Population, Gender, and Disparity - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 73

EXAMPLES FROM SOUTH ASIA
According to a recent UNICEF report about women in
Muslim Bangladesh, women are frequently exposed to vi-
olence in their own homes. They are subject to mental
abuse and physical torture by their husbands and in-laws.
Most marriages are arranged, often with girls as
young as 12 being forced to wed older men. Child mar-
riage is practiced by both Hindus and Muslims and is
most prevalent in rural areas where women have little if
any education. Betrothals may be arranged between an
8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy . Once the girl begins
menstruation, she moves to her husband' is home and is
expected to obey her mother-in-law and get on with the
business of having sons.
There are roughly 3,000 divorces a year. All an Islamic
man has to do is say “I divorce thee” three times and the
marriage is over. Fathers are recognized as legal guardians
of the children and that often leads to mistreatment of his
children by their stepmother. No child can be admitted to
school without her father' s name on the application form.
In Pakistan and northern India, where women' s roles
are also sharply defined, purdah is practiced, especially
in the countryside. Purdah involves the concealment of
women from nonrelated males. This means that women
remain in the home, which is usually divided into male
and female spheres. If a woman must go outside, she is to
be fully covered and accompanied by a male relative.
The situation in northern India, where both Muslim
and Hindu communities exist, is an interesting one.
Low-caste (low socioeconomic ranking) Hindu women
are not put into purdah and are free to go out as they
wish. However, they are usually subjected to sexual
harassment by higher-caste men. If these low-status groups
are able to improve their economic standing, they begin to
practice purdah . Increased wealth means that female
labor is no longer needed outside the house and she can
now be kept “ritually pure.”
In many parts of India, a girl is considered nothing
more than a liability . A village proverb holds that, “When
you raise a daughter, you are watering another man' s
plant.” This is said because she will be married off and so
will not contribute to her parents' welfare. And, to their
chagrin, her marriage family will have to support her. She
will go into her husband' s family compound as a lowly
source of domestic labor. She will only gain status when
she produces male children. Power and mobility will ensue
when she enters the mother-in-law phase of her life.
If a woman' s husband dies, no matter what the cir-
cumstances, she is held in disgrace. A widow is scorned
and often kicked out of her house. The best scenario is

African or Asian generates a mere 0.1 ton of CO 2 a year,
compared to 20 tons for each American. Further, those
areas of the planet with the fastest growing populations
are those most vulnerable to climate change and global
warming—water shortages, mass migration, and food
shortages. Neo-Malthusians warn that, if the poor copy
the patterns of wealth creation and consumption exhib-
ited by other affluent societies, there will be grim conse-
quences for the planet.

P atriarchy and Gender Issues

Patriarchy refers to societies in which family unit struc-
tures focus on males who exert authority over the rest of
the family members. In patriarchal systems, men also
dominate social, economic, and political realms. Unfor-
tunately , the majority of women in Asia are forced into
subordinate roles and statutes embedded in a wide array
of male-dominated cultures. The power of patriarchy
varies across countries, regions, and social classes. Gen-
erally , patriarchy is more deeply embedded in more tradi-
tional, rural areas.
Gender is a socially constructed cultural institution.
Gender roles are expected and assumed in cultural con-
texts, and society is organized around gender. Institu-
tional behaviors and relationships are structured
according to understood relative positioning and roles of
men and women. In most cultures, gender inequity is the
norm. Mencius (ca 372-289 BC), an influential Chinese
philosopher and principle interpreter of Confucianism,
outlined “The Three Subordinates:” A woman was to be
subordinate to her father in youth, her husband in matu-
rity , and her son in old age.
T To understand gender inequity is to appreciate
power relationships . Men and women are accorded un-
equal roles in virtually every society . This means that
women do not have equal power to access education,
earn comparable wages, make economic or political deci-
sions, or even control their own destiny regarding inher-
itance, marriage, childbearing, or career. Women seldom
have power over land or resources, or equal, if any , par-
ticipation in public decision making. (See Table 3-4
below for exceptions in political leadership.)
In patriarchal societies, there is a widespread belief,
held by both sexes, that men are smarter and more pro-
ductive individuals. Families prefer to have boys because
of their greater earning capacity . Girls start to work at a
young age and learn their upcoming role as mother by
tending younger siblings. Furthermore, females have less
access to food and usually are the last to eat.