scholarly journals Challenging assumptions about women's empowerment: social and economic resources and domestic violence among young married women in urban South India

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H Rocca ◽  
S. Rathod ◽  
T. Falle ◽  
R. P Pande ◽  
S. Krishnan
Author(s):  
Rajiv Kumar Gupta ◽  
Bhavna Langer ◽  
Parveen Singh ◽  
Rashmi Kumari ◽  
Najma Akhter ◽  
...  

Background: Domestic violence remains a public health concern in India due to its high prevalence and adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes. Domestic violence in low and middle income countries has emerged as a priority among researchers and policy makers who are primarily concerned with women s health and empowerment. The study aimed to assess the relationship between domestic violence and women’s use of reproductive and maternal health services.Methods: The present study was conducted among currently married rural women in reproductive age group (15-49 Years). Four villages in Kot Balwal Block were selected randomly and all the currently married women who were willing to give informed verbal consent were administered the questionnaire. The questionnaire was pilot tested by the authors. Data was analysed using proportion sand chi square test was used as a test of significance.Results: Prevalence of domestic violence was reported to be 49.12%. Regarding empowerment, the results revealed that while 65.3% of the respondents were able to decide on their health, only 20.7% had say in household purchases. Attitude towards wife beating was strongly negative as 95.7% rejected wife beating. Levels of education, exposure to media, intake of alcohol by partners and spousal age difference were statistically significant (p<0.05) in relation to use of reproductive and maternal health services.Conclusions: The study has revealed that women’s empowerment has a positive impact on use of reproductive and maternal health services. Multi-sector collaboration in initiating programs and interventions to improve women’s empowerment, increase educational attainment and reduction of gender based violence should be a priority for the health planners.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suneeta Krishnan ◽  
Kalyani Subbiah ◽  
Sajida Khanum ◽  
Prabha S. Chandra ◽  
Nancy S. Padian

A growing body of literature has documented the global prevalence of domestic violence against women of reproductive age as well as the association between violence and an array of adverse reproductive, psychosocial, and child health outcomes . However, there is a dearth of research on domestic violence prevention interventions in the peer-reviewed literature to guide program planning and policy-making efforts. In this article, the authors describe the development and assessment of the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of an intergenerational women’s empowerment-based intervention to mitigate domestic violence and related adverse health outcomes in low-income urban communities in Southern India.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Januka Khatiwada ◽  
Basilua Andre Muzembo ◽  
Koji Wada ◽  
Shunya Ikeda

Abstract Background Each day, approximately 810 women die during pregnancy and childbirth and 94% of the deaths take place in low and middle income countries. Only 45% of the births in South Asia are attended by skilled professionals, which is lower than that in other Asian regions. Antenatal and postnatal care received from skilled providers can help prevent maternal and neonatal mortality by identifying pregnancy-related complications. Women’s empowerment is considered to be a significant determinant of maternal health care outcomes; however, studies on the contextual influences of different dimensions of empowerment in Nepal are relatively limited. Therefore, this study analyzed nationwide survey data to examine the influence of women’s economic empowerment, sociocultural empowerment, familial/interpersonal empowerment and media and information technology empowerment on accessing skilled delivery services among the married women in Nepal. Methods This study examined the influence of women’s empowerment on skilled delivery services among married women (n = 4400) aged 15–49 years using data from the 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were employed to analyze the data. Results Significant associations were found between women’s media and information technology empowerment, economic empowerment and sociocultural empowerment and access to skilled birth attendants. Specifically, the education of women, their occupation, owning a bank account, media exposure, and internet use were significantly associated with the use of skilled birth attendants. Conclusion Focusing on women’s access to media and information technology, economic enhancement and education may increase the use of skilled birth attendants in Nepal.


2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-261
Author(s):  
Nandeeta Samad ◽  
◽  
Pranta Das ◽  
Segufta Dilshad ◽  
Hasan Al Banna ◽  
...  

<abstract> <p>A recently independent state, Timor-Leste, is progressing towards socioeconomic development, prioritizing women empowerment while its increased fertility rate (4.1) could hinder the growth due to an uncontrolled population. Currently, limited evidence shows that indicators of women's empowerment are associated with fertility preferences and rates. The objective of this study was to assess the association between women empowerment and fertility preferences of married women aged 15 to 49 years in Timor-Leste using nationally representative survey data. The study was conducted using the data of the latest Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey 2016. The study included 4040 rural residents and 1810 urban residents of Timor-Leste. Multinomial logistic regression has been performed to assess the strength of association between the exposures indicating women's empowerment and outcome (fertility preference). After adjusting the selected covariates, the findings showed that exposures that indicate women empowerment in DHS, namely, the employment status of women, house and land ownership, ownership of the mobile phone, and independent bank account status, contraceptive use, and the attitude of women towards negotiating sexual relations are significantly associated with fertility preferences. The study shows higher the level of education, the less likely were the women to want more children, and unemployed women were with a higher number of children. Our study also found that the attitude of violence of spouses significantly influenced women's reproductive choice. However, employment had no significant correlation with decision-making opportunities and contraceptive selection due to a lack of substantial data. Also, no meaningful data was available regarding decision-making and fertility preferences. Our findings suggest that women's empowerment governs decision-making in fertility preferences, causing a decline in the fertility rate.</p> </abstract>


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (15) ◽  
pp. 1783-1805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Mengo ◽  
Moses Okumu ◽  
Bernadette Ombayo ◽  
Shamsun Nahar ◽  
Eusebius Small

This study used Uganda Demographic Health Survey data (2011) to examine the role of women’s empowerment in reducing HIV risk among married women who experienced sexual violence in Uganda. The sample size was 8,674 ever-married women aged 15–49 years. Significant differences were revealed for marital rape, women’s empowerment variables, and reducing HIV risk according to sociodemographic characteristics. Women’s labor force participation partially mediated the relationship between sexual violence and reducing HIV risk, but decision making did not. Findings highlight the need for the development and implementation of policies and programs to address marital rape and reduce HIV risk within institutions of marriage.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Betregiorgis Zegeye ◽  
Dina Idriss-Wheeler ◽  
Sanni Yaya

Abstract Globally, diarrhoea is the third leading cause of death for under five-children. Women’s empowerment can significantly reduce under-five mortality due to diarrhoea. This study investigated the association between women’s empowerment and childhood diarrhoea in Benin using data from the 2017/18 Benin Demographic and Health Survey. A total of 7979 currently married women were included in the study. A logistic regression model was used to control for possible confounders. The prevalence of diarrhoea among children under five years of age was 13.6%. About 36.3% of the currently married women decided either alone or together with their husband on their own health, purchase of large household items and visiting family/relatives. Close to 65.4% of currently married women disagreed with all five reasons to justify wife-beating. The children of mothers who had decision-making power were less likely to have diarrhoea (aOR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.57–0.96) than the children of mothers who had no decision-making power. Moreover, the children of mothers who disagreed with all five reasons to justify wife-beating (aOR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.65–0.96) were less likely to have diarrhoea than the children of mothers who accepted wife-beating as a part of life. Women’s age, educational level, wealth index and region were associated with childhood diarrhoea in Benin. The role of women’s empowerment, as determined by decision-making power and wife-beating attitude, was found to be significantly associated with the risk of childhood diarrhoea in Benin, after adjusting for other variables. Therefore, it is essential for policymakers in Benin to reinforce strategies and interventions focusing on women’s empowerment to avert childhood mortality caused by diarrhoea. This includes improving household economic status, women’s education and decision-making power and enhancing awareness of women’s human and democratic rights.


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