The Role of Women Entrepreneurship in Women Empowerment: Evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The entrepreneurship of women, however, is becoming a major instrument for empowering women, especially in developing and patriarchal societies. It is an excellent, in-depth qualitative study of the role of women's entrepreneurship in empowering women who migrated to Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. The contribution of the entrepreneur's involvement to the economic independence of women, social mobility, self-confidence, and engagement in society is also examined through research based on semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs and thematic analysis. The results indicate that women's entrepreneurship is significant in empowering women by giving them greater control over income, the power to make their own decisions, and the ability to act on their agency, and they are also free to subvert restrictive gender norms. Nonetheless, unremitting socio-cultural, structural, and security-related inhibitions and impediments have persisted, restricting the entrepreneurial disposition of females. The work contributes to the growing body of literature on women's entrepreneurship and empowerment in South Asia, particularly in tribal areas, and has certain policy implications for policymakers and development practitioners.