In much of the world, politics is dominated by men. How might this change? Self-Help Groups have been strongly supported across South Asia. The theory is that if rural women meet regularly to manage small loans, they will build solidarity, recognise shared grievances and collectively assert their priorities. But does this actually happen? And how do rural men react?
I'm not surprised that SHGs didn't result in more feminist activism. I'd imagined what happened was that SHGs homogenised social norms and preferences in the community. So women who were oppressed more than the average women in the community probably benefited. While women who were less oppressed might see themselves having a pretty good deal or become more tolerant of their own gender oppression in the future.
Isn't it a stereotype in the west that people are more likely to maintain long term friendship networks than men? Is that assumption wrong in India and Cambodia? Is the stereotype another feature of WEIRD societies?
You mentioned how female labour force participation rate is higher in Tibet than Nepal even though they had similar ancestry. Is that really due to native Tibetan culture or because higher economic growth and assimilation efforts by in China? Is endogomy in Nepal comparable to that in north India?
I'm not surprised that SHGs didn't result in more feminist activism. I'd imagined what happened was that SHGs homogenised social norms and preferences in the community. So women who were oppressed more than the average women in the community probably benefited. While women who were less oppressed might see themselves having a pretty good deal or become more tolerant of their own gender oppression in the future.
Isn't it a stereotype in the west that people are more likely to maintain long term friendship networks than men? Is that assumption wrong in India and Cambodia? Is the stereotype another feature of WEIRD societies?
You mentioned how female labour force participation rate is higher in Tibet than Nepal even though they had similar ancestry. Is that really due to native Tibetan culture or because higher economic growth and assimilation efforts by in China? Is endogomy in Nepal comparable to that in north India?