CWDS Library - Recent Additions

Author     :    Tamsin Bradley, Emma Tomalin and Mangala Subramaniam (eds.)

Publisher   :  Women Unlimited

Year          :   2009

Pages        :   245

Contents    :   Acknowledgements.  Preface.  Introduction.   Dowry in Rural Bangladesh: An Intractable Problem?.  Heroes or Hondas?: Analysing Men’s  Dowry Narratives in a Time of Rapid Social Change.  The Interfaces Between Gender, Religion and Dowry.  Trends and Patterns in Dowry Transitions: Evidence from North and South India.  The Spider’s Web: Seeing Dowry, Fighting Dowry.  Legacies of the Dowry Prohibition Act in India: Marriage Practices and Feminist Discourses.  Dowry and Transnational Activism.  Conclusion.  Contributors.

This book explores dowry practices in South Asia from a number of theoretical perspectives and through a multidisciplinary lens. It provides an overview of these debates and discussions as they have developed since the 1960s, with the emergence of the Indian women’s movement in particular.

New research asks important questions about the spread of dowry, the shifting dynamics of the dowry terrain, and the role of gender in underpinning dowry abuse. How is the practice being resisted both in South Asia, as well as globally?. What roles do religion, culture, economics, class or caste play in shaping dowry practices as well as perpetuating the abuse of dowry customs that result in death or injury to women across South Asia?. This volume analyses and explores the dynamics of these changes and the complexities they involve. It highlights the particular role that academic research can play and presents suggestions about the sorts of activism and action necessary to end dowry injustice.   [from the back cover] 

Author      :    Prem Chowdhry (ed.)

Publisher  :    Sage

Year         :    2009

Pages      :     314

Contents :  List of Tables and Figures.  Foreward.  A Note from the Coordinator.  Editor's introduction.  1. Assam : Marginalization of women: inheritance in Assam.  2. Bihar : Need for an ideological struggle: society and law in Bihar.  3. Haryana : Gendered spaces: agrarian economy of Haryana.  4. Himachal Pradesh : Customary practices, law and gender in Himachal Pradesh.  5. Karnataka : Addressing legal rights in Karnataka.  6. Kerala : Residual farmers on household land? Women and second generation concerns of regulation in Kerala/Praveena Kodoth   7. Madhya Pradesh : Gendering land reforms in Madhya Pradesh.  8. Manipur : Women and inheritance practices in Manipur.  9. Meghalaya : Tribal areas of Meghalaya: land ownership of women.  10. Orissa : Need for a paradigm shift: justice and equality for women in Orissa.  11. Puducherry (Pondicherry) (Union Territory) : Women's entitlement and legal position in Puducherry (Pondicherry).  12. Punjab : Gender and reform in Punjab. 13. Uttar Pradesh : Women's access and rights to land in Uttar Pradesh.  14. West Bengal : Analyzing women's rights: a field study from West Bengal.  Index.

"This edited volume analyzes the different degrees of discrimination meted out to women by the country's inheritance laws and the corresponding customary practices sin tribal societies. It also exposes the current socio-legal structure in the country, which systematically denies women the accessibility to and ownership of productive resources.

Gender Discrimination in Land Ownership is XIth in the series 'Land Reforms in India', initiated by the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. The volume contains 14 well-researched chapters through which distinguished scholars look into the discrimination faced by women in various states of India. Highlighting the fact that different regions subject women to varied forms of discrimination, these chapters reveal that these emanate from various customs and practices, Shastric prescriptions and the Muslim personal laws (Shariat) which were crystallized during the British regime and further consolidated in the post-colonial period through various union, state and concurrent laws.

Apart from describing the discrimination that women are subjected to in terms of legal rights, the collection also proposes ways to counter the same and encourages debate on the current Indian socio-legal system. With its two pronged concern--analysis of reform laws and their impact on gender--this book will be of interest to academics in fields such as development economics, land laws, gender/women studies and sociology, as well as to policy-makers and administrators." [from the back cover]

Title          :   Gender Issues in Development : Concerns for the
                     Twenty-First Century

Author      :    Bhaswati Das and Vimal Khawas (eds.)

Publisher  :    Rawat

Year          :   2009

Pages        :   318

Contents : Acknowledgements. 1. Gender issues in development: concerns for the twenty-first century. 2. Agency, structure and women as situated subjects: changing the terms of gendered discourse and exploring ways to crack the gendered codes. 3. Bridging the gender gaps: an analysis of the educational situation with special emphasis on higher, technical and professional education. 4. Feminization or segregation: insights from a disaggregate analysis of NSSO data. 5. Determinants of sexual violence within marriage in Kerala. 6. Implications of ageing with special reference to women. 7. Gender equality in education: assessing gains and reviewing challenges in Rajasthan. 8. Women’s work and Indian labour marketsi. 9. Rural poverty alleviation and conservation: some recent evidence from Himachal Pradesh on the implications of interventions for rural women. 10. An encounter between university teachers and the rural women of Jhargram: the narrative of a workshop and the lessons learnt. 11. Gender differences among older persons: A study based on the 2001 population census of India. 12. Sensitizing financial allocations through gender budgeting. 13. Crafting democratic citizenship: towards a continuum approach to political participation. Contributors. Index.

