Terror as a Bargaining Instrument: A Case Study of Dowry Violence in Rural India

Abstract

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the view of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent.

Microfinance and gender empowerment

“…The possibility of violence under non-cooperation can imply that, in certain instances, leaving the marriage is a realistic option (even if it is not actually undertaken). 9 Third, while the incidence of divorce in these societies may be low, the incidence of separation initiated by the wife, precisely in situations where she has been subject to or threatened with violence, is substantially higher.…”

“…A loan taken by the household may be invested in a female activity, but it does not necessarily follow that the woman would be able to retain control of the new asset or enterprise if she leaves the marriage. 1 0 On the other hand, a woman may have little scope of investing a loan profitably while she remains married -in which 9 In the context of Bangladesh, the social acceptability of violence against women by their husbands has been documented in various ethnographic studies; e.g. Hartmann and Boyce (1983) and White (1992).…”

Why Dowry Payments Declined with Modernization in Europe but Are Rising in India

“…8 Moreover, their marriage practices are typically monogamous, patrilineal (i.e., class status follows from the husband's status), and endogamous (i.e., men and women of equal status tend to marry) (Gaulin and Boster 1990). Marriage patterns in India follow these lines precisely; individuals are 4 Kumari (1989), Sood (1990), Chauhan (1995), and Bloch and Rao (2002) address these issues. Sen (1990) estimates that 30 million women are missing in India because of female infanticide.…”

Marriage Markets in Developing Countries

“…Bloch and Rao (2002), for example, model a household with asymmetric information where violence against the wife is interpreted as a signal sent by the husband to the wife's family about his contentment with the marriage in order to extract additional transfers. Empirical evidence on the causal determinants of spousal violence in developing country settings is limited and mixed.…”