Impoverished Women Research Articles

Women entrepreneurship enticed family prosperity - an empirical evaluation of performance of microenterprises under Kudumbashree mission in Kerala, India

Kudumbashree, meaning the family's prosperity is one of the flagship programmes of the Government of Kerala, centred on woman empowerment has been successful in giving hope to millions of impoverished women and their families in Kerala. Kudumbashree considers microenterprises as a growth engine that triggers development process. Besides improving the standard of living of the families, women empowerment can go a long way in building gender equality and social acceptance of labour in the community. This study focuses on review of the production, marketing, asset management, profitability, government support and women empowerment issues faced by the microenterprise units under Kudumbashree. The study is based on primary data obtained from 279 samples (93 each from three districts) in Kerala, the 100% literate state of India, using factor analysis revealed seven principal components that accounted for variations in performances of microenterprise units under Kudumbashree mission in Kerala.

Women entrepreneurship enticed family prosperity - an empirical evaluation of performance of microenterprises under Kudumbashree mission in Kerala, India

Kudumbashree, meaning the family's prosperity is one of the flagship programmes of the Government of Kerala, centred on woman empowerment has been successful in giving hope to millions of impoverished women and their families in Kerala. Kudumbashree considers microenterprises as a growth engine that triggers development process. Besides improving the standard of living of the families, women empowerment can go a long way in building gender equality and social acceptance of labour in the community. This study focuses on review of the production, marketing, asset management, profitability, government support and women empowerment issues faced by the microenterprise units under Kudumbashree. The study is based on primary data obtained from 279 samples (93 each from three districts) in Kerala, the 100% literate state of India, using factor analysis revealed seven principal components that accounted for variations in performances of microenterprise units under Kudumbashree mission in Kerala.

Book Review: Becoming strong: Impoverished women and the struggle to overcome violence

Book Review: Becoming strong: Impoverished women and the struggle to overcome violence

Poverty and Family Troubles: Mothers, Children, and Neoliberal “Antipoverty” Initiatives

Conditions of impoverishment underlie many family “troubles” and the family is often a site of antipoverty interventions. Feminist scholars have provided a series of trenchant critiques of neoliberal initiatives which purport to tackle familial poverty but have the effect of retraditionalizing gendered divisions of labor, as well as sidelining demands for social and economic justice for women. Taking one article as an in-depth case study, this article considers what happens to “the child” in such feminist critiques. I suggest there is a tendency to posit neoliberal antipoverty initiatives as benign for or even of benefit to children. The unintended consequences are to position impoverished women against impoverished children and to naturalize childhood at the same time as contesting motherhood. In troubling the family in this way, I argue for the productivity of complementing feminist critiques with critically oriented childhood scholarship to better understand the operations and impacts of neoliberal antipoverty initiatives.

Regulation of surrogacy in India: whenceforth now?

Commercial gestational surrogacy (CGS) is unique among assisted reproductive services in its ability to attract disapprobation. Allied practices such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), oocyte and sperm donation also enable...

Correlates of Female Sterilization in Bihar: Does Women’s Empowerment Matter?

Female sterilization is the most emphasized and utilized method of family planning in India. Recently, Bihar, one of India’s most socially and economically disadvantaged states, has garnered national and international attention for government prompted, coercive measures to sterilize impoverished women (MacAskill, 2013; Human Rights Watch, 2012). Using data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), this study examined the association between factors of women’s empowerment and female sterilization controlling for sociodemographic characteristics in the state of Bihar. Logistic regression analysis was restricted to women from Bihar aged 15–49 (N = 1165) who reported using some method of contraception. The strength of association was estimated by calculating the odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Sixty-eight percent of the women in the sample reported being sterilized. The women, on average were 34 years old and 50% of the women reported having no formal education. Controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, women with more than a 10th grade education were 73% less likely to report being sterilized compared to women with no education (OR 0.27; CI 0.14–0.52), controlling for other variables. Additionally, women who delayed marriage were significantly less likely to report being sterilized (OR 0.89; CI 0.85–0.95), controlling for other variables. Women’s out-of-home employment and intrahousehold decision-making were not statistically significant correlates of sterilization status. Age and religious affiliation were significant sociodemographic correlates of sterilization. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

A phenomenology of informal caregiving for HIV/AIDS in India: Exploring women's search for authoritative knowledge, self-efficacy and resilience

ABSTRACTWomen provide informal caregiving across the world and are often expected to provide care even when ailing themselves. We explore the lived experience of 33 impoverished married Indian women living with HIV and caring for their husbands and/or children living with HIV. Drawing on concepts of authoritative knowledge (AK), self-efficacy and resilience, we found a trajectory that reveals barriers to accessing care, yet we also found that women developed strengths and resiliency. Women gather information, develop “environ-info,” and deliberatively weigh AK from health workers, family/friends' advice, and their own experiences. Over multiple iterations of this process, they build self-reliance and resilience.

