Feminist-environment nexus: a case study on women’s perceptions toward the China-Pakistan economic corridor and their role in improving the environment

Rising environmental concerns have attracted worldwide attention. Women are regarded as more responsive to environmental concerns, but male dominancy in households remains. Recently, China initiated the CPEC project which is part of BRI. It is perceived that such infrastructure projects also benefit women and enable them to better execute their multiple roles by raising their status and involvement in household decisions. So, based on this argument, the current study explores the perception of women towards CPEC and their role in improving their self-confidence and decision power in AJK, Pakistan. The study used the PLS equation model for estimation. Findings show that women perceive that developmental activities induced by CPEC will significantly boost their status and enable them to make green decisions in domestic settings for healthy and clean surroundings. This paper suggests that infrastructure projects in developing countries are a laudable attempt to move towards gender equality and a favorable environment.