Development of Kondh women

This article presents a profile of the living conditions of the Kondh ethnic group, with particular attention to women's conditions. The Kondhs are the largest tribal community in Orissa state, India. Kondh tribes are concentrated in Phulbani, Koraput, and Kalahandi districts. The Kondh consist of three subgroups. In Phulbani district the Kondh are one of several tribal populations and together with scheduled castes and tribes are the dominant populations. Phulbani district has limited educational resources and low levels of literacy, particularly among women. Female literacy in 1991 was only 16.59%. Girl's educational institutions are few in number and poor in quality. Female literacy is low due to parental ignorance of the importance of female education, the need to use girl children as domestic helpers, the cultural practice of facial tattooing that causes injury and shame among parents and children, the inadequacy of district schools, and the reputation of better private boarding as "cages." Economic life is based on a sexual division of labor, and women and men work according to their capacity. Agricultural tasks are shared, but men perform ploughing and clearing of jungle. Women perform all domestic tasks in addition collection of daily firewood and additional forest products that are sold jointed with husbands in local markets. During the slack agricultural periods, men relax and women work. Both men and women work if construction work is available nearby. Although tubewells were installed in villages, women prefer distant pond or stream water for drinking. The loss of tribal land for women places them in more vulnerable sexual and economic positions. Many voluntary groups promote land ownership for women as a means of security and social status. Phulbani district has little urbanization and no major industries. Bride-price was replaced by dowry, which downgrades Kondh women's status. The Kondh suffer from malnutrition, malaria, and anemia. Health services are insufficient, and Kondh cultural practices interfere with acceptance of modern medicine and healthy lifestyles.     

Using tribal/State Title IV-E agreements to help American Indian tribes access foster care and adoption funding

Funding under Title IV-E has historically not been available to American Indian communities, therefore, tribes have had to develop agreements with states to access these funds for child care services. This study analyzes Title IV-E intergovernmental provisions to help tribes and states strengthen Title IV-E agreements. A nationwide content analysis of existing Title IV-E documents, phone interviews, and focus groups revealed that Title IV-E tribal/state agreements vary widely, with most tribes not receiving full access to state services. These agreements focus on foster care maintenance payments and services. This article includes recommendations to help facilitate tribal access to Title IV-E funding for foster care and adoption services.     

Federal control of Indian Lands v. State control of Gaming — Cabazon Bingo and the Indian Gaming regulatory act

In September, 1988, the 100th Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, concluding five years of debate over the Indian Gaming issue — brought to a head by a Supreme Court decision in February, 1987, that barred states from regulating Indian Gaming. That case (State of California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians) forced the legislature to take a serious look at issues of gaming on Indian lands. The result was the creation of a three-tiered system whereby tribes will control ceremonial games, the federal government will control bingo, and the states and tribes will negotiate agreements to cover casino games, parimutuel racing, and jai alai, if such games are legal in that particular state. In light of the case of the Cabazon Indians and the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, this paper will address the following competing issues: tribal sovereignty, state interests, federal interests, and states like Nevada, which have a regulated gaming industry.     

Settler colonial power and the American Indian sovereignty movement: forms of domination, strategies of transformation

The article extends the multi-institutional model of power and change through an analysis of the American Indian Sovereignty Movement. Drawing upon cultural models of the state, and articulating institutionalist conceptions of political opportunities and resources, the analysis demonstrates that this framework can be applied to challenges addressing the state as well as nonstate fields. The rational-legal diminishment of tribal rights, bureaucratic paternalism, commonsense views of tribes as racial/ethnic minorities, and the binary construction of American and Indian as oppositional identities diminished the appeal of "contentious" political action. Instead, to establish tribes' status as sovereign nations, tribal leaders aggressively enacted infrastructural power, transposed favorable legal rulings across social fields to legitimize sovereignty discourses, and promoted a pragmatic coexistence with state and local governments. Identifying the United States as a settler colonial society, the study suggests that a decolonizing framework is more apt than racial/ethnicity approaches in conceptualizing the struggle of American Indians.     

Severity and determinants of stunting in children under age 2 years in Odisha (India): a tribal v/s non-tribal analysis

Prevalence of stunting among India’s tribal under-five children has witnessed a 3% annual decline in the last 8 years. Cross-sectional data of 1000 children (287 tribal and 713 non-tribal) aged 0–23 months from Odisha’s Rapid Survey of Children (RSOC, 2014) was analysed to identify the predictors of stunting and severe stunting among tribal children and to suggest policy and programme implications. Results show significant determinants of childhood stunting to be birth order, maternal illiteracy and determinants for severe stunting were maternal age <18 years at marriage and <20 years at birth, and <3 antenatal clinic visits. Severe stunting in tribal children was predicted by basic causes: poverty and maternal age <20 years at first birth and age <18 years at marriage. Findings strongly suggest to accelerate efforts towards reducing childhood stunting in Odisha more specifically among tribal children for whom a special strategy is urgently warranted.     

