Aim

This project aims to explore the sociocultural norms and practices shaping women’s access to and use of digital technologies and engage marginalized women, family gatekeepers (such as male partners, brothers, male relatives, and elderly women), and community leaders in co-designing tailored solutions to promote digital gender inclusion. The findings from this project will make a meaningful contribution to progress towards SDG 5 on gender equality [29] and lay the foundation for digital inclusion strategies to help the Pakistani Government, Canadian agencies, and research organizations to bridge the gender digital divide.

Research questions

The following research questions are central to this community-based participatory research (CBPR) project:

1. What barriers and facilitators influence women's access to and use of digital technologies in Azam Basti?
2. How do marginalized women, family gatekeepers, and community leaders perceive and shape women's access to and use of digital technologies?
3. How can interventions be co-designed with marginalized women, family gatekeepers, and community leaders to promote digital gender inclusion for marginalized women?

Theoretical framework

This study is grounded in Judy Wajcman’s Technofeminism theoretical framework, which critically examines the intersection of gender and technology [30]. Wajcman argues that technology is not neutral; it is shaped by the social, cultural, and political contexts [31]. Building on feminist theory and Science and Technology Studies (STS), Technofeminism explores how gender and technology mutually shape each other—technology is not just a tool, but a reflection of and reinforcement to existing social structures and gender dynamics [32]. A central tenet of this framework is that both gender and technology influence one another, and that technologies are socially constructed, embedded within systems of power [33]. This perspective is particularly relevant for this study, which examines the digital gender gap among marginalized women in Pakistan, where sociocultural norms and patriarchal ideologies create significant barriers to women’s access to and use of digital technologies. These sociotechnical barriers go beyond mere access—they encompass the cultural narratives and power dynamics that shape how technology is perceived and used [31]. Furthermore, the framework’s emphasis on collaboration and inclusivity [32] aligns with the CBPR approach, which involves engaging not only marginalized women but also family gatekeepers.

Study design

We will conduct a CBPR to explore the sociocultural norms and practices that influence women’s access to and use of digital technologies, and to engage marginalized women, community leaders, and family gatekeepers in co-designing tailored solutions to promote digital gender inclusion. CBPR is a research design that actively engages participants in addressing issues of concern to their community and promotes their participation in all phases of the research process [34–37]. It is anticipated that conducting CBPR with marginalized women, community leaders, and family gatekeepers as equal collaborators will enhance agency, empowerment, and greater uptake of research findings by the community. Our prior experience with high-risk pregnant women and family caregivers in designing a telemonitoring program demonstrated that CBPR ensures the development of user-centered solutions while fostering active involvement and ownership among participants [38,39]. Aga Khan University, our grant collaborator, has established a community-based Urban Health Program to provide health-education and referrals in Azam Basti since 2022. Their ongoing work emphasizes that improving women’s access to resources and opportunities in Azam Basti requires addressing patriarchal ideologies and structural barriers (recent consultation, Jan 2024).

Research site

The project will be conducted at Azam Basti (Site Lead: MA). A significant proportion of residents belong to low-income households, with women mainly working as housewives, home-based domestic workers, beauticians, and local school teachers. The site offers a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of technology, gender, and power structures, as most women are illiterate, marginalized, less likely to be involved in decision-making, and face restrictive social norms, along with limited access to technology, education, healthcare, social services, and employment opportunities. The research will also be relevant to other groups, such as women in other LMICs and immigrant women in high-income countries who face digital gender exclusion.

Study sample and recruitment

We will purposively sample [40,41] three participant groups for focus group discussions (FGDs), in-depth interviews, and co-design work, including marginalized women, family gatekeepers (such as male partners, brothers, male relatives, and elderly women), and community leaders. These groups play a crucial role in shaping access to and use of technology among marginalized women. The final number of in-depth interviews and FGDs will depend on theoretical saturation [42]. FGDs, in-depth interviews, and co-design work will take place at the field office of Urban Health Programme which is accessible to the PA [ASF] and Co-applicant [MA] through Aga Khan University’s ongoing community health program. A community liaison from Azam Basti will be hired to recruit and retain participants to ensure connection with trusted community members in research activities. In addition, we will recruit a senior researcher (female) and two research assistants (one male, one female) with relevant fieldwork experience in CBPR to support community engagement, participant recruitment, data collection (FGDs, in-depth interviews, and co-design work), and transcription.