“Gender issues are wide and spread over the entire gamut of development. Over the decades it appeared to be the most intriguing for development plans. The present book, which is an outcome of a national seminar, held under the auspices of council for social development, New Delhi, is an attempt to look into the gender issues involved in different development activities. The contributors are drawn from different social science backgrounds such as economics, sociology, demography, geography and anthropology. This is done purposely to have perspectives of all these disciplines in one single book.  [from the back cover]

Title          :    Problems of Working Women in Karachi, Pakistan

Author      :     Iffat Hussain  

Publisher  :     Cambridge Scholars

Year         :      2008

Pages       :      186

Contents : List of Figures. List of Tables. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. Pakistan. 3. Socio-Economic Characteristics. 4. Working Conditions. 5. Attitudes Toward Working Women. 6. Conclusion and Discussion. 7. Advice to Working Women. Appendix. Bibliography. Index.

Problems of working women in Karachi is based on interviews survey conducted with working women as the subject. The domestic worker, and women working in offices and companies in the clerical and managerial positions are interviewed. The study showed that the women in general are victims of gender biased society, specially working women. The data is also based on clear graphs and charts showing the magnitude of gender inequality in terms of Labour Force Participation. This is the only book which gives the full information about the working women in Karachi. It explains the life style of Muslim women living in underdeveloped country who are trying to find their identity and fighting for their survival in male dominated society. It explains the living standards, their problems and hindrances they face while trying to make their way into the job market. This book is a must read for those who are interested to have an insight into the working women problems in a Muslim underdeveloped state. It is beneficial to students, researchers, surveyors and all who are interested to read and learn about this issue. The whole material is full of information explained in simple and easy to understand language with graphs, personal interviews and case studies.  [from the back cover]

Title           :   Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and
                     Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide

Author       :    Mona Lena Krook   

Publisher   :    Oxford University Press  

Year          :     2009

Contents : 1. Introduction to Gender Quotas. 2. The Adoption of Gender Quotas. 3.The Implementation of Gender Quotas. 4. Reserved Seats in Pakistan and India. 5. Party Quotas in Sweden and the United Kingdom, 6. Legislative Quotas in Argentina and France. 7. Conclusions and Directions for Future Research. Appendix. Notes. References. Index

In recent years, political parties and national legislatures in more than 100 countries have adopted quotas for the selection of female candidates to political office. Despite the rapid diffusion of these measures around the globe, most research has focused on single countries--or, at most, the presence of quotas within one world region. Due to limited evidence, explanations for adoption and impact of gender quotas derived from one study frequently contradict findings from other cases. Quotas for Women in Politics is the first book to address quotas as a global phenomenon in order to provide greater analytical leverage in explaining their spread and impact in diverse contexts around the world. It is organized around two sets of questions: First, why are quotas adopted? Which actors are involved in quota campaigns, and why do they support or oppose quota measures? Second, what effects do quotas have on existing patterns of political representation? Are these provisions sufficient for bringing more women into politics? Or, does their impact depend on other features of the broader political context?

Synthesizing the literature on quota policies, Mona Lena Krook develops a framework for analyzing the spread of quota provisions and the reasons for variations in their effects. She then uses this framework to examine and compare different types of quota policies in Pakistan and India; Sweden and the United Kingdom; and Argentina and France.  [from the back cover]

Title           :   Veena Dhanammal: The Making of a Legend

Author       :    Lakshmi Subramanian   

Publisher   :    Routledge  

Year          :     2009

This book looks at the life and music of noted Karantiik vocalist Veena Dhanam. It locates her art within the cultural, social and intellectual milieu she inhabited, allowing readers to track the changing musical landscape of Southern India, particularly shifts in musical practice, consumption and evaluation.

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, a process of urbanization resulted in Karnatik music’s movement from a ritual and courtly location to a modern, secular form of entertainment in the city space. This was followed by a self-conscious project of cultural engineering- closely tied to the idea of national identity and pride. The city elite felt a need to carve out and theories a distinct classical tradition for Karnatik music that would withstand European critique. Through Dhanam’s world of cultural and social exchanges, the volume examines the responses of traditional artists to the project of classicization of music. It also looks at Dhanam’s influence on the musical fraternity of the time as well as the academy’s awkward relationship with her: many members hailed her as an exemplar for resisting formulaic conventions-the sane quality, ironically, which disallowed her appropriation in the canon being elaborated by them.  [from the back cover]

Title           :   Widows, Renunciation and Social-Self
                     (A Study of Bengali Widows in Varanasi)

