Pakistan

Guide for dating in Pakistan helps you to meet the best girls. This dating guide gives you tips how to date Pakistani women. You will learn rules where and how to flirt with local Pakistani girls. We advise how to move from casual dating to the relationship and find the real love. We also tell the best dating sites in Pakistan. In this article below you will find more information where to meet and date girls in Pakistan, Asia.

You will find plenty of hot and single girls in Pakistan

Girls in Pakistan:

Looks of girls: 3.5 / 5

Attitude of girls: 4 / 5

Loyalty of girls: 4 / 5

Education level of girls: 3 / 5

Dating in Pakistan:

Chance of arranging dates: 2 / 5

Casual dating culture: 2 / 5

Online dating popularity: 3.5 / 5

Sex in Pakistan:

Women's sexual activity: 2 / 5

One-night stands: 2 / 5

More about Pakistan:

Nightlife in general: 3 / 5

Locals' English level: 4 / 5

Budget per day: US$100 - $400

Accommodation: US$30 - $250

Dating

Pakistan is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country with a population of more than 212 million. It is the 33rd-largest country by area, spanning 881,913 square kilometers. Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the northwest and also shares a maritime border with Oman.

Casual dating for women is often frowned upon in Pakistan's male-dominated society. However, dating apps such as Tinder are challenging norms and allowing women to take more control over their sexuality. Although casual dating for women is still frowned upon in socially conservative and heavily patriarchal Pakistan, attitudes are rapidly changing in the country's cities.

Dating Culture

Pakistani youth are intrigued by dating culture, the adverse effects of which cannot be negated at any level or stage. They have been mimicking the western style of living without knowing how much they have become immoral in impersonating the life style-not allowed at all in their religion. If you want to go on a long romantic walk with your significant other just to chat, think twice! As it seems to be that walking together in a park automatically means that you are desperately searching for secluded places to do inappropriate stuff.

Sugar Dating

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Online Dating

Dating in Pakistan can be a bit tricky due to not knowing if you have a solid connection, so your best bet is to sign up for a dating site before you venture to the night club or bar, so you can meet a few locals ahead of time. AdultFriendFinder.com lets you meet local members in Pakistan and get to know them on a personal basis before you meet in person. Take advantage of site features like live chat and member to member webcams so you can begin flirting before arranging a face-to-face meeting.

Webcam Dating

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Women

Women in Pakistan make up 48.76% of the population according to the latest statistics. Women in Pakistan have played an important role throughout Pakistan's history and they are allowed to vote in elections since 1956. In Pakistan, women have held high offices including that of the Prime Minister, Speaker of the National Assembly, Leader of the Opposition, as well as federal ministers, judges, and serving commissioned posts in the armed forces.

The status of women in Pakistan differs considerably across classes, regions and the rural/urban divide due to the uneven socioeconomic development and the impact of tribal and feudal social formations on the lives of women in Pakistan. Gender Concerns International reports that the overall state of women's rights in Pakistan has improved with an increasing number of women who are educated and literate. However, women in Pakistan face discrimination as a result of the patriarchal society of Pakistan. Some of the problems faced by women in Pakistan are domestic violence, honor killing, rape and abduction, marital rape, forced marriages, and induced abortions.

Pakistan is a patriarchal society where men are the primary authority figures and women are subordinate. Gender is one of the organizing principles of Pakistani society. Patriarchal values embedded in local traditions, religion and culture predetermine the social value of gender. Islam heavily influences gender roles in particular. An artificial divide between production and reproduction, made by the ideology of sexual division of labor, has placed women in reproductive roles as mothers and wives in the private arena of home and men in a productive role as breadwinners in the public arena.

The average age of women for marriage increased from 16.9 years in 1951 to 22.5 years in 2005. A majority of women are married to their close relatives, i.e., first and second cousins. Only 37% of married women are not related to their spouses before marriage. Many girls are still married off into child marriage, and many complications with this can occur as childbirth from a child can cause complications with the baby and mother.