Gender,tribe and development: a case study of the Reang tribal community in Tripura (Northeast India)

The article critically examines the gendered impacts of state-led development among the Reang tribal community in Tripura (Northeast India) and outlines causes of gender-based inequalities that affect Reang women’s ability to engage in livelihood, achieve financial independence and participate in political affairs of the state. The article outlines two interlinked arguments. First, gender-based inequalities are not adequately addressed by the postcolonial Indian state which tends to homogenise members of tribal communities through development policies by privileging ethnicity over gender. Second, gender-based inequalities are also not adequately addressed within the Reang community highlighting complex intra-tribal dynamics wherein differential notion of inequalities among the Reangs and position of certain influential actors within the community determines which issues are addressed and which are marginalised.     

'I've Seen Changes'

Abstract

This article examines the political efficacy and effectiveness of American Indian and Hispanic women leaders in New Mexico. Using qualitative data from personal interviews with 50 grassroots activists and public officials involved in state, local, and/or tribal politics, I address the following research questions: Do American Indian and Hispanic grassroots activists and public officials perceive themselves as politically efficacious? How do their perceptions of efficacy differ? How effective are these activists and officials at influencing public policy and politics in New Mexico? The findings indicate that there are greater similarities among grassroots activists and public officials, as well as among Native and Hispanic women leaders, than might be expected from readings of classic political science literature. More importantly, while the majority of the leaders feel personally efficacious, there is substantial evidence of their impact both at the organizational level and in the larger political arena of state, local, and tribal politics.     

Sociological Determinants of Life Satisfaction in Japan: The Roles of Gender, Family, and Work

Abstract  This is one of the first studies on causes and correlates of life satisfaction among Japanese, based on the theoretical framework of Thibaut and Kelley (1959) on satisfaction and a nationally representative sample of Japanese adults. Emphasized are the effects of such demographic variables as gender, marital status, age, and work-related characteristics on life satisfaction. It is found that Japanese women are more satisfied with their lives than are men on the average. This difference is not explained by the gender difference in employment statuses. When examined for each employment status category, women still show higher life satisfaction than men on the average, except those employed full-time.
While widowed women show lower life satisfaction, never-married and divorced men show the same pattern. The detrimental effect of divorce on life satisfaction among women disappears when economic circumstances variables are controlled for. Age is found to be strongly related to life satisfaction, particularly among men. A non-linear effect of age indicates both family responsibility and job responsibility decrease life satisfaction for Japanese men and women.
The theoretical framework presented in American literature on the subject is largely supported in the present analysis with Japanese data. Rather than absolute levels of economic and/or social indicators, the salience each person places on them is found to be critical for life satisfaction. Given the cognitive definition of satisfaction adopted here which emphasizes comparisons, these results indicate the validity of this theoretical perspective.     

Gender in Social Work Education and Practice in India

Social work as a profession is committed to the creation of an equal and just society. Social work pedagogy combines an analysis of psychosocial, economic and political contexts and methods of active intervention and administration of social welfare. Gender sensitization and awareness is an integral component of social work education and training in India. Through conscious efforts students are enabled to imbibe the concept of gender, to look at women not only as individual entities but also in relation to men, and the way relations between the two are socially constructed. This paper examines the integration of a gender perspective in social work education and practice and explores how this may play a part in enabling students to ‘unlearn’ their gender stereotypes imbibed during socialization. The paper draws on case study examples of some projects in India.     

Inter-ethnic relations in Meghalaya

The Indian state of Meghalaya, since its creation in 1972, had been raven by ethnic conflicts between the indigenous tribes and settler non-tribal communities. The domination of business establishments, labour force and other employment opportunities by settlers who are mainly economic migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal and other parts of India resulted in anxiousness among the native locals, resulting in three ethnic riots between indigenous tribals and settler non-tribal communities. By the turn of the twentieth century the state witnessed a relative change in the nature of relations between the ethnic communities. While the relations between the indigenous tribals and settler communities have relatively improved, ethnic tensions shifted to the indigenous tribes. This article uses the perceived threat hypothesis and a combination of rational choice theory and interpretivism to explain empirically observed realities in Meghalaya. Emphasis is placed on the post-1992 period, focusing on the emerging ethnic relations between the indigenous tribes of Meghalaya.     

Integrated child development services

Highlights the objectives, purposes and functioning of the Integrated Child Development Services Schemes in India, a package of services to children below 6 years of age, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. An initial 33 experimental projects (in urban slums, tribal blocks and community development blocks) were formed in 1975-76. Evaluation of these was being undertaken, but on the basis of interim reports an additional 67 projects were approved for 1978-79.     