Phase 1 – Community advisory committee (CAC) formation

Prior to data collection and co-design work, the PA (ASF), co-applicant (MA), and a research team member (SL) will form an advisory committee consisting of two leaders from community, two marginalized women, and three family gatekeepers (two male partners and one elderly woman) from Azam Basti, nominated the by community liaison. This committee will co-lead the project alongside the research team and meet quarterly to provide input on research activities. The CAC will play a vital role in supporting FGDs, in-depth interviews, and co-design activities, such as co-developing the FGD and in-depth interview guides, selecting appropriate images for photo elicitation, planning role-play activities, brainstorming questions, and reviewing and validating analysis. Their involvement will ensure cultural relevance, accuracy, and alignment with community norms and values. There will be three sessions with CAC, and each session will last 90–120 minutes. The participants will receive a total of PKR 4500 (16 USD) for the compensation of their time.

Phase 2 – Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews

This phase will involve FGDs and in-depth individual interviews with marginalized women, family gatekeepers, and community leaders to explore the barriers and facilitators influencing women's access to and meaningful use of digital technologies. The total sample across all participant groups will comprise approximately 36–45 participants (Table 1).

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Table 1. Data collection methods, participants, and sample size.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356104.t001

For the FGDs, two semi-structured discussion guides have been developed collaboratively by the research team and the CAC: a photo-elicitation guide for marginalized women and a role-play guide for family gatekeepers and community leaders. Two FGDs will be conducted with each participant group, with 4–5 participants per group (Table 1). Each discussion will last approximately 60–90 minutes and will be conducted in Urdu at the Urban Health Programme community health centre. Participants will be provided with complimentary refreshments. Recruitment will be coordinated by the community liaison and research team, and participatory facilitation techniques appropriate to each participant group will be used to encourage discussion. The community liaison and research staff will coordinate participant recruitment and use participatory facilitation techniques appropriate for each participant group.

FGDs with marginalized women will use photo-elicitation [43] to explore their lived experiences with technology access and sociocultural barriers. The guide comprises of 5–6 culturally accepted curated photos by the research team. These photos visually depict various aspects of technology access and sociocultural norms, such as digital devices (e.g., basic phones, smartphones), mobility restrictions (e.g., women unable to visit technology shops), and cultural expectations (e.g., women engaged in household chores or caregiving activities). These photos will serve as anchors for discussions, evoking emotions and eliciting deeper insights into how these factors shape women's access to and use of technology in their daily lives. For each image the facilitator follows a fixed three-step “ladder” of questioning that moves from the concrete to the personal to the analytic: participants are first asked to describe what they see; then to relate the image to their own lives; and finally, to interpret the underlying norms, decisions, or power relations it evokes. This sequence is adapted from the SHOWeD questioning protocol developed for photo voice [44]. The complete image set with its accompanying prompts is provided in S1 Appendix. All images are generated through Open AI ChatGPT image generation tool keeping in view of local cultural context. The images are non-identifiable, depicting no real community members, homes, or events and were reviewed by the CAC to use for data collection.

FGDs with community leaders and family gatekeepers—including leaders from local and development organizations, male partners, brothers, other male relatives, and older women— will use the same role-play guide [45] as a participatory method to explore gendered power dynamics, family values, and concerns about safety that shape decisions about women’s digital inclusion. In role-playing exercises, participants will act out different scenarios where decisions are made about women’s access to and use of technology. These role-playing activities will help uncover current practices, norms, and power structures within the community that influence community leaders’ and gatekeepers’ attitudes toward women’s digital participation. The development of these role-playing activities have been guided and supported by the CAC to ensure cultural relevance and accuracy. The guide includes three core scenarios reflecting common household and community situations related to women’s access to and use of digital technologies: (1) family decision-making regarding a woman’s access to a mobile phone, (2) community discussions about establishing a women-only digital skills programme, and (3) a household emergency in which a woman requires access to a mobile phone to seek assistance. Additional scenarios may be used flexibly depending on the participant group and discussion flow. Each scenario includes a brief, non-identifying case description, role cards, facilitation guidance, debriefing questions, and scenario-specific ethical considerations. Participants will enact each scenario for approximately 20 minutes, followed by a structured debrief to connect the role-play to real-life experiences and facilitate critical reflection on social norms, gender dynamics, and decision-making processes influencing women’s digital inclusion. The facilitator will observe the enactment and provide minimal prompts only when needed to support discussion. The complete role-play guide and debriefing scripts are provided in S2 Appendix.