Pakistani Girls (age 18 - 29)

The Pakistani culture consists of patriarchal authority and dated traditions that greatly affect the women of the country. The struggle of gender inequality has made it extremely difficult for women to obtain an education in Pakistan. In terms of educational standards, Pakistan is one of the lowest-performing countries in South Asia. In 2017, it was ranked "the second-worst country in the world in regards to gender equality." Although girls are legally allowed to receive an education, there are many obstacles standing in their way.

Early marriage interrupts young girls’ education. This common Pakistani custom places intense societal pressures that restrict girls from continuing their education once married. In fact, 21 percent of girls are married by their eighteenth birthday, and three percent are married by the age of 15. For every year a girl continues her secondary education, she reduces her chances of becoming a child bride by 3.4 percent. Currently, the government is working to raise the legal marriage age to 18 to protect these girls.

In rural areas, the problem of low literacy rates is exacerbated. In 2015, the literacy rate for girls in rural areas was still as low as 38 percent; although, the numbers have been slowly increasing. That same year, 69 percent of girls were literate. Many rural areas do not have access to usable facilities, an adequate number of teachers or basic supplies such as chalkboards and books.

Pakistani Women (age 30 - 45)

Presently only 10 percent of women have post-secondary education whereas their chances of working for pay increase three-fold with post-secondary education compared to women with primary education. More educated women are also more likely to get better quality jobs. Women are 10 times more involved in household chores, child and elderly care than men in Pakistan. This leads to women being more time-poor and having less time to spend in gaining skills and getting jobs.

Women with requisite educational qualifications also find that prospective employers don't have the ability or will to address the needs of their women employees. This partly explains the phenomenon of highly educated women – for instance, doctors – opting out of the careers they are qualified for.

Pakistani Ladies (age 45+)

Social norms also do not support women's involvement in economic activity outside their homes and this forces them to either fall back in the informal sector (women are heavily concentrated in it) and rely upon unskilled or low skilled jobs (mostly home-based) or to simply not participate in the wider economy. Adoption and effective implementation of home-based and domestic workers' laws can address informal economy issues of extremely low wages and lack of access to social security.

The burden of unpaid care work with high fertility rate is in many ways at the root of all of these problems because more children result in more unpaid care work and it also means that women will be in poorer health conditions especially in lower and middle-income levels rendering them unable to acquire the skills needed for gainful employment opportunities.

Foreign Girls (tourists, expats, students, etc.)

Although the country has many attractions, in the past, it received a relatively low number of tourists due to both internal and external conflicts. As security in the country improves, tourism in Pakistan increases. In just a couple of years, tourism in Pakistan has increased by more than 300%! Pakistan also launched online visa services for 175 countries and 50 countries are offered visas on arrival, which made a tourism trip to Pakistan easier. Pakistan also received an influx of travel vloggers who showed the beauty of the country, especially the northern areas like Hunza and Skardu.

Sex

Sex in Pakistan is considered a taboo topic. Men generally aren't judged for it in our patriarchal society but if a woman from a middle-class family or underprivileged background is caught having premarital sex, she gets into trouble.

Sex Culture

The country has no national statistics on youth’s social and psychological well-being. No representative survey has ever assessed their mental health. It fits the pattern that they are denied essential information on reproductive health and sexuality. Young people in many developing countries are not systematically taught about reproductive health and the psychology of intimacy. It is harmful to keep all things sexual shrouded in secrecy – as is evident in Pakistan.

One-Night Stands

Due to the strict Islamic culture that influences most aspects of life in Pakistan; one-night stands are predictably rare in Pakistan. Casual dating for women is often frowned upon in Pakistan's male-dominated society. However, dating apps such as Tinder are challenging norms and allowing women to take more control over their sexuality.

Best Places to Meet Single Girls

Pakistan's number one attraction is a bubble of serenity in a troubled land. Stretching north from the Northwest Frontier to Kashgar in China, the Karakoram is one of the world's most epic highways, an astonishing feat of engineering forced against the odds through the tortured bedrock of the Karakoram mountains. Above Gilgit, the primary safety concern is not rebels but the risk of veering off the road while entranced by the natural beauty of the Hunza Valley or the snow-capped summit of Nanga Parbat.

