Culture, the Status of Women and Demographic Behaviour

This study examines the relations between cultural background, the status of women, and demographic behaviour. Focusing on two groups of immigrants in Delhi, it takes into account concepts of women's status, culture, fertility and morality; sex differentials in mortality and well-being; the proximate determinants of fertility and mortality; and behaviour mechanisms. A wide range of demographic parameters are examined in terms of culture and women's status. The book goes beyond the usual focus on fertility and desire and need for children to look also at relations between women's status and their child mortality experience, as well as gender differences in well-being. There is an emphasis on the behavioural mechanisms which mediate the above above relationships. For example, the book looks at whether the position of women affects child mortality, whether it operates through better health behaviour within the home, or through unintentional biodemographic factors. Finally, it examines the applicability of our knowledge based on the experience of the developed world to the present situation in a typical developing country.