Premium
Life Course Perspectives on Women's Autonomy and Health Outcomes
Author(s) -
GUPTA MONICA DAS
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1995.97.3.02a00070
Subject(s) - autonomy , peasant , fertility , inheritance (genetic algorithm) , life course approach , inequality , convergence (economics) , demography , demographic economics , sociology , gender studies , socioeconomics , geography , economic growth , psychology , political science , economics , population , social psychology , biochemistry , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , law , gene , chemistry
Gender inequality leads to negative demographic consequences in many societies. Patterns of household formation and inheritance strongly influence these consequences. Peasant societies of preindustrial northern Europe emphasized the conjugal bond, while intergenerational bonds were weak. The reverse is true in contemporary northern India. As a result, greater potential exists there for marginalizing women. The convergence of low autonomy due to youth as well as gender means that women's autonomy is at its lowest point during the peak of childbearing years. This has considerable implications for demographic and health outcomes in terms of poorer child survival, slower fertility decline, and poorer reproductive health.