Bars, Pubs and Nightclubs

For the Muslims in Pakistan, alcohol is prohibited; even talking about it is not encouraged. The nightlife of Pakistani families is mostly surrounded by late-night dining, walking, shopping or driving. But the truth is that many nightclubs, bars, operate in Pakistan, having both foreign and local customers. They do not openly operate, most of them are hidden, underground and operate at night in darkness. Nightlife in Pakistan focuses on walks in the park, shopping, and dining out.

Fortress Stadium is an entertainment center where you can shop for a new outfit, grab a bite to eat and watch a movie at the attached cinema. MM Alam Road is lined with restaurants, boutique shops, and cafes. Lakshmi Chowk is another popular street in the heart of the city and is considered the birthplace of street food in Lahore. For the younger crowd, Hot Spot is a well-known ice cream parlor where teenagers like to hangout.

After sunset, you can head to the garmet market. This area, which hours earlier, was filled with vendors selling hand-sewn dresses, is the prime spot to find street food. If you’re not familiar with Pakistani cuisine, be warned that some of the food can be rather spicy. However, don’t let that discourage you. The food is delicious and tasting the different dishes is a fun way to meet the locals.

The nightlife in Lahore isn’t what you’d find in other cities, but it’s not as bad as some may make it seem. No, you won’t be able to order an alcoholic beverage, but you can listen to music. At Cafe Zhouk, and places like it, you may even hear western artists like the Beatles and Jennifer Lopez.

Shopping Malls

Some of the malls in Pakistan include:

Emporium Mall, Lahore

Dolmen Mall, Karachi

Mall of Lahore, Lahore

Millenium Mall, Karachi

The Centaurus Mall, Islamabad

Amanah Mall, Lahore

Fortress Square Mall, Lahore

LuckyOne Mall, Karachi

Safa Gold Mall, Islamabad

Boulevard Mall, Hyderabad

Outdoors

On the fringes of Peshawar as you head towards the Khyber Pass is the Smugglers' Bazaar (Karkhanai Bazaar). It thrives openly on the sale of goods imported through Pakistan for Afghanistan, then smuggled back through the Tribal Areas to avoid paying duty. Everything is available here from cut-price electronics to clothes and stationery. It's an enormous trade that costs Pakistan millions of dollars annually in lost revenue - enough money to generate the bribes that allow the market to flourish. Foreigners are banned from entering the far end of the bazaar where guns and drugs are openly on sale - a barrier prevents accidental entry.

The Uprising Memorial in Gilgit is a memorial to those who rose against the Maharaja in 1947. It includes the graves of the local heroes, Mohammed Babar Khan and Safiullah Beg of the Gilgit Scouts, and Mirza Hassan Khan of the Kashmir Infantry. At Partition, many had anticipated Maharaja Hari Singh's eventual accession to India. A clique of Muslim officers in the Maharaja's army, led by Colonel Mirza Hassan Khan, had been conspiring to seize Kashmir for Pakistan, but word had got out and Hassan was transferred to Kashmir's 'Siberia', the Bunji garrison south of Gilgit.

Built, damaged, demolished, rebuilt and restored several times before being given its current form by Emperor Akbar in 1566 when he made Lahore his capital, the Lahore Fort is the star attraction of the Old City. Note that the museums here may close an hour or so before sunset. The fort was modified by Jehangir in 1618 and later damaged by the Sikhs and the British, although it has now been partially restored.

This Buddhist Monastery sat on a commanding rocky hill 15km northwest of Mardan is by far NWFP's stand-out Gandharan site, and compares more than favorably with Taxila near Islamabad. It thrived between the 1st and 7th centuries AD before being abandoned, finally giving up its secrets to British archaeologists from 1907-13, who also reconstructed parts of the site. You enter through a courtyard that at one time held at least 35 stupas and 30 little chapels with Buddha statues. A few statues have been left in situ, the rest are in the Peshawar Museum.

