Sex Differentials in Mortality in Rural Bangladesh

D’Souza, Stan; Chen, Lincoln C.

doi:10.2307/1972730

Cited by 178 publications

(54 citation statements)

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“…Studies in South Asia indicate that there is greater discrimination in health care than in food, and that this is the main mechanism leading to excess female mortality (Wyon and Gordon 1971;Chen, Huq and D'Souza 1981;Das Gupta 1987). Sources: Das Gupta (1987) for the data for the Khanna Study villages, Punjab, India; D'Souza and Chen (1980) for the data for the Matlab Project data, Comilla District, Bangladesh.…”

Section: Female Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Course Perspectives on Women's Autonomy and Health Outcomes

Gupta

1995

American Anthropologist

181

132

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This paper examines how different patterns of kinship and inheritance affect intergenerational relationships and the ramifications of gender inequality. Peasant societies of pre-industrial Northern Europe are contrasted with those of contemporary South Asia to illuminate some of these relationships. While Northern European kinship and inheritance systems made for high status in youth and a loss of power and status as people aged, South Asian systems make for lower power and status in youth and a rise as people age.From this follow more conflict-ridden relationships between the generations and a stronger conjugal bond in Northern Europe, while in South Asia intergenerational ties are strong and the conjugal bond is weak. This in turn leads to a greater potential for marginalizing women in South Asia, although gender inequality exists in both settings. The convergence of low autonomy due to youth as well as sex amongst young married women in South Asia means that women are at the lowest point in their life cycle in terms of autonomy during their peak childbearing years. As shown in this paper, this has considerable implications for demographic and health outcomes: in terms of poorer child survival, slower fertility decline, and poorer reproductive health.In recent decades, a great deal has been written in the social sciences on the subject of female status and autonomy in both developed and developing country settings. A subset of this literature has specifically pointed out some of the negative demographic consequences of low female autonomy. In particular, low levels of female education and autonomy have been perceived to be barriers to improving child survival and reducing fertility.Much of this literature focuses on the low status of women relative to that of males. Yet there is also a large body of evidence, especially in the anthropological literature, that a woman's status rises and falls over her life cycle. Several studies highlight the fact that in some societies, women have higher status when they are younger, while in others it is when they are older (Bart 1969;Foner 1984;Vatuk 1987;Yanagisako and Collier 1987). Bart views this as an intertemporal 'zero-sum game', in that status being high at one point of the life cycle is dependent on its being lower at another point. This statement can, of course, be extended to men. Both men and women spend part of their life cycle in a position inferior to that of others of their own sex. This is quite independent of the question of gender inequality, in which it is common for women to have less power and autonomy than men at any given point in their life cycle. Thus in many

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Section: Female Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Course Perspectives on Women's Autonomy and Health Outcomes

Gupta

1995

American Anthropologist

181

132

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“…According to studies of children in rural Bangladesh, girls are more likely than boys to die in the first 5 years of life (D'Souza & Chen, 1980;Bairagi, 1986;Koenig & D'Souza, 1986;Fauveau et al, 1990). It has been shown, for example, that between the age of 6 and 12 months, the death rate among girls progressively exceeds the death rate among boys (D'Souza & Chen, 1980) and that the disparity increases with age, so that between 12 and 48 months the female death rate may be almost 60% higher than the male (Koenig & D'Souza, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been shown, for example, that between the age of 6 and 12 months, the death rate among girls progressively exceeds the death rate among boys (D'Souza & Chen, 1980) and that the disparity increases with age, so that between 12 and 48 months the female death rate may be almost 60% higher than the male (Koenig & D'Souza, 1986). The female disadvantage in survival has been shown to be a particular problem in South Asia (Coale, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conclusions about differences in linear growth between Bangladeshi boys and girls depend on the growth reference used

Moestue

Pee²,

Hall

et al. 2004

Eur J Clin Nutr

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Objective: To examine sex differences in height-for-age z-scores and the percentage stunting among Bangladeshi children estimated using three growth references. Design, setting and subjects: Data collected between 1990 and 1999 by Helen Keller International's nutritional surveillance system in rural Bangladesh were analyzed for 504 358 children aged 6-59 months. Height-for-age z-scores were estimated using the 1977 NCHS, 2000 CDC and 1990 British growth references. Results: The shape of the growth curves for Bangladeshi boys and girls, and their positions relative to one another, depend on which of the three growth references is used. At 6 months of age the British reference showed no sex difference whereas the NCHS and CDC showed girls to have higher average z-scores than boys by 0.14 and 0.28 s.d., respectively. While all references showed a faster deterioration of girls' z-scores from 6 to 24 months, the magnitude and direction of the sex differences, and how they changed with age, were different. There was greater disagreement about girls' z-scores than boys. Discontinuities at 24 months in the NCHS and CDC produced jagged curves whereas the British curves were smooth. Conclusions: The assessment of sex differences in linear growth depends on the growth reference used. Reasons for the different results need to be determined and may aid the final development of the new WHO international growth reference and the guidelines for its use. The findings suggest that anthropometry as a tool to explore the effects of societal gender inequality must be used with caution.

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“…B. Chen et al 1981, Rosenzweig und Schultz, 1982. Neben dieser StadtLand-Unterscheidung gibt es erhebliche regionale Unterschiede.…”

Section: Die Umstände Der Geschlechtsspezifischen Diskriminierungunclassified

“…9 Die zahlenmäßig weiterhin bedeutendste Art und Weise, wie es zur weiblichen Übersterblichkeit und den fehlenden Frauen vor allem in Südasien kommt, ist Ungleichheit in der Verteilung von lebenswichtigen Ressourcen innerhalb der Familie zwischen Jungen und Mädchen und auch erwachsenen Frauen und Män-nern (obwohl der letztere Effekt schwächer ausgeprägt ist). Obwohl auch in einer Reihe von Ländern Ungleichheit in der Verteilung der Nahrungsmittelversorgung nachgewiesen wurde (Croll, 2000;Chen et al 1981), scheint die wichtigste Ungleichheit im Zugang zu Gesundheitsversorgung zu liegen (Basu, 1992;Alderman, 1997;Klasen, 1994b;Asfaw, Klasen, und Lamanna, 2010 …”

Section: Die Umstände Der Geschlechtsspezifischen Diskriminierungunclassified

Armut und Gesundheit

Tamcke¹

2016

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Sex Differentials in Mortality in Rural Bangladesh

Cited by 178 publications

References 1 publication

Life Course Perspectives on Women's Autonomy and Health Outcomes

Life Course Perspectives on Women's Autonomy and Health Outcomes

Conclusions about differences in linear growth between Bangladeshi boys and girls depend on the growth reference used

Armut und Gesundheit

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