomska emancipacija i njen uticaj na 
žene Pakistana 
 
 
A P S T R A K T 
 

Društvena ekonomija, kultura, i religiozno preduzetništvo i tabui imaju jak 
uticaj na društva južne Azije. Pakistan je muslimansko društvo koje egzistira uz 
religiju vođenu kuturom indijskog društva. Postoji jako puno kulturnih preklapanja 
muslimanskih karakteristika identiteta i praktičnog načina života. Prilikom 
definisanja preduzetničkog profila muslimanskih žena preduzetnica u Pakistanu 
mora se imati na umu da je kultura tu dominantna prepreka. Previše je kompleksna 



 Khan, I., Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, JWE (2014, No. 1-2, 60-91) 91 

kultura južne Azije da Amartiya Sen postavlja pitanje: “Koliki deo ovoga jedan 
stranac koji poseduje opšte znanje faktora koji su uključeni može da to oseti i na to 
da odgovori? – I koliko to može da mu iskrivi sud.” Zatim Roomi (2005) govori da 
se žene suočavaju sa kulturom u kojoj je diskriminacija duboko ukorenjena i 
društvenim faktorima koji onemogućavaju njihov razvoj. Ali osnaženje žena u 
Pakistanu prati primer žene Proroka Muhameda Kadije. Ova kontradikcija u 
terminima i ova evolucija medju muslimanskim ženama je predmet interesovanja 
istraživača koje inhibira razvoj žena preduzetnika u muslimanskom društvu kao što 
je Pakistan.  

Cilj ovog rada jeste da ukaže na korist globalne zajednice, prirode 
okruženja i uticaja običaja, tradicija i kultura i odredjivanja faktora religijskog 
preduzetništva. Pregledana je postojeća literature o ženskom preduzetništvu i 
posebno uloga projekta Diana. Ali prepereke postoje zbog ograničenosti literature 
koja se bavi ženskim preduzetništvom muslimana južne Azije i Pakistana posebno 
je korišćena kvalitativna metodologija, detaljni intervijui i studije slučaja.  
Razmatrani su upitnici i korišćeni odgovori. Pronalasci pokazuju da pod uticajem 
religije, praktikuje se pogrešna filozofija. Žene su otkrile da se treba uložiti napore 
i stoga postoji duga borba za uspostavljanje Ženske komore za privredu i 
industriju.  

Prilikom pisanja rada utvrdjeno je da ne postoji dovoljno literature o ovoj 
temi. Već da je ona prisutna kao teorijski aspect radova napisanih o zapadnoj 
kulturi od strane zapadnih istraživača. Istraživanje mora da ima u vidu trenutna 
ograničenja prilikom proučavanja raznih kulturološki povezanih faktora i načina 
kako se može uticati na budući rast ženskog preduzetništva.  
        
KLJUČNE REČI: žensko preduzetništvo, religiozni pristup preduzetništvu, Diana 
projekat 
 
 
 

Article history: Received:  28 December, 2013 

Accepted:  21 April, 2014 
 
 
 
 


	Cultural and Socio Economic Experiences of Female Entrepreneurs in Brazil and the United States: An Exploratorial and Empirical Analysis
	Holland Neila, Business and Entrepreneurship Professor, Stratford University, Baltimore Campus,United States of America
	Introduction
	The Research Question and the Purpose of the Study
	Methodology
	Entrepreneurship as a Socially and Culturally Constructed Phenomenon
	Social Capital and Social Networks
	Family
	Cross Country Comparative Studies on Female Entrepreneurs
	Push and Pull Female Entrepreneurship across Countries
	Necessity and Informal Entrepreneurship Linked to Economic Development in Brazil and the United States 
	Gender Inequalities, Stereotypes and Perceived Male Entrepreneurs’ Characteristics in Brazil and the United States
	The Family Influence on Entrepreneurship in Brazil and the United States
	Religion and Business Values
	Images of Success
	RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
	Demographics and Business Characteristics
	The Women’s Success Stories
	Work/Life Balance
	Financial Independence
	Self Actualization
	Recognition by Society
	Customer Loyalty
	Help Others Help Themselves
	The Key to Business Success
	On Being a Woman in Business

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	Perceptions and Practices on Education
	Discussion
	The Relationship between the Women’s Categories and Emerging Themes
	Conclusions


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	Research Approach and Method
	Sample Selection and Size
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	Methodology of Study
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	Educational Qualifications of Select SHG Members
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	Conclusion 
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	Milan Beslac, Dejan Vukosavljević, Radmila Grozdanić
	Literature Overview
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	Brief Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
	Rational Choice Theory 
	Method of Data Collection
	Results and Critical Discussion 
	Motivation and Social Networking Among Women Traders in Informal Cross Border Trade
	Trading Activities Across ECOWAS Sub Region Borders - Known and Unknown Risks
	Challenges of Women in Informal Cross Border Trade 

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