About 500m inside Bhatti Gate in Lahore on the right-hand side, a small mansion houses the Faqir Khana Museum. It houses the treasures of the Faqir family, who have lived in Lahore since the 18th century. It is said to be the largest private collection in South Asia, with over 13,000 pieces of art. The head of the Lahore branch of the family was a fakir (Muslim ascetic) from Bukhara whose three sons achieved prominence in the court of Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh, despite being Muslims.

The eye-popping Shah Faisal Mosque, nestled at the foot of the Margalla Hills, is one of Asia's largest and reflects an eclectic blend of ultramodern and traditional architectural design styles. Topped by sloping roofs (a stark contrast to the traditional domes found on most mosques), the main prayer hall and courtyard is said to hold around 100,000 people. Designed by a Turkish architect, Vedat Dalokay, and built between 1976 and 1986, the mosque's geometric design (modeled on a desert tent) and clean lines make the impressive scale hard to discern until you are up close.

To the northeast of town, about 4km from the main train station, this was one of three gardens named Shalimar Gardens created by Shah Jahan in the 17th century. It's also the only surviving Mughal garden of several built in Lahore. The Shalimar Gardens are now rather rundown and a far cry from their former glory, but they're still popular with locals. Many of the fountains were under renovation at the time of research and operate at particular times.

The oldest parts of Baltit Fort date from the 13th century. Over the years more houses and towers were added, and it was fortified. To cement an alliance with Baltistan's Maqpon dynasty in the 17th century, Mir Ayesho II (great-grandson of the legendary Girkis) married a daughter of the Balti ruler, who sent artisans to build a fort at nearby Altit. The princess then came to live in Hunza, bringing her artisans to improve Baltit Fort.

Harappa Site comprises a citadel mound, defensive walls, a drainage system, a cemetery and a huge granary. However, in the past, it has been plundered so much by local villagers for bricks to build their houses, and especially by the British for material for the Lahore to Multan railway line, that there is relatively little to see at the site itself. A path snakes around the compound with viewing platforms and a few signs with English descriptions. There is also a small but well-kept and interesting Harappa Museum.

Universities and Colleges

Some of the universities and colleges found in the city include:

Capital University of Science & Technology, Islamabad

University of Balochistan, Quetta

University of Peshawar, Peshawar

King Edward Medical University, Lahore

Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro

Karakoram International University, Gilgit

Baltistan University, Skardu

Newports Institute of Communications and Economics, Karachi

University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad

Relationship

Although casual dating for women is still frowned upon in socially conservative and heavily patriarchal Pakistan, attitudes are rapidly changing in the country's cities. There remains a lot of protectionism and paternalism surrounding women especially, and conservatism regarding their relationships. Some of the younger generations have a more liberal understanding of relationships and begin dating during or after they finish their tertiary studies. However, the sight of two people from the opposite gender alone in public is likely to draw varying degrees of judgment. This may range from unspoken curiosity to ambivalence depending on where you are. As privacy is a rarity in the public areas of Pakistan, most people are likely to stare.

Many Pakistani marriages are arranged, brokered by the family elders. As nuclear family households are becoming more common in the urban areas of Pakistan, many young adults are now choosing whom they marry. However, even in these circumstances, it is often necessary to receive parents’ full approval and consent of their choice of partner. Marriages are considered to be the responsibility of the parents; they pay for the event itself to a large extent.

Generally, the protection of the family and honor plays a key role in determining prospective partners. Potential wives/husbands are usually chosen from within the same socioeconomic bracket. Marriages are rarely approved between people of different socioeconomic tiers. Interethnic marriages are also not very common; however, they are sometimes approved if all other social standings of the families coincided.

Holiday Romance

Holidays come with the added benefit because they offer the chance for one to hook up with beautiful girls. Spending the holidays in Pakistan is the perfect opportunity for you to hook up with local Pakistani girls or even foreign girls who are also on holiday. However, Pakistan is a strongly Islamic country and religion plays a key role in the life of the citizens. This means that some acts such as public display of affection are discouraged.

