Resource information
How are family gender relations affected by extra-household conditions in South Asia' By investigating quantitative factors (e.g. land ownership and income), along with qualitative aspects (e.g. social perceptions, interaction of gender relations in market, community, state and household), this paper shows how these multiple conditions influence the relative bargaining power of different household members. It argues that such understanding is vital for designing policy interventions. Control over land and income increases an individual's bargaining power. But women's contribution to families is undervalued, weakening their voice at home, access to food, and inheritance of property. Women's self-perception of this inequality has led to daily resistance strategies through secret selling of crops, hiding of rice, and pretending to be spiritually possessed in order to receive food otherwise denied to them. Strengthening women's position is the best way to increase their voice at home and in communities. Projects have successfully achieved this through providing women with access to credit and employment (e.g. Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee [BRAC]), in turn increasing their self-esteem, economic security and improved treatment from husbands.