Out of Cairo: forging a new population policy

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was the first where thousands of women contributed to the agenda. The previous emphasis of population policies on the simple provision of family planning (FP) services has led to abuses such as coercion to have only one child in China or financial incentives for undergoing sterilization in India. The 1994 ICPD Program of Action provides a more humane basis for population programs by emphasizing the fact that women have fewer children when they are educated and gainfully employed. Thus, improving women's reproductive health and social status has become a central issue, and widening access to contraception remains an important objective. In addition to the 500,000 women who die of pregnancy-related causes each year, half a billion suffer infections of the reproductive tract. By failing to address these problems, many FP services actually exacerbate them. In Giza, for example, although 39% of 500 women studied used contraception (45% of those married and living with their husbands), only 1 in 7 was free of gynecological problems, urinary tract infections, and syphilis (50% had at least 2 of these conditions). The women who used contraceptives were no healthier than their neighbors who did not. Once FP clinics attempt to tend to reproductive health issues, they encounter cultural and religious constraints. For example, a woman may obtain an IUD and then suffer from severe side effects rather than return to the clinic for attention. Another woman may become infected from an illegal abortion obtained at her husband's insistence. The infection may preclude an IUD for months, so the woman may obtain oral contraceptives from a pharmacy although she knows her high blood pressure should preclude their use. Full implementation of the ICPD Program of Action would improve the status of women such as these, fostering their self-esteem, their access to education and employment, and their participation in the political process; eliminating violence against them; and making them aware of their legal rights. The success of the readjustments in FP programs, government resource allocation, and family structures which will accomplish this task will depend largely on the women who helped put reproductive health on the ICPD agenda.     

Labour Force Participation among MENA Women in the United States: Exploring the Role of Ethnically Homogamous Relationships

This study uncovers variations in female labour force participation (FLFP) among women in the US originating from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a focus on differences by nativity status, and investigates the role of ethnically homogamous relationships in explaining these variations. Lower levels of US labour force participation among women from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is puzzling, given that these women have higher educational attainments than most women in the US. Recent work has suggested that looking more closely at the influence of homogamy on immigrant women’s economic activity may help to explain this puzzle. Drawing from prior research on FLFP and immigrant integration, we hypothesized that foreign-born women from MENA will report lower labour force participation rates relative to their US-born counterparts, and ethnically homogamous marriage will explain differences in FLFP across nativity status. Data come from the Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) from 2012–2016 American Community Surveys (ACS). The analytic sample consists of 33,133 women in the United states of MENA origin who are in the prime working ages of 25 to 59. As hypothesized, we found that foreign-born MENA women reported significantly lower labour force participation rates than their US-born counterparts. We also found that after controlling for all relevant characteristics, MENA women (both US-born and foreign-born) with MENA husbands remained dramatically less likely to be in the labour force than women with non-MENA husbands. Our findings suggest the disadvantage in FLFP experienced by foreign-born MENA women is due mostly to high rates of ethnically homogamous relationships among this population relative to their US-born counterparts. Thus, our study highlights ethnic homogamy as a structural-cultural barrier for MENA women’s labour force activity in the US and suggests that empirical research on FLFP and immigrant integration should consider partner characteristics as a key determinant of women’s labour force participation.     

Aspiration,reunification and gender transformation in Jat Sikh marriages from India to Canada

Abstract In this article I explore marriage as a strategy of family migration among a transnational community of middle‐class Jat Sikhs. Family reunification and status aspirations are examined as central concerns of the transnational movement of Jat Sikhs from India to Canada. It is argued that Jat Sikh transnationalism and gender are mutually‐constitutive: migration strategies can construct women, as well as men, as agents of marital citizenship, and in facilitating migration, transnational marriage may transform practices and notions of gender and status. The article is based on preliminary ethnographic research among Jat Sikh brides in Toronto and Vancouver, and forms part of a larger study of gender, modernity and identity in Indo‐Canadian Jat Sikh marriages.     

