Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to examine epistemological perception of women and reasons for
women to choose between professional career development and confining to a housewife. Role
of women in the process of human capital development is heavily discussed and researched and
it is considered to be influential for economic growth. How socially constructed marriage has
been institutionalized and interfaced with education and career development is explained and
examined.
Traditional responsibilities of a woman as a housewife are confronting with choices of women to
continue with career development.
Interpretive research design is used as it could produce in-depth explanations. Therefore,
qualitative interviews based on a semi-structured questionnaire are conducted with 10 female
postgraduate students of Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) representing China, India,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Pakistan. In addition to individual interviews, a focused
group discussion is held with five different graduate students.
Study finds that most participants prefer to choose marriage life over career and continuation of
education though they are perceived as important aspects of life. However, a duality in women
on marriage life and career development is seen. Biological, psychological and cultural reasons
including tradition, fear of being ejected from society, religious beliefs, influence of family
members, epistemolo
