Being an Indian woman from a city and educated, I understand how easy it is to internalise the superiority of men. For instance, I was raised in a society where it is considered the ‘moral’ duty of women to serve our husbands else it’s ‘shameful’ for us. This normative expectation becomes part of our belief structure and shapes our desire to be a ‘good wife’. If a wife financially contributes to the household, then this is considered an extension of her ‘moral’ duties. She will still be responsible for most of the home’s unpaid work, even though her husband also financially contributes to the household but is not expected to conduct any unpaid work. If these and other social expectations are prevalent in cities then imagine the gender stereotypes in the villages.
After 8 years of extensive travel in rural India and observing the lives of rural women, I have realised that there is much that still needs to be understood not only about women but about gender issues. Of course, I am not the first to make such a statement nor the last. During my recent rural trip, I realised that ‘rural woman’ is not a homogeneous concept. There are women who are aware of, and have knowledge about, places and people beyond their villages, but there are women fully immersed in their village culture, traditions, and norms. It is easy to judge them as marginalised or a victim without understanding the nuance of a woman’s situation. Likewise, women privileged in certain context can be oppressed in another. For example, a rural woman who is privileged as a frontline health worker, wearing a clean uniform and looking happy could experience domestic violence at home. These shifting identities make discussions about gender complex.
There are even exceptions among men. I have come across a few men who support the decision-making power of women and surprise me with their liberal views that goes against the normative gender expectations. As a woman who loves and respects my husband, these nuances give me comfort. I can believe in gender equality and be happily married and I can respect culture and be educated.
Patriarchy
In rural areas where patriarchy prevails, women appear to have accepted that the decisions will be taken by the men in the household (Kabeer, 1990). As a researcher, I know that asking these women decision-making questions causes bewilderment. They never saw their mothers nor mothers-in-law question their husband’s. From birth, they are inculcated with the belief that “serving the husband, which was in any case their sole recognised duty, would result in the attainment of heaven” (Roy, 2010, p. 61). Thus, accepting their husbands’ decisions without consultation and discussion was normalised. Older women who experienced this ideal very strongly in their youth try to impose the same on their daughters-in-law under a system of “classic patriarchy.” Kandiyoti (1988) explains that classic patriarchy is found when women internalise their lesser power (than men) and also discriminate against other women.
Change
Modernising village culture is a slow and challenging process. Development programmes and interventions are widespread in India and claim to free and empower villagers from a horrendous past. However, we need to understand the intersectional nature and hierarchies of these power relations. For example, a rural woman with some level of educational attainment will be comparatively better off than a rural woman who cannot read or write (though this may not always be true). Some development projects claim to save women — even those who do not need, nor want saving.
Asking whether a livelihood opportunity equates to “empowerment” or is an additional burden for women over and above their unpaid chores is a good way to avoid the many assumptions that underpin development projects. This may sound complex and extreme, but it is a difficult path to respect cultural traditions whilst liberating women.
Men’s perseverance-women’s endurance?
There is an important body of research from the South Asian context that suggests the renegotiation of power relations, particularly within the family, is often related to societal changes. As societies change, and women and men become more educated, gender norms will also change, often slowly at first. Women tend to opt for private forms of empowerment, which retain intact the public image and honour of the traditional decision-maker. Meanwhile, women’s “backstage” influence in household decision-making processes increases (Kabeer, 1990, p. 447). While this may appear to subscribe to patriarchy, it is part of the process of change.
For this change to become more public and accepted requires the support of men. Without the support of men, efforts to bring this influence into the open sphere will create conflict and women will disproportionately bear the brunt of this conflict. Men need to be more aware of the value to them of liberating women. Any development project claiming to empower women must also work with men. The involvement of men is also important because one man can set an example that others may follow.
Judgements and controlling the way change happens may not serve women or men
To dig deeper into the dimensions of decision-making, we need to unpack the way social norms and expectations work. There is a relationship between personal normative beliefs and the normative expectations around decision making. We need to understand how women perceive decision making whether it’s a decision taken in front of them, nodding of the head in agreement, or if she ‘actively’ participates in decision making. For some women, these differences may not be articulated, nor observed. This makes researching decision-making problematic, even when the researcher understands such nuances.
When I go to villages, I can sense that the questions being asked and the responses given do not resonate with the culture. Yet as an Indian woman, I am not often the one in charge of the research design. When the data collected is further interpreted through the lead researchers’ eyes (who is frequently from another culture), more bias creeps in. To ensure social desirability bias does not creep into the study, more time translating and discussing questions is needed, esp with people from that culture. More cultural nuance during analysis is also needed.
Questions for further explorations
In my research experience, the following research conundrums have emerged:
- Is going to the field with other women (presumedly friends) to cut grass for fodder viewed as drudgery or an opportunity to socialise?
- How would a woman dominated by her mother-in-law feel if she gains decision-making power upon the death of the latter?
- What does empowerment mean to a woman who is earning versus a woman who is not? Can employment (and how much does the type of employment matter) translate to empowerment for women?
- Does targeting women for training programmes make them empowered? How does knowledge attained get translated into action?
- What happens to household decision making when a spouse migrates and returns, compared to what happens to household decision making over the same period of time if a husband does not migrate?
Conclusion
In India, gender and culture are interwoven. The more we try to decode the phenomena of gender, the more complex it becomes. We need to deep dive and understand multiple perspectives and relate that to theory — and theory written by women of colour — in order to get closer to comprehending the way gender is reproduced and changed. My positionality also matters — am I really more empowered or better off than some rural women? If yes, which types of women and does this matter more for them or for me?
About the Author
Dr Sujata Ganguly is a social change researcher. Worked with BBC on user testing communication materials (mass media and mid-media) for comprehension of behaviour change interventions using various approaches. Conducted research on agriculture, maternal and child health, climate stresses, indigenous women, migration, and women entrepreneurship. Familiar with baseline, midline and evaluation studies/surveys. Comfortable with quantitative and qualitative methods, including bivariate and basic multivariate techniques using SPSS. Many peer-reviewed publications including on farmers, gender roles, and gender negotiations. PhD on migration and conjugal stress.
Includovate is a feminist research incubator that “walks the talk”. Includovate is an Australian social enterprise consisting of a consulting firm and research incubator that designs solutions for gender equality and social inclusion. Its mission is to incubate transformative and inclusive solutions for measuring, studying, and changing discriminatory norms that lead to poverty, inequality, and injustice. To know more about us at Includovate, follow our social media: @includovate, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.
References
Kabeer, N. (1990). Resources, agency, achievements: reflections on the measurement of women’s empowerment. Development and Change 30, 435–464.
Roy, K. (2010). The power of gender and the gender of power: explorations in early Indian history. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kandiyoti, D. (1988). Bargaining with patriarchy. Gender and Society, 2(3), 274–290.