A “Gendered Analysis” into the Latent Cultural and Social Determinants of Undernutrition and Malnutrition: A Study in Purulia District of West Bengal

Abstract

While the issue of malnutrition, it is fully established, has a robust biomedical base, which calls forth action that intervenes at the nutritional (intake) level, experiences on field, backed by research underscore the structural determinants of malnutrition. Latent cultural and social forces which are less visible but nevertheless obdurate may also push people towards the condition of undernutrition, particularly intergenerational undernutrition, as these find expression in gendered food ideologies handed down effortlessly, in the ‘doing of family’ and kinship. These gendered food ideologies provide cultural sanction to existing dietary practices of young girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers and infants through preferences, prescriptions, proscriptions and food aversions, that may position women in a structurally disadvantageous location, with grave ramifications for them and their children. The period of pregnancy and lactation for the mother, and the first two years of the child’s life have been found to be a special nutritional challenge, with localized cultural perceptions often leading to inappropriate eating practices on account of biases and culturally entrenched belief systems. Food has social meanings and deep association with questions of identity such as caste, community, gender, age. Any nutritional intervention must therefore take into account not only local narratives built around food and the ‘substance,’ but the structural position and power dynamics of those who consume it.