Women’s Status in South Asian Developing Nations: A Multicountry Analysis

Shreya Singhal , Community Empowerment Lab
Sana Ashraf

Around the world, many women continue to experience low level of autonomy. The study aims to assess woman status in South Asian countries which are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan using their latest DHS data. Women’s participation either alone or jointly in household and financial decisions is considered as an indicator of women’s autonomy in decision making. Multivariate ordered logistic regression is used to examine and explore the status of women and its socio demographic differentials. Women who were employed and educated had a stronger say in household decision making than women who did not work and not educated. Rural and poor women were less likely to be involved in decision making than urban or rich women. It is found that with increase in woman age, the decision making power is increasing. Keywords- woman autonomy, gender issues, decision making, empowerment, multivariate ordered logistic regression

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 9. Marriage, Family, Households, & Unions; Gender, Race, & Ethnicity