In addition to the FGDs, 4–5 individual in-depth interviews will be conducted with participants from each of the three groups to explore sensitive and personal dimensions of digital exclusion in greater depth and within a private setting. In-depth interview participants will be purposively sampled through the community liaison using the same recruitment procedures as the FGDs. Each interview will last approximately 40–60 minutes and will be conducted in Urdu (or Sindhi, where required) at the Health Centre. Participants will receive refreshments in appreciation of their time. The interviews will follow semi-structured guides developed separately for marginalized women (S3 Appendix) and for family gatekeepers and community leaders (S4 Appendix).

Analysis

The FGDs and in-depth interviews will be transcribed in their original language (Urdu) and then translated into English by bilingual researchers. The transcripts and visual data from photo-elicitation and role-playing will be co-analysed with the advisory committee, a method successfully used in our previous CBPR studies by the team [46–49]. The use of technofeminism framework [31,32] will allow us to explore how patriarchal structures and gendered social norms shape digital inclusion of marginalized women in Azam Basti. Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis [50–52] approach will be employed, with two researchers independently coding the data after familiarizing themselves with the transcripts and visual materials. Codes will be organized and analysed using NVivo software [53]. Comparative analysis across participant groups will be conducted to examine similarities and differences in perceptions, power dynamics, and influences shaping women’s technology use. Throughout the process, the research team will engage in ongoing reflection to ensure the themes accurately reflect the data. The advisory committee will review and validate the themes to ensure they align with community perspectives. The findings from Phase 2 will inform co-design activities in Phase 3 to address gendered barriers to digital inclusion. The research team will maintain reflexive memos and audit trails to ensure transparency and rigor in the analysis process [54,55].

Phase 3 – Co-design workshops

Phase 3 will involve co-design workshops with participants identified in Phase 2 to co-create strategies to positively influence the norms around technology access and usage. Additional participants will be recruited as needed through the same recruitment method. “Co-design is about engaging consumers and users of products and services in the design process…[to] ultimately lead to improvements and innovation” [56]. All participant groups including marginalized women, family gatekeepers, and community leaders will participate in 3 co-design workshops, depending on the complexity of the solutions and the level of engagement from participants [57]. Each workshop will consist of 8–10 participants, with a total of 25–30 participants across all groups. Each workshop will last approximately 90–120 minutes and will be conducted in Urdu at the field office of Urban Health Program of Aga Khan University, Karachi. Participants will be provided complimentary food and refreshment for their time.

Before conducting the co-design workshops, facilitators will establish clear ground rules to support respectful and equitable participation. To ensure that marginalized women are meaningfully included and able to contribute on an equal footing with family gatekeepers and community leaders, facilitators will set participation norms that explicitly encourage women to speak, protect their space to contribute, and have balanced engagement across all participants.

Co-design workshops with marginalized women, family gatekeepers, and community leaders will begin by revisiting the Phase 2 findings and identifying sociocultural barriers that limit women’s digital access. Participants will then engage in a brainstorming session [58] to co-develop 2–3 strategies aimed at enabling women’s access to mobile technology. For instance, the group may explore the possibility of developing new community norms that support women’s digital access. Followed by a traditional-style dialogue session inspired by the World Café method [59,60] to further develop and refine these strategies. Discussions prompted by questions such as: What benefits could mobile technology offer to women in our community? How might a male family member, like a brother or partner, support a woman in using mobile technology? What shifts in our perceptions of technology and women are necessary for mobile technology to be more widely accepted in our homes. These exercises will provide participants with an opportunity to experiment with more inclusive family dynamics in a low-risk environment.

