Udoy Saikia

Saikia, Chalmers, Michael and Orrell explore the impact of social education on gender inequalities in rural Tamil Nadu where highland women’s lives are damaged by discrimination, marginalisation and deprivation. Social education refers to agent-oriented learning experiences focused on power relations designed to help oppressed people regain their humanity in the struggle for empowerment. The book begins with the recognition that wellbeing is dependent on access to opportunities given that gender parity in tertiary education has not transferred to good jobs. This implies education is a necessary but insufficient indicator of wellbeing in the absence of empowerment. Hence, it investigates interconnections between empowerment (self-efficacy, social action and human rights) and multiple dimensions of wellbeing (living standards/ livelihoods, physical and mental health, and education). It articulates how such hopes and expectations are empirically founded, thereby presenting some of the answers that readers need to move from grievance to a future that is more conducive to friendships and mutuality. A vital resource for scholars, students, researchers and professionals interested in development studies, human rights (law and social science), anthropology of development, gender in development, public health administration, governance/ public administration, and welfare economics. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Saikia, Chalmers, Michael and Orrell explore the impact of social education on gender inequalities in rural Tamil Nadu where highland women’s lives are damaged by discrimination, marginalisation and deprivation. Social education refers to agent-oriented learning experiences focused on power relations designed to help oppressed people regain their humanity in the struggle for empowerment. The book begins with the recognition that wellbeing is dependent on access to opportunities given that gender parity in tertiary education has not transferred to good jobs. This implies education is a necessary but insufficient indicator of wellbeing in the absence of empowerment. Hence, it investigates interconnections between empowerment (self-efficacy, social action and human rights) and multiple dimensions of wellbeing (living standards/ livelihoods, physical and mental health, and education). It articulates how such hopes and expectations are empirically founded, thereby presenting some of the answers that readers need to move from grievance to a future that is more conducive to friendships and mutuality. A vital resource for scholars, students, researchers and professionals interested in development studies, human rights (law and social science), anthropology of development, gender in development, public health administration, governance/ public administration, and welfare economics. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Conventional wisdom in demography states that women's autonomy is highly correlated with several demographic outcomes. However this study demonstrates that, for a detailed understanding of the gender context of fertility dynamics, it is necessary to go beyond the traditional indicators of women's autonomy to the broader concept of women's empowerment, because conventional measurements of women's autonomy do not fully reflect the power divide between males and females, which is so important in making decisions that affect fertility. The matrilineal system in the Khasi society in India has empowered women to have greater extrinsic control in certain areas. Control over economic and financial resources has given Khasi women a comparatively high level of autonomy in decision-making within the household and also freedom of movement. But lack of a supportive environment has reduced their intrinsic capability for self-confidence, and inner transformation of one's consciousness that enables one to overcome external barriers of certain traditional ideology. This has resulted in high fertility in Khasi society.