Tips for Successful Relationship

Over time, we assume that our partner knows us so well that we don't need to ask for what we want. What happens when we make this assumption? Expectations are set, and just as quickly, they get deflated. Those unmet expectations can leave us questioning the viability of our partnership and connection. Keep in mind that "asking for what you want" extends to everything from emotional to sexual wants.

Create a weekly ritual to check in with each other. This can be short or long, but it begins by asking each other what worked and didn't work about the previous week and what can be done to improve things this coming week. Additionally, use this opportunity to get on the same page with your schedules, plan a date night, and talk about what you would like to see happen in the coming days, weeks, and months in your relationship.

Unless you have committed to an asexual partnership, sex and touch such as kissing, holding hands, and cuddling are vital components of a romantic relationship. How much sex a couple has is, of course, up to the particular pair of individuals, so you must discuss your ideas about it to manage any desire discrepancy.

Life and work distractions can become paramount in our minds, and that leaves little time or energy for our partner. Barring any emergencies or deadlines, we should be fully present when we are with our mate. We truly hear what they are saying (instead of pretending to listen), we leave our distractions behind, and we don't pick them up again until the sun comes up and we walk out the door.

When conflicts inevitably come up, remember to approach them thoughtfully and with a lot of kindness toward your partner and yourself. If you see the stress beginning to escalate during a conversation about a conflict, one or both of you can call a break so that cooler heads can prevail.

Love

Marriage is often considered to be a healthy way to expand family ties among relatives. Therefore, it is very common to marry someone within the extended family, such as a cousin. These endogamous marriages are considered to be compatible and, because the larger extended family is implicated if they fail, the couple is usually strongly supported by relatives to ensure it doesn't. Additionally, such marriages help keep family property consolidated.

How to Make Sure She Is the One

Falling in love is fun and beautiful and it is something most if not all of us look forward to. Before you settle for her as your girlfriend, you need to look at the bigger picture and ask yourself if she is someone you’d be comfortable growing old with. You may have had to choose her from many options that were before you so you also need to confirm to yourself that you will love her and no one else. As you settle down to get married to her, you need to ask yourself how you will build your future together.

The girl that you plan to marry should be your best friend. A friend is someone you always look forward to spending time with even when there is nothing to do. She will be ready to drop whatever she is doing and be by your side when you need them. She will understand your fears, joys, doubts and will be ready to listen to you even when you don’t have much to say. If your partner is someone you love spending time with then you can rest confident that she’ll be someone you want to commit to.

The girl for you will make you feel safe at all times. When you are in a relationship with someone, you always want to be comfortable knowing that she only has eyes for you Creating safety, connection, and intimacy in a relationship wires our systems to love deeper. If you’re thinking about marrying someone, it’s crucial you feel that this person is going to stick around.

Togo, like many other African countries, is deeply cultural. When you get married to someone, you not only marry them but you are her family and she is joining your family. Before the two of you get married, you need to have this knowledge in mind. Your girl should be willing to join your family as this relationship will play a very big role in your marriage. If your spouse is constantly fighting with your immediate family, this will put a strain on you as you will be called to always support her against your own family. Likewise, you should be ready to marry into her family with its strengths and flaws.

One of the biggest setbacks in a relationship is the lack of improvement. Making yourself better will always help the relationship thrive. Love depends on two people being willing to grow, change, and become better. When you’re willing and committed to becoming a better man for the person you love – it’s a big sign that you could be happy marrying. Love takes work and if you are both interested in improving then you are that much more likely to have a relationship that makes you both happy.

In addition to your families coming together, she will be interacting with your friends as you will be interacting with her friends. Before the two of you got to know each other, you lived separate lives with your circle of friends and acquaintances. While you may not know all of her friends or her all of your friends, there are those close friends of yours that she will be interested to know just as you will get to know her close friends. This support system helps in keeping each other accountable and understanding each other from a third party perspective.