A semi-structured co-design guide (S5 Appendix) will be developed by the research team in collaboration with the CAC to guide the brainstorming and World Café activities. The guide will include prompts to facilitate reflection on Phase 2 findings, generate strategies to address identified barriers, and support dialogue to refine and contextualize proposed solutions. Facilitator instructions and discussion prompts will be included to ensure meaningful participation and capture diverse perspectives throughout the co-design process. A key aspect of these workshops will be allowing participants to reflect on their feelings regarding the co-designed solutions and the potential challenges or benefits they foresee. The goal of these workshops is to co-create solutions that not only enable marginalized women’s digital inclusion but also reshape the underlying power dynamics that have historically restricted it.

Analysis

The findings from each workshop will be transcribed in their original language (Urdu/) and then translated into English for reflexive thematic analysis [50–52]. In the first round, two researchers will independently code the workshop data to identify patterns in the co-designed solutions. Later, the team and CAC will review the data and refine these solutions to develop digital inclusion strategies to support the Pakistani government, Canadian agencies, and research organizations in bridging gender digital divide for marginalized women in Azam Basti and Pakistan.

Study timeline

At the time of manuscript submission, the study has not yet commenced, and no participant recruitment or data collection has taken place. The two-year project is scheduled to begin in February 2026. During the first six months (February–July 2026), project preparation activities will include establishment of the CAC, community engagement, development and pilot testing of study materials, ethics approvals, and recruitment and training of research staff. Participant recruitment is expected to begin in August 2026 and be completed by November 2026. Data collection, including FGDs and co-design workshops, is expected to be completed by April 2027. The remaining project period (May 2027–January 2028) will focus on data analysis, manuscript preparation, policy brief development, knowledge mobilization, community dissemination activities, and development of culturally appropriate resources. Study results are expected to be available beginning in late 2027, following completion of the planned analyses. The CAC will meet throughout the project to provide ongoing guidance and ensure community relevance and engagement.

Ethical considerations

Ethical approval for this project has been obtained from the Western University Non-Medical Research Ethics Board (NMREB) (Protocol # 127689), Aga Khan University (Protocol # 2026-12467-40149), and the National Bioethics Committee in Pakistan (Protocol #4–87/NBCR-1413/25–26/1938).

Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants, including CAC members, marginalized women, family gatekeepers, and community leaders, prior to participation in any study activities. Consent procedures will be conducted in Urdu, with study information provided in plain language to ensure comprehension. Participants will be informed about the study purpose, procedures, expected duration, number of sessions, voluntary nature of participation, their right to decline any question, take breaks, or withdraw at any time without consequence. Information regarding compensation, potential risks and benefits, confidentiality protections and their limitations in group settings, data storage and retention procedures, and investigator contact details will also be provided. Consent will be documented through a signed written consent form. For participants who are unable to read or write, the consent information will be read aloud verbatim in Urdu, and consent will be documented using a thumbprint, witnessed by an impartial individual independent of the research team. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and sufficient time to consider participation before providing consent.

Limitations

This study has several limitations that should be considered when interpreting its findings. First, as the research will be conducted within a single marginalized community in Azam Basti, Karachi, the findings may not be directly generalizable to all women and communities across Pakistan or other LMIC contexts. However, the participatory approach and in-depth exploration of community experiences will provide valuable contextual insights that may inform similar settings. Second, discussions of gender norms, technology use, and household decision-making may be influenced by social desirability bias, as participants may underreport or modify their perspectives due to cultural sensitivities surrounding gender roles and technology access. Efforts to mitigate this limitation will include creating safe discussion environments, engaging diverse participants, and using community-informed approaches. Third, while involving family gatekeepers and community leaders represents an important step toward addressing structural barriers, changing deeply embedded sociocultural norms requires sustained engagement beyond the duration of the project. Future research should examine the long-term effectiveness and scalability of co-designed interventions developed through this study.