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"Mother in the making": Motherhood performativity of childless women in rural Pakistan

Rubeena Slamat1,2, Piet Bracke1, Melissa Ceuterick1

  • 1Department of Sociology, Faculty of Political & Social Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Plos One
|February 6, 2026
PubMed

Motherhood is socially obligatory in rural Punjabi, Pakistan, leaving no room for voluntary childlessness. Women facing conception challenges strive to attain motherhood, combating the stigma of being labelled childless. Using Butler's performativity theory, this study delves into the experiences of childless women striving to become mothers in the pronatalist society of Pakistan. In-depth interviews with childless women and focus group discussions with community members were conducted. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis. Results revealed that women must demonstrate mothering qualities alongside seeking treatment to validate their desire for motherhood. The study concludes that societal discourses shape childless women's lives, influencing their conscious and unconscious adherence to gendered social norms of motherhood.

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