Marriage

Despite their local and regional variations, marriages in Pakistan generally follow Islamic marital jurisprudence. Culturally, marriages are not only seen as a union between a husband and a wife, but also an alliance between their respective families. These traditions extend to other countries around the world where Overseas Pakistani communities exist. Under the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, the minimum legal age of marriage is 16 years for girls and 18 years for boys.

Searching for a potential groom or bride is the first step of traditional Pakistani marriages. Beyond age 20, both men and women are considered potential grooms and brides. Most marriages in Pakistan are traditional arranged marriages, semi-arranged marriages or love marriages:

Arranged marriage occurs when a member of the family, a close friend or a third person party help bring two supposedly compatible people together in matrimony. The groom and bride have usually never met before, and any interaction between them is akin to small talk with a stranger. This form of marriage is considered traditional but is losing popularity among the newer generations.

Semi-arranged marriage is a growing trend where both men and women interact with one another before marriage (a form of dating). Both the man and woman have usually had several "meet and greet" opportunities, thereby allowing both to gain a sense of familiarity. This process can occur over a few months to a few years and may or may not culminate in marriage. However, if both agree upon marriage, the potential groom will approach his family to send a proposal to the family of the potential bride.

Love marriages (also known as court marriages) are rare since the concept of "family consent" has been eliminated. Such "free-will" challenges traditional mindsets as it "dishonors" the powerful institution in Pakistani society - the family. Without family consent, marriages are usually frowned upon.

Court marriage is official wedlock in between a man and a woman whereby they become life partners solemnized in front of the Magistrate or Nikah Registrar. A court marriage is contracted when one or both parties to the marriage either could not obtain the permission of their parents or they concern they won’t be permitted to get married to one another. The Nikahnama (Marriage Contract) in this regard is registered and issued by the Nikah Registrar of the locality, and not by the court. So it should be cleared in mind that no court issues marriage certificate the Marriage Certificate or popularly known Urdu Nikahnama is registered and issued by the Nikah Registrar.

The Constitution of Pakistan provides the right of liberty to choose someone to marry. The court marriage procedure in Pakistan is very simple. The desirous couple needs to fulfill a few requirements that are:

The age of marriage according to Islam is the age of puberty. And as per Law, the age of marriage is the age of majority that is 18 years

Marriage in Pakistan is always done with the opposite sex. Lesbian or Homosexual marriage in Pakistan is a punishable offense

The wedding couple should have free consent to do Nikah.

Wedding

The Pakistani weddings are great affairs provided you are blessed with infinite patience. It should be noted at the outset that in Pakistan the groom, whether 26 or 66 years old, is always referred to as the ‘boy’, and the bride as the ‘girl’ (no questions asked). We are miles ahead of the west in our crusade against ageism.

The Pakistani wedding broadly consists of mayon, mehndi, nikaah, baraat and valima; with mehndi, baraat and valima warranting separate events on separate days. (The mayon may be preceded or followed by one or more dholki events, consisting mainly of dancing and singing.) Friends and close relatives are invited to, and expected to attend, all major events. This format is adhered to surprisingly invariably even though the only strictly necessary part is the nikaah – the official contract of marriage – with everything else merely being cultural or traditional.

In mayon, oil and turmeric are applied to the bride’s face and hands to make her look pale and bland; she is also made to wear yellow – all this designed to make her look especially attractive and glowing on the day of the mehndi (in some cases this transformation is reserved for the baraat). It used to be solely a girl’s event but it is gender-neutral now. The guests are served chicken.

Like mayon, the mehndi takes place in the homes of the boy and the girl separately. The goal here is the opposite: to make the bride look especially stunning. This is achieved by henna and bright clothes. On his part, the boy shaves or trims his facial hair. There's a lot of music and dancing. In the end, everybody eats chicken. In recent times, mehndi functions see young men wearing dopattas, garments conspicuous for their absence when it comes to most young women.

