Alice Evans in this piece (HT: MR blog):
Everyone knows that Southern and Northern India are very different in culture, language, and socio-economic development. But the most dramatic regional disparity may be in gender relations.
Southern and North-eastern women are more likely to
- survive infancy
- be educated
- marry later
- choose their own husbands
- interact more closely with their husbands
- bear fewer children
- own more assets
- exercise more control over their dowry
- socialise with friends
- move more freely in their communities and
- work alongside men.
- In North/North-west India, women are much more constrained, and sex ratios are far higher
Education, paid work, and age are all associated with greater economic and physical autonomy. But even if a woman completes secondary school, she is less likely to choose her husband if she lives in the North.
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