Annotated Source- Property Rights

Brule, Rachel. 2010. Changes in India's Property Rights Regime and the Implications for

Improved Gender Parity: Evidence from Regression Discontinuity Analysis of Panel Data for 17 Indian States.  APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper, Washington D.C. July 19.

Social tradition in India has prevented equality for women. Legislation has met little success. This paper uses mathematics to estimate the effects of several laws. These laws attempted to protect female inheritance. The findings suggest that while the law was not very effective, the households it affected spent more income on women. 

This source is very relevant to my research question. Current laws that protect women are scarce. What is it about these laws that cause families to spend more on their female daughters? If they inherit the property, parents may want to invest in females more, despite their gender. Understanding their impact can reveal forces that overcome tradition. 

The Ramayana and Indian Values

I really delved into the Ramayana this week. I love how our class discussions on India have helped me understand the family structure and cultural values within the story. For example, Rama has an extended view of family. Although his father has three wives, he sees them all as his mother and makes no distinction. This is portrayed as honorable. The step wife, , at first is happy for Rama's coronation. It is only when her devious companion convinces her that her own son ought to be crowned. She dishonorably tricks her husband into banishing Rama before his coronation.

Rama is the perfect man. He is strong and handsome. He is the best hunter. He honors his wife. He is a loyal son to his father. He chose to honor his stepmother's decree that he be exiled for fourteen years though his brothers and the kingdom urged him to stay. His brothers are completely free of jealousy. They love him and are devastated when Rama is banished. They vow to follow him. Bharatha returns to be king only when the gods order him.

Friendship is valued as much as romantic love. When Jatayu, the Great Eagle discovers that Dasartha has died, he is so upset he plans to immolate himself. The friendship between the two was so strong, Dasartha described it as "You are the soul, I am the body. We are one." On the other hand, romantic love is all consuming and passionate. When Sita first laid eyes on Rama she went mad with love. She burned with fever, she "became uncontrollably agitated...withering of her whole being....prattling involuntarily... she felt all the elements were combining to aggravate her suffering." Of course Rama is a little more subdued and manly "Although he had exhibited no sign of it, deeply within he felt a disturbance. His innate sense of discipline and propriety had made him conceal his feelings before other people." He is certainly affected, but on a different level than Sita. While Sita lives for her husband, she completes him.

Understanding the Ramayana will help me gain an better understanding of Indian values.  If I can begin to understand the stories and gods that make up the rich Indian culture, I can begin to understand the people, their motivations, desires, and beliefs. 

Annotated Source

A Community Health Programme in Rural Tamil Nadu, India: The Need for Gender Justice for Women

The article explores the work of Community Health and Development (CHAD). This group works to improve the status of women in rural communities of Tamil Nadu. Despite India's progress, Indian women still lag behind in rights and treatment. The birth ratio continues to decline, women receive little health care, education, and lower wages. Microcredit schemes that have significantly improved the situation of women in other areas has made little change in India. Their status as second class citizens makes a serious impact on the health care they receive. Despite CHAD's efforts, little has changed.

CHAD has worked in the area for fifty years and focuses on "care during pregnancy and delivery, contraception, education of girls, women's employment and empowerment". Analyzing their data has led them to the conclusion that their failure was not the fault of the program, but rather the result of the social structure. Maternal deaths and infant mortality have decreased (some). However, male infants have been almost the sole beneficiaries of these programs. Female infant mortality has changed very little in comparison. Female children continue to be brought to the hospital in much later stages of illness than males. This preferential treatment has not changed despite their work. 

These social inequalities run much deeper than I suspected. Mothers have been known to attempt commit suicide after failing to produce a male child. The female suicide rate is very high at 148 per 100,000 for ages 10-19 compared to men's 55 per 100,000. (Note: This is in sharp contrast to the United States where the male suicide rate is almost four times the female suicide rate.) Sexual violence is prevalent. Infertility too is often blamed on women. 

They conclude that the only way to improve the health of women is to confront gender issues openly. They have started including curriculum in schools addressing this issue. This curriculum seeks specifically towards changing men's attitudes about women. They know this will likely be a long endeavor. The government as well has joined the efforts, attempting to enact protective laws and include women voices in the government. 

This is the most relevant article I have read so far. I was surprised that microcredit seems to have made so little social change as my last source suggested that microcredit empowers women to have less children and seriously decreases the birthrate. Understanding the struggles that many groups have faced in improving women's health will be invaluable to my research. 

Gender, Feminism, and India

In our last class, we discussed gender roles. As Margaret asked what we considered men and women's traditional roles, I struggled to answer. I often feel divided when I consider this question. On one hand, I am quite a feminist. I can do anything, be anything, and resent anyone who tells me different. This may be a part of my competitive nature coming out (think "anything you can do I can do better"). I have struggled in the past reconciling my feminist nature with gospel doctrine. We know from the Family Proclamation to the world that gender is an essential part of our identity. I'll quote it directly "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners". 


I have realized that these two parts of my personality- my feminism and my testimony of the truth of the gospel- are not necessarily contradictory. The Lord's definition of female does not include the words submissive or subservient. The gospel is one of equality. " According to Helaman 12:7 " O how great is the ^anothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are ^bless than the dust of the earth." Or in the words of King Benjamin "are we not all beggars?" Women have different roles than men, that is sure. But we are not any less for it. Feminism too has evolved from its rigid image of the eighties: brightly colored pantsuits and high powered executive women that have no need for a man or a family. Feminism is really all about the power to make choices. Feminism should not become another expectation that women are expected to fulfill. 


While I have reconciled these beliefs, BYU has brought the dichotomy back to the front of my mind. I often have to remind myself after unkind remarks and insinuations that the culture and opinions of the members of the church is not necessarily gospel truth. I was shocked the first time someone questioned my choice of international relations as a major. What good is that? International work would be terrible for a family. He then suggested that teaching was a much better profession. I was infuriated. I (probably quite rudely) informed him that I was leaning towards medical school. Those comments were not the last. 


This post has gotten a bit off topic. While I finally feel comfortable with my my moral and personal role as woman, I question whether India will not shake those ideas again. Laura and I have been warned that as women we will have to be careful in how we interact with others. We cannot just make eye contact and speak freely with men. The buses are segregated by gender, and we need to dress like the Indian women (are they called saris in Tamil Nadu? I cannot remember). Male children are often treated preferentially as the heirs and future caretakers of the parents. I expect adjusting to a new culture that I may not always agree with to be difficult. However it is not my place to impose my western beliefs on their culture. Just as I chafe at the so called feminists who profess to advocate choice yet cry foul at those women they believe make the wrong choice, I will need to respect the culture and gender roles of India. As I will be working closely with women, this is an issue I will encounter. I am sure I will struggle to find the balance between being respectful and standing up for what is right, but it will be an enlightening experience (or an exercise in self control if nothing else).  

(Dowager Countess of Grantham from the BBC show Downton Abbey, a show chock full of exemplary feminists. )