Supply-and-demand demographics: dowry, daughter aversion and marriage markets in contemporary north India

Jeffery, Patricia

doi:10.1080/09584935.2014.899982

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…Marriage markets in South Asia and Southeast Asia have been affected by two changes in the balance between men and women-first, the change in the overall gender ratio for people of marriageable age and, second, the changes in the pool of potential spouses with the characteristics that, according to society, define suitable partners. Regarding the first, along with a decline in fertility, a preference for boys manifested itself through sex-selective abortion and female feticide in India, China, Taiwan, and Korea (Guilmoto 2012a, Jeffery 2014, thus creating an imbalance between numbers of marriageable men and women. This imbalance results from an increase in the number of men unable to find brides in their own communities-the importation of brides from distant areas and neighboring countries has become an important aspect of the marriage market, especially for men with low education levels and poor job prospects ( Jones 2012).…”

Section: Changing Marriage Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spouse selection is closely linked with economic exchanges at marriage, and payments from the groom in the form of bride price have been observed in some nations, including Vietnam (Teerawichitchainan & Knodel 2012), while other countries such as India and Bangladesh employ payments from the bride in the form of dowry or groom price ( Jeffery 2014, Mari Bhat & Halli 1999.…”

Section: Changing Marriage Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Families in Southeast and South Asia

2018

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Southeast and South Asia are home to one-third of the world's population. Their great economic and cultural diversity makes generalization about family patterns and trends hazardous. We review literature on trends in fertility, marriage, divorce, and living arrangements in the past half century. The explanations for these trends focus on structural and ideological changes related to socioeconomic development; cultural factors including kinship system, religion, and ethnicity; and public policies. While the impact of rapid modernization and related ideational changes are evident, there are also changes—or a lack thereof—that cannot be explained by development and may be attributable to historical and cultural factors that have shaped family norms in the region. The following trends are evident: ( a) fertility is declining and age at marriage is rising, although teenage and arranged marriages remain common in South Asia, ( b) a majority of the elderly continue to live with or are supported by their children, and ( c) divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing remain relatively rare.

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Section: Changing Marriage Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Changing Marriage Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Families in Southeast and South Asia

2018

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“…Growing literacy rates, laws, and state and NGO actions have not reversed the inflationary tendencies in many parts of India. Dowry links “conspicuous display in status competition” to “aspirations to possess consumer goods within the wider context of contemporary India’s rapidly changing political economy” (Jeffery, 2014: 171) through the exchange of women’s bodies. Dowries therefore, unfortunately, end up serving as a local solution to the shifting demands of economic development.…”

Section: Dowry: a Condensed Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women’s risk and well-being at the intersection of dowry, patriarchy, and conservation: The gendering of human–wildlife conflict

Doubleday

Adams

2019

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

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Drawing on work in feminist political ecologies and employing a grounded theory approach, this article examines the socio-spatial links between the patriarchal tradition of dowry, tigers, and women’s well-being. It shows how a landscape governed for conservation purposes can produce embodied and material harm for women living under a patriarchal system. Focus groups conducted in eastern Rajasthan, India, reveal how human–tiger interaction, even if primarily potential rather than actual, initiates a chain of social impacts that presents severe risks to women’s well-being, mental health, and life itself. Analysis connecting the pressures of dowry (financial, physical, and psychological) to tiger presence helps expose the presumptions of unfairness, intra-household power dynamics, and hidden costs of human–wildlife cohabitation while supporting calls for the inclusion of women’s perspectives in environmental theory and management.

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“…Sex ratios rose rapidly in the 1990s before levelling off and declining slightly in the past decade (Bongaarts and Guilmoto ). The reasons for son preference are varied and intertwined, ranging from marriage and kinship systems, sexual milieu, family structure, political and state systems, and religious rituals and customs that require sons (Das Gupta ; Jeffery ). Whatever the reasons, women are blamed for lack of sons, and absence of sons is seen as a valid reason for men to remarry (with or without separating from the current spouse).…”

Section: Marriage and Dissolution In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Divorce and Separation in India

Dommaraju¹

2016

Population & Development Rev

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PREMCHAND DOMMARAJUNON-MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE are becoming increasingly common in many parts of Asia. In East Asia, with the exception of China, marriage rates have fallen and divorce rates briefly reached levels as high as those seen in OECD countries (Dommaraju and Jones 2011). In Southeast Asia, too, marital dissolution through divorce or separation is rising (ibid.). In China, where marriage rates have not declined to the levels seen in other East Asian countries, divorce rates have tripled or quadrupled over the last two decades (Lu and Wang 2014). The major exception to this trend in Asia is South Asia, where marriage continues to be nearly universal and relatively early and divorce is relatively uncommon.In India, the focus of this article, despite wide social changes over the last three decades, marriage is still predominately caste endogamous, universal, and early and involves active participation of family and kin in spouse selection. Although changes have occurred in many aspects of the marriage system including marriage age and spouse selection (Allendorf 2013; Andrist, Banerji, and Desai 2013; Desai and Andrist 2010; Prakash and Singh 2013), these changes have not radically transformed the institution of marriage. While much is known about changes in marriage formation in India, there has been little socio-demographic research on marital dissolution. With the notable exception of Bose and South's (2003) article on son preference and marital dissolution, there has been no major quantitative study on divorce in India.This article has three broad objectives. First, it presents nationally representative estimates of prevalence, trends, and variations in divorce and separation. Media reports with headlines such as "The great Indian wedding is succumbing to the great Indian divorce" 1 have proclaimed dramatic increases in divorce and separation in India. These reports are, however, based on partial and incomplete data and non-rigorous analyses. Besides media reports there are scattered ethnographic data that by their nature are not generalizable, and quantitative information on divorce and separation is lacking. The estimates presented here provide a firmer quantitative basis for identifying trends and variations in marital stability by region, religion, family composition, and education.Second, the article examines how marriage stability is affected by broader changes in the social-cultural milieu and by specific changes in the marriage system. Some of the factors that are responsible for divorce trends POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW 42(2): 195-223 (JUNE 2016) 195

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Supply-and-demand demographics: dowry, daughter aversion and marriage markets in contemporary north India

Abstract: Supply-and-demand demographics: Dowry, daughter aversion and marriage markets in contemporary north India Citation for published version: Jeffery, P 2014, 'Supply-and-demand demographics: Dowry, daughter aversion and marriage markets in

Cited by 18 publications

References 45 publications

Families in Southeast and South Asia

Families in Southeast and South Asia

Women’s risk and well-being at the intersection of dowry, patriarchy, and conservation: The gendering of human–wildlife conflict

Divorce and Separation in India

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