Author       :    Bandana Majumdar   

Publisher   :    Manak 

Year          :     2009

Pages        :    254  

Contents : Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Varanasi-The Land of Widows, Bulls, Stairs and Ascetics. 3. Renunciation, Ascetism and Widows. 4. Tradition, Bengali Widows and their Deprivations. 5. Womanhood, Widowhood and Formation of Social-Self. 6. State Action, Societal Response and the Widows. 7. From General to Specific: Case Studies of Some Widows. 8. Summary and Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

The present book comprehensively analyses the multiple forms of both material and emotional deprivation, forced or compulsive renunciation, and formation of social-self among the Bengali widows living in Varanasi city. It questions the exclusivity of renunciation or asceticism particularly for men, prescribed by the Hindu Dharmshahtras and situates it in the domain of women also who have all along remained subordinated to men, though the unique tradition of Kashivas (the elderly persons inhabiting temporarily in hope of piou death in Kashi or Varanasi) puts both men and women on equal footings. Being subjected to perennial humiliation, neglect and exploitation, the widows need the minimum social security for their material survival. The book adequately elucidates the breakdown of the state machinery and civil society in fulfilling their bare material needs and reinstating social dignity and self respect in them which, in turn, could have initiated and accelerated the formation of social-self among them. Hence, it suggests certain ways and means to be adopted by the state civil society organizations and the people as a whole to change their mind-set and reorient the widows for becoming active role performers rather than remaining the silent beneficiaries of the doles of others.  [from the back cover]

Author     :   Annpurna Nautiyal and Himanshu Bourai (eds.)

Publisher :   Kalpaz

Year       :    2009

Pages     :   284

Contents : Preface. Introduction. List of Contributors. 1. Women empowerment concept and prospects. 2. Social and economic empowerment of women in India. 3. Women empowerment in Uttarakhand: prospects and challenges. 4. Empowering hill women in rural development through education and awareness. 5. Female foeticide and status of girl child: theme: awareness, problems and solutions. 6. Women participation in watershed management: a field study of Garhwal and Shiwalik hills. 7. Measuring women empowerment using qualitative response and quantative casual models with conjoint-simulation techniques. 8. Empowerment of women with reference to women of rural Uttarakhand. 9. Supporting factors for women's participation and success in politics in Uttarakhand. 10. Empowerment of women: a study of District Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand. 11. Impact of education on women empowerment in Uttarakhand. 12. A reflection on the moral strategies to address the gender bias. 13. Culture of peace through strengthening women and minority's rights. 14. Empowerment of women through political participation. 15. Uttarakhand: Problems of a new state. Index.

This book is an outcome of a National Semina organized by the Department of Political Science, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Under the UGC-SAP-DRS programme during November 1920,2007 on "Women Empowerment in Garhwal Himalayas : Constraints and Prospects". The objective of this book is to explore the challenges and constraints which hamper women's participation in development programmes as a decision maker and identy as a group. Women of Garhwal Himalayas play a major role in managing natural resources, agriculture and economy and they also suffer from the environmental mismanagement,yet they are neither consulted nor is their plight taken into account bu the strategists and planners while making policies. In view of women's contribution towards the society and econoomy,The purpose of this book is to highlight the situation of women empowerment; realities and its impact on socio-economic justice in general and in particular to the Garhwal Himalayas. Actually there are innumerable issues of the women of Garhwal Himalayas,on which policy decisions and concrete actions need to be taken to ensure full participation and empowerment of the women. This book consists of the papers presented during the seminar in which the authors have suggested the ways and means through which the women can face the environmental, social,and economic challenges and use the clauses of empowerment for their betterment in development programmes and politicies. This book also examines how despite poverty, poor health, socio-economic and educational status, women of Garhawal Himalayas are playing a vital role for the society. It also highlights the social, economic, Institutional and Functional constraints that impair the functioning of women in the policies and development programmes. It is hoped that this book would be helpful to the scholars, development workers, NGO's and policy planners to encourage rural women's empowerment and participation in development programmes. [from the back cover]

Title            :      Women in Jainism :
                         A Case Study of Gujarat Inscriptions

Author       :      Mrinal Joshi

Publisher    :     Rawat

Year           :     2009

Contents   :      Foreword by Harsh Suri.   Preface.  Acknowledgements.   Part I.  Struggles in the Workplace.  Part II.  Exploitation in the Workplace.  Part III. Health and Wellness.  Part IV. Having Faith: Religious and Spiritual Journeys.  Part V.  Finding Spaces: Women's Empowerment.  Part VI. Conclusion.  About the Editors and Contributors.

“Jainism, like all other religions, was a patriarchal religion. However, it adopted a liberal attitude towards women in certain respects. But, did it practice what it preached? The book addresses the issue by taking the case of Jainas of Gujarat. This epigraphical study is an attempt to understand Jaina women’s world-view, as far as possible, from their own sources, namely, women’s inscriptions belonging to second millennium. It also attempts to locate modifications taking place in the patriarchal ideals during the period of study.

All those interested in women’s issues, epigraphy and Jainism will find this book interesting and useful."  [from the back cover]

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