Impacts of dowry on married women from rural households of Terai Region in Nepal | |
| Author | Shrestha, Kripa |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.RD-15-06 |
| Subject(s) | Dowry--Nepal Married women--Nepal Rural women--Nepal Economic aspects Rural women--Nepal--Social aspects |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Regional and Rural Development Planning |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. RD-15-06 |
| Abstract | The research analyzed the impacts of dowry on married women from rural households of Terai region in Nepal. Dowry has been practiced in Nepal for a long time. The general objective is to assess psychological, social and economic im pacts of dowry practices on married women from poor households in the Rural Terai region of Nepal. The specific objectives of the research were to examine dowry practices of rural poor and non - poor women and analyze its determinants, investigate uses of d owry of the poor and non - poor rural households, to assess psychological, social and economic impacts of dowry practices on the poor households, to identify coping strategies of married women to deal with the impacts of dowry practices and to give recomme ndations on social development strategies for rural women to minimize unfavorable impacts caused by dowry in Nepal. The research included married women from poor and non - poor rural households aged 17 - 35 years with various castes. The research was an explanatory research and was basically a primary research applying quantitative analysis with case studies to reflect qualitative approach. The major tools used for collecting data were standardized questionnaire survey, field observation, semi - structured interview, key informant interview and focus group discussion. The research found that most of the women from poor and non - poor households were not aware about dowry law and even those who were aware did not follow the law. Mostly non - voluntary dowry was practiced and dowry was paid mostly in the form of both cash and kind. Most of the parents from the poor households paid partial dowry whereas majority of the parents from the non - poor households paid full dowry. Most of the high caste paid full dowry and low caste paid partial dowry. Most of the in - laws from both type households demanded additional dowry and assets. Factors affected the dowry payment of both the poor and non - poor households varied. Married women irrespective of their age, length of marriag e, caste, education, occupation, status of family, dowry payment, bridal accessibility to dowry and additional dowry showed strong dissatisfaction to dowry practice. Dowry was mainly used for the economic purpose and les for social purpose. The impacts o f dowry varied. Some of the women irrespective of their age, caste, length of marriage, education, occupation, status, dowry payment, bridal accessibility to use dowry and additional dowry especially the poor women got married to the qualified groom from t he non - poor households and thus gained economic status and were proud and confident, their in - laws were supportive and they made certain decisions while most of the married women suffered psychological in terms of mental torture, stress and depression and socially regarding domestic violence. The low caste, women who were unemployed, women who paid partial dowry, illiterate women suffered more than others. The bridal family had to suffer from indebtedness and they sold their assets while on the other hand t he groom‘s family gained by increased income, saving and became debt free. The coping strategies used for overcoming from social and psychological impacts were interaction with in - laws, adjustment, seeking guidance from family, separation and taking help f rom GO, NGOs and health posts and friends. For overcoming from economic impacts were negotiation, taking loan and selling of assets and involving children in income generating activities. A set of recommendation were given to strengthen law enforcement on dowry and empower women to enhance their coping strategies to minimize their unfavorable impacts. |
| Year | 2015 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. RD-15-06 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Soparth Pongquan |
| Examination Committee(s) | Kusakabe, Kyoko;Ahmad, Mokbul Morshed |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Thailand, HM (Queen) |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2015 |