Population, Gender, and Disparity - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 74

that she is bound to a life of drudgery under the rule of
her mother-in-law . Widows seldom remarry .

son but the husband of her sister-in-law . Since she
lives with her parents, she is not controlled by a jealous
mother-in-law as is the case in South Asia. She mediates
tensions between her father and her husband by passing
messages and even money between the two antago-
nists. Consequently , she has access to a wealth of infor-
mation regarding household affairs and becomes
influential in decision making, which gives her a sense
of empowerment.
Urbanization is changing the nature of the tradi-
tional family structure. Y oung couples become nuclear
families as they migrate away from the countryside
where extended families are the norm. In urban settings,
women often hold jobs outside the home.

DOWRY
In Hindu marriages, the girl' is family is expected to pay a
dowry to the groom' s family . This may include large
sums of cash and material goods or perhaps land and cat-
tle. This practice originated as a means of transferring
wealth between high-status families. It has been out-
lawed by the Indian government but apparently is more
common than ever before. Increasing family affluence
and education for males have reinforced the dowry cus-
tom. Y oung men see themselves as more valuable and
therefore deserving of higher dowries.
Many families cannot make their promised dowry pay-
ments because of declining economic circumstances. This
can lead to “bride-burning” (also known as “dowry-death”)
staged as an accident by the husband' s family . The National
Crime Bureau of India reported 7,026 such killings in 2005.

THE GENDER DEVELOPMENT INDEX (GDI)
The Gender Development Index is a statistic that indi-
cates the well-being of women in a particular society .Rat-
ings are expressed on a scale from 0 to 1; the closer to 1
the better. GDIs are based on various factors such as life
expectancy , education, and earned income. As you can
see in Table 3-3, GDIs range widely in Asia, with Japan
having the highest (.992) and Nepal having the lowest
(.520). Overall, the lowest ratings are found in South
Asia. Six Asian countries fall below 100 in the GDI rank-
ings of 177 countries around the world. Y ou might won-
der which one ranks first. It is Iceland, with Australia in
second position. Notice that the United States ranks 16th.
Maternal mortality refers to the number of women
who die in childbirth for every 100,000 live births.
Numerous experts claim that the available data are unreli-
able and tend to be underestimated by governments. Nev-
ertheless, in some countries, such as Nepal and Laos, the
numbers are alarmingly high even if they understate the
facts. In part, high maternal mortality rates reflect access
to health care. However, they also reflect gender-based ill
treatment. Particularly in Muslim cultures, women often
are not allowed to be seen by a male physician. T Too-early
marriage and pregnancy , dietary deficiency , overwork, too-
closely-spaced births, and late-in-life pregnancies take an
enormous toll. Births are frequently unassisted or aided
only by a midwife, as in Bangladesh where only 20 percent
of women are assisted in childbirth by skilled personnel.
In absence of proper care, complications typically mean
death, and pre- and postnatal care are scant.
India is conducting an interesting experiment. A
pilot program in some areas is paying US$15.00 to poor
women to deliver in health centers. In addition, rural
health-care workers receive US$5.00 for each woman

BRIDE PRICE
Bride price refers to a payment made by the groom' s fam-
ily to the bride' s family to compensate for loss of labor
and fertility by the bride' s kin group. There are various
versions of the practice. For example, bride price might
be simply a token exchange but is more likely to involve
large sums of money , expensive goods, or perhaps live-
stock. Bride prices are mandatory in Islamic culture and
are also paid in such countries as Thailand and China.
In Thailand for instance, a bride price must include
cash, very high-quality gold, and an adopted Western
practice—a diamond ring.
The practice of bride price is another form of gender
inequality because it is based on perceived monetary
value of women. It is an economic transaction that sees
women as commodities to be sold for profit. Some par-
ents sell their daughter to the highest bidder. Men who
cannot pay frequently abduct and rape the girl in order to
force her family to give her to him for free. Parents usu-
ally comply because their daughter is now a family
stigma and is no longer a virgin. Consequently , no other
man will marry her.

WOMEN IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
In much of Southeast Asia, it is the custom for newly-
weds to move in with the wife' is family , which is headed
by her father. Next in line, in terms of power, is not her