Revisiting the patriarchal bargain: The intergenerational power dynamics of household money management in rural Nepal

Abstract

HighlightsWe analyzed the intergenerational power dynamics of money management in rural households in contemporary Nepal.We found that junior wives and husbands often became secret allies in seeking financial autonomy from their in-laws.Intergenerational power relations may be just as important as male-female power relations for women’s economic empowerment.

“Bargaining with Patriarchy” and Entrepreneurship: Narratives of Malay Muslim Women Entrepreneurs in Malaysia

“…It can also represent strategies made by individuals to manipulate the system but at the same time maintaining the status quo of the system. The concept of bargaining power has been researched particularly in a spousal relationship as shown in the work of Agarwal (1997) and Gram et al (2018). In the literature of gender entrepreneurship (Mulholland 1996;Bui, Kuan and Chu 2018), the theme of entrepreneurship interweaves with patriarchy in two dimensions such as private patriarchy and the public patriarchy.…”

Curse of the Mummy‐ji: The Influence of Mothers‐in‐Law on Women in India†

“…In patrilocal‐patrilineal societies where extended households are common, such as India, household members other than the husband can play a crucial role in determining a woman's level of autonomy and well‐being 2 . Several sociological and anthropological studies have found that a woman's MIL plays an especially significant role in shaping her decision making in such societies (see Gram et al 2018 for a review) 3 . Arguably, the MIL may be an even stronger influence on a woman than her husband, especially during the early years of the arranged marriage.…”

“…However, several descriptive studies in other disciplines, mostly in the South Asian context, where arranged marriage and patrilocality are the norm, have documented the significant role of the MIL in affecting women's autonomy. The bulk of this work finds a negative correlation between female autonomy and the presence of the MIL in the household (Cain, Khanam, and Nahar 1979; Jejeebhoy 1991; Bloom, Wypij, and Gupta 2001; Jejeebhoy and Sathar 2001; Gram et al 2018), except for some studies that have found that living with the MIL can also be beneficial for women in some dimensions, such as health during pregnancy (Allendorf 2006; Varghese and Roy 2019). 5 To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first study to explore the influence of the MIL on the formation of women's social networks and the resulting effects on their access to health services, care‐seeking behavior, and health outcomes.…”

Spousal concordance in joint and separate households: Survey evidence from Nepal

“…It may also be true that women residing in households without in-laws are inherently more empowered; for example, women with higher bargaining power are better able to form an independent household with their husbands. Young married couples in Nepal often cooperate with one another to hide income from their in-laws in order to gain sufficient financial autonomy to form a separate household (Gram et al, 2018). However, once the intergenerational power struggle is resolved, wives are under the financial guardianship of their husbands and may have incentives to hide information from him.…”

“…A daughter-in-law generally has much less bargaining power than either the men in the household or her mother-inlaw. There is an extensive literature, mostly qualitative, on intergenerational struggles and the low status of daughters-in-law within households in South Asia (see Gram et al, 2018 for a review).…”