In 1900, East and South Asia were extremely patriarchal. Men were revered as high status, while female sacrifice was glorified. By socialising women to marry, obey their in-laws and stay put, Asian families consolidated trusted networks of social cooperation. Since chastity was crucial for family honour, women were also tightly restricted.
But, over the 20th century, East Asian women increasingly undertook paid work in the public sphere, forged solidarity and gained status. Growth also catalysed a broader process of cultural liberalisation: autonomy, dating, and divorce. South Asian patriarchy is much more persistent. Intimate partner violence remains normalised.
To explain this divergence, I suggest that every patrilocal family faces a trade-off between honour (achieved by social policing) and income (earned by exploiting female labour). East Asian female employment rose because rising wages compensated for honour. East Asian culture also differed: they lacked endogamy and were less concerned about female seclusion.
That is the abstract of my new paper, “How did East Asia Overtake South Asia on Gender?”. You can download it below. The references are ten pages long; I hope it’s a useful resource! Comments and critique are very welcome.
My gratitude to everyone who helps me understand “The Great Gender Divergence” - especially participants from Pakistan, India, China, Taiwan, Japan, & Korea.
Women's liberation movement in the socialist time holds the key, which also distinguishes China from the rest of the East Asia. Actually, China overtook most of the Western countries back in the 1950s and 1960s in terms of gender equality in work participation, marriage law and payment.
Will read!