On baraat, the bride’s family is the host, and the groom’s friends and family arrive in a procession (baraat in Urdu). The main events of the baraat are nikaah (if it has not already taken place), some games by way of entertainment, exchange of gift-money (the salaami), the participants getting photographed, followed by everybody eating chicken. Finally, the groom takes his bride home, along with the procession.

On the valima the participants give salaami, get their pictures taken, and – last but not the least – eat chicken. Like the baraat, there's much hugging all around. This event is hosted by the groom's family. After the event, the girl goes back to her parents', which means that the boy again needs to visit that house and escort her back.

Family Life

The family forms the foundation of society in Pakistan and encompasses a wide breadth of relationships. One's extended relatives have great significance daily and a vast majority of Pakistanis live in multigenerational households whereby three; four or sometimes five generations reside together (including grandparents, uncles, siblings and cousins). Due to the low socioeconomic condition of most of Pakistan's population, family ties are essential for people to survive economically.

The concept of ‘wasta’ – relationship forming – becomes central to this family dynamic. People generally rely on their relatives more than anyone else for financial, social and employment opportunities (see ‘Interdependence and Wasta’ in the Core Concepts). Furthermore, considering how big the average household is, most of the income is spent on the upkeep of the family home. Generally, only the privileged elite classes or families who have migrated to cities have adopted the nuclear family setup. Even then, most people’s relatives live close to each other and rely on one another for financial support.

Men are generally the main source of income in households throughout Pakistan. According to Islamic custom, in the case that both a husband and wife are employed, the woman's income is considered to be rightfully her own and does not necessarily have to be spent on the upkeep of the home. In traditional homes, it is believed to be a man's sole responsibility to provide for his wife, children and any extended family that reside with them or live elsewhere. This will depend on the economic status of the family, but generally across Pakistan, men are expected to earn for the family while women look after the home and general well-being of the family.

Some families still practice the seclusion of women (purdah) by which females can only leave the domestic realm when veiled and accompanied by a man. This custom varies significantly between ethnicities and social backgrounds. For example, Balochis in the highlands generally observe purdah while urban middle-class Pakistanis appear to have stopped doing so.

Regions

Map of Pakistan

Azad Kashmir
Pakistan-administered portion of the disputed Kashmir region is sometimes referred to as "Heaven on Earth" because of its scenic beauty.

Balochistan
The largest and most remote province, its lack of infrastructure can make for rough travelling. Most foreign visitors here are just passing through from Iran, stopping briefly in Quetta.

Federally Administered Tribal Areas (formerly Northwest Frontier Province)
This area is mostly off-limits to foreigners and does not have a Provincial Government; instead affairs are federally administered through the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Home to the legendary Khyber Pass, and the gun making city of Darra Adam Khel.

Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly known as the Northern Areas)
Home to some of the world's tallest mountains, it's brimming with dramatically fantastic landscapes and can easily compete with Nepal for trekking opportunities.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province)
Home of the rugged Pashtuns, for some it's forbidding and mysterious... yet below the surface are some of the most hospitable people in the country.

Punjab
The most populous and agriculturally fertile region in the country, and home to many historical shrines and mosques.

Sindh
Most visitors head for Karachi or the ancient ruins of Moenjodaro.

Cities

Islamabad - The Federal capital, a relatively new planned city with a much more "laid back" feel than the rest of the country's cities

Karachi - The financial capital and the largest city of the country, it's an industrial port city and the provincial capital of Sindh

Lahore - City of the Mughals, it's a bustling and very historical city that shouldn't be missed. Located in the Punjab

Faisalabad - A major city in Punjab, famous for its textile industry

Multan - The city of Saints, famous for blue pottery, ornamental glasswork, and Khussa - a type of shoes

Quetta - A large, beautiful and slightly unruly city in the southern state of Balochistan, you'll pass through here en route to or from Iran

Muzaffarabad - Capital of Azad Kashmir and a very picturesque city

Peshawar - Capital city of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it has a bit of an outlaw edge to it, and is the gateway to the Khyber Pass

Sialkot - The city of sports goods, famous for its exports industry, and one of the oldest cities in the region

Hyderabad (Pakistan)