Pluralism and ethnic conflict in Tanzania's arid lands: the case of the Maasai and the WaArusha

In Tanzania, the Maasai and Waarusha tribes are experiencing conflict because differences in their modes of productions and economic strategies undermine the peaceful coexistence that they have enjoyed since the 18th century. The Maasai are pastoralists, while the Waarusha are agricultural subsistence farmers who are encroaching on the best pasture lands. A sketch of the history of the two groups shows that the Maasai reached the peak of their land holding in 1880 before the arrival of European colonists who seized land and restricted the Maasai to a semi-arid reserve but allowed the Maasai to remain an autonomous and powerful group. The Waarusha began encroaching on Maasai land after independence due to land and population pressure. While closely tied, each group looks down on the other, and Maasai ascendancy has given way to Waarusha challenges. After independence, the tribal and ethnic rule that was protected by the colonial system was disrupted to allow for increased internal migration and new patterns of settlement. The rights of land ownership were transferred from tribes to the State, allowing privileged groups to benefit. The Waarusha began to engage in illegal land-grabbing and to encroach on the Maasai preserve using legal and illegal means. The Maasai view land as collective property and have had difficulty retaining title of traditional lands in the face of population pressure. This loss of grazing land has forced the Maasai into a mixed economy that depends upon agricultural production as well as livestock production. In the meantime, the Waarusha have deliberately sought political office to gain power to secure their holdings. Immediate action is needed to produce 1) a policy on spontaneous settlement, 2) an immediate adjustment of legal procedures for land acquisition, 3) a land tenure policy that equally emphasizes agricultural and livestock production, and 4) controls on undue expansion of subsistence agriculture into semi-arid rangelands.     

Health Status and Health Care Services Among Older Persons in India

Summary

India is characterized by significant rural-based living, population heterogeneity, financial constraints, and reverse sex ratio. Traditions of joint families, life-long physical activity, vegetarianism, and social and spiritual enrichment, all known to promote healthy aging, are widely prevalent. With the increasing pace of population aging, the health of older persons in India has been the focus of recent attention. Existing data indicate a significant morbidity among the aged, much of which may remain subclinical. Considerable variations in morbidity exist with respect to gender, place of residence (rural vs. urban), and socioeconomic status. Rapid demographic transition without a concomitant epidemiological transition is responsible for the dual load of infections and degenerative diseases in older persons, these being common causes of death. Most age-related morbidity is preventable. Health promotion and cost-effective interventions based on the primary health care approach over a lifelong course, especially at the village level, will greatly help towards achieving the goal of healthy aging. The rapidly changing socioeconomic scenario in India also calls for appropriate policy actions to achieve this goal.     

Societal Norms Rather Than Sexual Orientation Influence Kin Altruism and Avuncularity in Tribal Urak-Lawoi,Italian, and Spanish Adult Males

Homosexual males could balance their low fitness by increasing benefits to relatives either through kin-directed altruism or by avuncularity (altruistic behavior toward the children of siblings). Evidence in support of kin selection and avuncularity includes the fact that homosexuals seem to be more empathic and altruistic than heterosexuals. Other studies have not confirmed behaviors that increase kin altruism in homosexuals. We explored altruistic behavior and avuncularity in a sample of 278 subjects, either homosexual or heterosexual, from three populations: Italian, Spanish, and Urak-Lawoi, a Southeast Asian tribal population. Among the Urak-Lawoi, the kathoeys, androphilic men who dress and behave as women, were compared with heterosexuals. All populations were rated for societal norms on the expression of affiliative behavior. No greater kin altruism or avuncularity among the kathoeys or in homosexuals in either Mediterranean population was found. Greater avuncularity and kin-directed altruism, independent of sexual orientation, were found among the Urak-Lawoi, and these traits were the least prevalent among the Italians, corresponding to different societal norms. The increase in kin altruism and avuncularity was associated in all males with societal differences and norms on general altruism toward nonkin children, suggesting it is not an adaptive design to maintain homosexuality in humans.     

Women and philanthropy in India

Women's philanthropy has deep roots in India. A historical survey shows that despite their generally low socio-economic status, Indian women made significant contributions to social progress even while outside the formal power and profit structure. This article also analyses the role of religion, custom, caste and class, political and social movements, and the legal and political structure in motivating and facilitating as well as in restraining women's philanthropy. It is lack of economic independence and an enabling socio-legal structure that has inhibited social entrepreneurship among women, while sociopolitical movements have encouraged it.     

Health status and health care services among older persons in India

India is characterized by significant rural-based living, population heterogeneity, financial constraints, and reverse sex ratio. Traditions of joint families, life-long physical activity, vegetarianism, and social and spiritual enrichment, all known to promote healthy aging, are widely prevalent. With the increasing pace of population aging, the health of older persons in India has been the focus of recent attention. Existing data indicate a significant morbidity among the aged, much of which may remain subclinical. Considerable variations in morbidity exist with respect to gender, place of residence (rural vs. urban), and socioeconomic status. Rapid demographic transition without a concomitant epidemiological transition is responsible for the dual load of infections and degenerative diseases in older persons, these being common causes of death. Most age-related morbidity is preventable. Health promotion and cost-effective interventions based on the primary health care approach over a lifelong course, especially at the village level, will greatly help towards achieving the goal of healthy aging. The rapidly changing socioeconomic scenario in India also calls for appropriate policy actions to achieve this goal.