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The effect of a livelihoods intervention in an urban slum in India : do vocational counseling and training alter the attitudes and behaviour of adolescent girls?

MENSCH, Barbara S
et al
2004

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This paper examines whether an experimental intervention for girls aged 14-19 that provided reproductive health information, vocational counseling and training, and assistance with opening savings accounts in slum areas of Allahabad in Uttar pradesh, India, had an effect on their attitudes and behaviours. A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design was used in which adolescent girls were compared with girls of the same age residing in control-area slums. Although the livelihoods program was acceptable to parents and feasible to implement, the project had only a minimal impact on the behaviour and attitudes of adolescent girls taking part in the project. Girls exposed to the intervention were significantly more likely to have knowledge of safe spaces, be a member of a group, score higher on the social skills index, be informed about reproductive health, and spend time on leisure activities than were the matched control respondents. No effect was found on gender role attitudes, mobility, self-esteem, work expectations, or on number of hours visiting friends, performing domestic chores, or engaging in labour market work

Does dowry improve life for brides? A test of the bequest theory of dowry in rural Bangladesh

LUCIANA, Suran
et al
2004

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In recent years, dowry levels have risen to previously unforeseen levels. Among Hindus in north India dowry can amount to three or four times a family's total assets. Among Muslims in Bangladesh and hindus in South India, dowry has become commonplace whereas the practice did not exist a generation ago. The institution of dowry has been widely criticised, socially maligned, and legally banned. Some recent writings suggest that dowry persists because it is 'good for the bride'. This paper explores the association between dowry and the prevalence of domestic abuse to test this bequest theory of dowry. The study finds that, contrary to the bequest theory, married females who paid dowry at marriage have a higher likelihood of reporting domestic violence compared to those who did not. In addition, respondents who paid small dowries report much higher levels of abuse than those who paid large dowries. In fact, paying no dowry is just as protective, if not more so, in terms of preventing abuse as the largest dowry payments

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