A ‘burning opportunity’ for human rights: Using human rights as a catalyst for policies to mitigate the health risk of household air pollution

With over 3 billion people dependent on traditional cooking and heating technologies, efforts to address the health burden of exposure to household air pollution (HAP), as well as other sociodemographic impacts associated with energy poverty, are central to sustainable development objectives. Yet despite overwhelming scientific consensus on the health burden of HAP exposure, particularly harms to impoverished women and children in developing countries, advocates currently lack a human rights framework to mitigate HAP exposure through improved access to cleaner household energy systems. This article examines the role of human rights in framing state obligations to mitigate HAP exposure, supporting environmental health for the most vulnerable through intersectional obligations across the human right to health, the collective right to development, and women’s and children’s rights. Drawing from human rights advocacy employed in confronting the public health harms of tobacco, we argue that rights-based civil society advocacy can structure the multi-sectoral policies necessary to address the impacts of HAP exposure and energy poverty, facilitating accountability for human rights implementation through international treaty bodies, national judicial challenges, and local political advocacy. We conclude that there is a pressing need to build civil society capacity for a rights-based approach to cleaner household energy policy as a means to address the environmental health effects of energy poverty.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Neighborhood Residency and Satisfaction, and Social Network Characteristics among Underserved Women in Baltimore, Maryland

BackgroundPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence is high, but not well-understood, among women living in urban, impoverished areas. Although previous studies have established social support as an important factor in PTSD development and maintenance, little is known about how perceptions of neighborhood are linked to PTSD. This study examined the relationship between PTSD and social network and neighborhood factors among women with a low socioeconomic status. MethodsWe analyzed cross-sectional data collected from a human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted infection peer network study in Baltimore, Maryland (n = 438). We used bivariate analyses to examine the associations between PTSD and social network characteristics and time in neighborhood and satisfaction. We then constructed multivariable regression models that controlled for the following with PTSD: homelessness, cocaine/heroin use, and unemployment. Main FindingsOverall, 30% of women had PTSD symptom severity consistent with a clinical diagnosis. In the multivariable model, dissatisfaction with neighborhood block (odds ratio [OR], 1.80; p = .03) and living in one's neighborhood for more than 5 years (OR, 1.69; p = .03) were associated with PTSD. Social network factors that were significantly associated with PTSD included a higher number of network members in conflict with the participant (OR, 1.28; p = .02), presence of a network member who would let the participant stay with them (OR, 0.4; p = .004), and the number of network members with whom the participant socialized (OR, 0.6; p = .04). ConclusionsIn this sample of impoverished urban women with a high prevalence of PTSD, duration of residency, satisfaction with neighborhood, and network characteristics were found to be strongly associated with PTSD symptom severity.

A 'burning opportunity' for human rights: using human rights as a catalyst for policies to mitigate the health risk of household air pollution.

With over 3 billion people dependent on traditional cooking and heating technologies, efforts to address the health burden of exposure to household air pollution (HAP), as well as other sociodemographic impacts associated with energy poverty, are central to sustainable development objectives. Yet despite overwhelming scientific consensus on the health burden of HAP exposure, particularly harms to impoverished women and children in developing countries, advocates currently lack a human rights framework to mitigate HAP exposure through improved access to cleaner household energy systems. This article examines the role of human rights in framing state obligations to mitigate HAP exposure, supporting environmental health for the most vulnerable through intersectional obligations across the human right to health, the collective right to development, and women's and children's rights. Drawing from human rights advocacy employed in confronting the public health harms of tobacco, we argue that rights-based civil society advocacy can structure the multi-sectoral policies necessary to address the impacts of HAP exposure and energy poverty, facilitating accountability for human rights implementation through international treaty bodies, national judicial challenges and local political advocacy. We conclude that there is a pressing need to build civil society capacity for a rights-based approach to cleaner household energy policy as a means to alleviate the environmental health effects of energy poverty.

Women supporting women: Supportive/educative groups for ethnically diverse, urban, impoverished women dealing with depression and anxiety

Depression and anxiety are mental health issues that disproportionately affect urban, ethnically diverse, impoverished women. Using community based participatory research and in the context of long-term partnerships between a nursing department and underserved neighborhoods that are predominately Black, Hispanic, and White respectively, supportive/educative groups were offered. The study employed a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent comparison group pretest-posttest design. Seventy-two women aged 17–88 years participated. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant increase in knowledge for self-care for depression and anxiety and a significant decrease in anxiety and depression symptomatology from before to after the group sessions.

