The sex ratio imbalance in India is a cause of concern and has thus, been studied in details in the past few decades. A number of reasons like division of labour, agrarian social structures, land owning authority, patriarchy and its... more
The sex ratio imbalance in India is a cause of concern and has thus, been studied in details in the past few decades. A number of reasons like division of labour, agrarian social structures, land owning authority, patriarchy and its manifestations like dowry, domestic violence etc. have been attributed to the irregular decline in the child sex ratio. The paper focuses on one major cause of the skewed sex ratio in agrarian economies: landholdings. It also tries to highlight the rural perspective in the lack of acceptance of a girl child. The historical and cultural factors have been explained briefly. The paper intends to explain the dynamics between landholding and patriarchy through the paper “Explaining the skewed Child Sex Ratio in Rural India- Revisiting the Landholding-Patriarchy Hypothesis”
The paper aims to study the child sex ratio in India based on decennial census report and analyze the present trend of it. Child sex ratio, which is defined as the number of girl child per 1000 male child in 0-6 age group, is one of the... more
The paper aims to study the child sex ratio in India based on decennial census report and analyze the present trend of it. Child sex ratio, which is defined as the number of girl child per 1000 male child in 0-6 age group, is one of the significant social and demographic parameter to judge the condition of daughters in the society The child sex ratio in India has constantly been declining in spite of various social, educational, economic and political developments in the society from 976 in 1961 to 918 in 2011, which is one of the grave concern and demographic threats for the country. There is an insignificant shift in the society from " son preference " to " daughter discrimination " where sons are desired because of kinship, inheritance, status and economic security while girls are considered as only financial burden. Declining child sex ratio is a result of patriarchal society, religious belief, traditions and customs aided with modern medical technology.
The article focuses on the geographical dimension of child sex ratio (CSR) and its evolving pattern for the last 40 years (1981–2011). Using a spatial statistical approach, it has been possible to identify homogeneous groups of objects in... more
The article focuses on the geographical dimension of child sex ratio (CSR) and its evolving pattern for the last 40 years (1981–2011). Using a spatial statistical approach, it has been possible to identify homogeneous groups of objects in the study area. The study considered the role of spatial proximity of cultural diffusion which spreads rapidly regardless of the position of groups within a social structure. In doing so, the article tried to conceptualise the role of region in shaping its gender. The study explained declining CSR through the process of two mechanisms: one, the regional pull, that is, a region exerts a force so as to cause a movement towards itself and the other, diffusion of knowledge and ideational changes. Finally, the study has tried to measure the effect of socioeconomic variables on CSR through a regression model.
This study aims to examine the intra-regional differences in perceptions or opinions of respondents regarding factors associated withson preference in two selected regions, Bundelkhand and Centarl region in Uttar Pradesh, which are... more
This study aims to examine the intra-regional differences in perceptions or opinions of respondents regarding factors associated withson preference in two selected regions, Bundelkhand and Centarl region in Uttar Pradesh, which are economically and geographically different but are very similar when it comes to the patriarchal mindset about meta son preferences. The anaylsis and observations emerged in this paper are based on the primary survey which had been conducted with the help of structured household schedule for the sample selected. We also used case study and focus discussion method to get more insight into our objectives.To corroborate our findings obtained from the primary data, we have applied the logistic regression technique to determine the factors responsible for Son Preference and have taken first child preference to be a son as the dependent variable. The explanatory variables considered to influence son preference in the model are area, family type, mother's education andland ownership. Our main findings reveal that in our intra-regional comparative analysis, area of residence, land ownership and mother's education to some extent are the variables which are defining son preference in Bundelkhand region whereas, mothers education is a very strong variable to decide child preference in central region, while other determinants doesnot hold good in this case. Family type has come out to be no-effective variable to influence preference of the first child in both the regions. This indicates two important policy implications that education and economic development are important tools to bring a positive change.
The spatial spread of the female child deficit in India has been explored in terms of hot spots (with high deficits) and cold spots (with more female favourable child sex ratios). It has been argued using Census of India data from... more
The spatial spread of the female child deficit in India has been explored in terms of hot spots (with high deficits) and cold spots (with more female favourable child sex ratios). It has been argued using Census of India data from individual censuses that there is a contagion effect for both hot spots and cold spots. To understand such effect it is important to visualize the data spatially. This paper takes this discussion forward by asking whether such effect can be seen across censuses. To do so it develops the concept of an epicentre to see whether a hot or cold spot in one census is spreading shock waves across a wider region in later censuses. The longitudinal analysis of child sex ratios over three censuses – 1991, 2001 and 2011 – shows that the hot spots are epicentres of the spread of female child deficits while the cold spots display a reverse effect. This work has used ArcGIS for Geospatial analysis Census of India data.
This qualitative study explores how urban middle-class north Indian women from the states of Haryana and Delhi practise their reproductive agency within collective and patriarchal settings. Snowballing was used to recruit participants; 45... more
This qualitative study explores how urban middle-class north Indian women from the states of Haryana and Delhi practise their reproductive agency within collective and patriarchal settings. Snowballing was used to recruit participants; 45 married urban middle-class women who have children were interviewed. Analysis was conducted using Pierre Bourdieu's concept of capital. Many studies take the view that Indian women's reproductive choices are controlled by their husbands and in-laws, suggesting that women are oppressed and without agency. However, this study indicates that women do receive support within their affinal families that influences their choices but does not necessarily indicate they are oppressed. These women, while practicing their agency, aim to achieve their interests through strategies of resistance and/or negotiation within the patriarchal settings of their affinal families. Their ability to both negotiate and resist suggests that agency is at once transformative and reproductive.
