 Dear students, in this module we are going to talk about structural functionalism. Structural functionalism is basically one of the major theoretical perspectives in the field of sociology that helps us to understand the social phenomenon, the human behavior from a particular standpoint. By that particular standpoint, we mean to say that there is a particular lens, a particular glasses through which we see the word around us. So it's a theoretical approach that views the society as a complex system made up of interdependent parts that work together and they maintain the social equilibrium. The basic assumption of structural functionalism is that the society is made up of interdependent parts. By interdependent parts, it means that every institution, every group or every individual plays a supportive role for others. Any individual, any social institution or group cannot have their own independent existence. Things in society or groups or individuals depend on each other. This dependency is through different devine of labors, work specializations and we see that for example, if we look at the individual's level, we see that if a person is training himself or a particular student, we see that if he is taking an education from a sociologist, then he has to depend on a lot of people to survive in the society. If he is in an education system, then he has to depend on his teachers, his colleagues, his fellows, when he goes to the society, he has to depend on his family. There are many other people whose specializations are useful for them. They need drivers, they need a cobbler, they need a cloth-cutter. So, all these people create an interdependent society together. On the nutshell, when we look at it, structural functionalists say that it goes to the state of equilibrium. If a group or a society does not function properly, then its effect is on the rest of the aspects. They try to explain it biologically as well. For example, biological organisms, if we look at the body of a person, then they are working in different ways. Their hearts, their lungs, and the rest of the aspects are interdependent on each other. If any of the vital organs stops working, then it affects the rest of the aspects. Structural functionalism tries to explain this analogy in the society. In the society, all the aspects, people, groups, societies, and institutions depend on each other. And they perpetually, continuously try to balance equilibrium or balance in the society. So, this approach emphasizes the importance of social structure and institutions in maintaining the social order and stability. So, in Pakistani society, if we take the example of structural functionalism, this could be applied to studying the role of traditional gender roles in maintaining social order and stability. If we talk about traditional gender roles, then Pakistani society is a predominantly patriarchal society. In patriarchal society, gender roles have segregation. The system of gender segregation can function adequately only when different gender roles perform their roles in their own roles. So, from the point of view of structural functionalism, the traditional gender roles, they exist in the society because they are functional in nature for that society.