Early Childbearing and the Option to Postpone

This paper uses the option value theory to analyse whether there is any value in postponing childbearing for young women. The main insights are based on the idea that the costs of bearing tend to decrease in time and are subject to uncertainty. The analysis involves women with different socioeconomic characteristics. Our findings suggest that, as long as the possibilities of poorer women to reach high schooling increase, they will optimally postpone childbearing. In other words, early childbearing by impoverished women might be a rational reaction to their disadvantaged situation, where opportunities to reach high achievements are low, with or without a child.

Women’s empowerment model in home-based industries in East Java Province, Indonesia

This study aimed to classify the role of women, gender and characteristics of home-based industries that were managed by women in two cities of East Java Province. This study also tried to identify strengths, weaknesses and challenges faced by these women, especially impoverished women. The research employed qualitative method supported by quantitative data. The data collected through structured interviews guided by questionnaires and indepth interviews. Three main results were attained. First, it was related to the characteristics of women workers, the role of multi-burdened women, the flexible working hours, formal education but unrelated to work, and low income but still importantly needed to support economic condition. Second, three networks were found: network between manager/owner and workers that was informal and family-oriented, network between managers and local government for marketing and training, and network with the private sector for access to capital and business development. Third, the model of empowering small home-based industries should consider the specific needs of women. In other words, there is a requisite for practical and strategic gender needs that has to be comprehended and become the basis for the planning and development to conduct activities and programs for women.

Adjusting Photovoice for Marginalized Indigenous Women: Eliciting Ch'orti' Maya Women's Perspectives on Health in Guatemala

Photovoice is a Community-based Participatory Research method in which cameras are distributed to marginalized members of a community to document their own perspectives as well as balance power between researcher, researched, and dominant members of their society. Photovoice has been used in many contexts and been subject to constant renovation and refinement, to which the authors intend to contribute here. At the start of an Engineers Without Borders (EWB) project in a Ch'orti' Maya community of eastern Guatemala, the authors—an environmental engineer/MPH student and an anthropologist working in the region for over two decades—introduced the Photovoice technique among impoverished indigenous women to heighten their, the authors' own, EWB members, and potential funders' awareness about health problems. The authors feel that the adjustments were partially successful, as seen in the elicited Ch'orti' women's perspectives reported below. Their application of the technique was nonetheless problematic, leading...

Midwifery and childbirth among enslaved and freed women in Rio de Janeiro in the first half of the nineteenth century

ABSTRACTThis paper analyses changes in the experience of midwifery and childbirth among enslaved women, impoverished free women of colour, and freedwomen in the context of urban slavery in Rio de Janeiro during the first half of the nineteenth century. Over this period, the role of the midwife (traditionally practised by women without formal training whose lives mostly traversed slavery) began to be questioned. This process of discrediting midwives occurred at the same time as attempts were made to make educated midwives submit to the precepts of medicine. Parturient women’s living conditions also influenced the experience of childbirth. Although they lived in subordinate positions, limited options were available to these women, and they often made choices that went against what doctors considered to be most appropriate.

Leadership Amidst Poverty: a Mixed-Methodological Analysis of the Shack Dweller Federation of Namibia

Can leaders emerge amidst chronic poverty? This mixed-methodological study examines the influence of demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral traits on self-defined leadership status for 281 female members of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia, a network of neighborhood-based savings groups that attempts to provide affordable housing and related infrastructure services to impoverished black women. We consider the following research questions: Do Federation women consider themselves leaders? Are certain women more likely to consider themselves leaders than others? Results based on statistical and content analyses, and informed by leadership theory, suggest the importance of ethnicity, education, Pentecostal and mainline religious affiliations, sweat equity, and leadership interest in explaining whether women consider themselves leaders. Representative themes also illustrate some of the nuanced ways leadership is understood and experienced.

Serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) polymorphism and susceptibility to a home-visiting maternal-infant attachment intervention delivered by community health workers in South Africa: Reanalysis of a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundClear recognition of the damaging effects of poverty on early childhood development has fueled an interest in interventions aimed at mitigating these harmful consequences. Psychosocial interventions aimed at alleviating the negative impacts of poverty on children are frequently shown to be of benefit, but effect sizes are typically small to moderate. However, averaging outcomes over an entire sample, as is typically done, could underestimate efficacy because weaker effects on less susceptible individuals would dilute estimation of effects on those more disposed to respond. This study investigates whether a genetic polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene moderates susceptibility to a psychosocial intervention.Methods and findingsWe reanalyzed data from a randomized controlled trial of a home-visiting program delivered by community health workers in a black, isiXhosa-speaking population in Khayelitsha, South Africa. The intervention, designed to enhance maternal-infant attachment, began in the third trimester and continued until 6 mo postpartum. Implemented between April 1999 and February 2003, the intervention comprised 16 home visits delivered to 220 mother–infant dyads by specially trained community health workers. A control group of 229 mother–infant dyads did not receive the intervention. Security of maternal-infant attachment was the main outcome measured at infant age 18 mo. Compared to controls, infants in the intervention group were significantly more likely to be securely attached to their primary caregiver (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7, p = 0.029, 95% CI [1.06, 2.76], d = 0.29). After the trial, 162 intervention and 172 control group children were reenrolled in a follow-up study at 13 y of age (December 2012–June 2014). At this time, DNA collected from 279 children (134 intervention and 145 control) was genotyped for a common serotonin transporter polymorphism. There were both genetic data and attachment security data for 220 children (110 intervention and 110 control), of whom 40% (44 intervention and 45 control) carried at least one short allele of the serotonin transporter gene. For these 220 individuals, carrying at least one short allele of the serotonin transporter gene was associated with a 26% higher rate of attachment security relative to controls (OR = 3.86, p = 0.008, 95% CI [1.42, 10.51], d = 0.75), whereas there was a negligible (1%) difference in security between intervention and control group individuals carrying only the long allele (OR = 0.95, p = 0.89, 95% CI [0.45, 2.01], d = 0.03). Expressed in terms of absolute risk, for those with the short allele, the probability of secure attachment being observed in the intervention group was 84% (95% CI [73%, 95%]), compared to 58% (95% CI [43%, 72%]) in the control group. For those with two copies of the long allele, 70% (95% CI [59%, 81%]) were secure in the intervention group, compared to 71% (95% CI [60%, 82%]) of infants in the control group. Controlling for sex, maternal genotype, and indices of socioeconomic adversity (housing, employment, education, electricity, water) did not change these results. A limitation of this study is that we were only able to reenroll 49% of the original sample randomized to the intervention and control conditions. Attribution of the primary outcome to causal effects of intervention in the present subsample should therefore be treated with caution.ConclusionsWhen infant genotype for serotonin transporter polymorphism was taken into account, the effect size of a maternal-infant attachment intervention targeting impoverished pregnant women increased more than 2.5-fold when only short allele carriers were considered (from d = 0.29 for all individuals irrespective of genotype to d = 0.75) and decreased 10-fold when only those carrying two copies of the long allele were considered (from d = 0.29 for all individuals to d = 0.03). Genetic differential susceptibility means that averaging across all participants is a misleading index of efficacy. The study raises questions about how policy-makers deal with the challenge of balancing equity (equal treatment for all) and efficacy (treating only those whose genes render them likely to benefit) when implementing psychosocial interventions.Trial RegistrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN25664149

Poor Quality for Poor Women? Inequities in the Quality of Antenatal and Delivery Care in Kenya.

BackgroundQuality of healthcare is an important determinant of future progress in global health. However, the distributional aspects of quality of care have received inadequate attention. We assessed whether high quality maternal care is equitably distributed by (1) mapping the quality of maternal care in facilities located in poorer versus wealthier areas of Kenya; and (2) comparing the quality of maternal care available to Kenyans in and not in poverty.MethodsWe assessed three measures of maternal care quality: facility infrastructure and clinical quality of antenatal care and delivery care, using indicators from the 2010 Kenya Service Provision Assessment (SPA), a standardized facility survey with direct observation of maternal care provision. We calculated poverty of the area served by antenatal or delivery care facilities using the Multidimensional Poverty Index. We used regression analyses and non-parametric tests to assess differences in maternal care quality in facilities located in more and less impoverished areas. We estimated effective coverage with a minimum standard of care for the full population and those in poverty.ResultsA total of 564 facilities offering at least one maternal care service were included in this analysis. Quality of maternal care was low, particularly clinical quality of antenatal and delivery care, which averaged 0.52 and 0.58 out of 1 respectively, compared to 0.68 for structural inputs to care. Maternal healthcare quality varied by poverty level: at the facility level, all quality metrics were lowest for the most impoverished areas and increased significantly with greater wealth. Population access to a minimum standard (≥0.75 of 1.00) of quality maternal care was both low and inequitable: only 17% of all women and 8% of impoverished women had access to minimally adequate delivery care.ConclusionThe quality of maternal care is low in Kenya, and care available to the impoverished is significantly worse than that for the better off. To achieve the national targets of maternal and neonatal mortality reduction, policy initiatives need to tackle low quality of care, starting with high-poverty areas.

Psychiatric Risk in Unstably Housed Sexual Minority Women: Relationship between Sexual and Racial Minority Status and Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Psychiatric Diagnoses

BackgroundStress associated with minority statuses has been linked to mental health disorders. However, research conducted exclusively among impoverished women, a population known to be at risk for poor health owing to overlapping risks, is sparse. We sought to determine if homeless and unstably housed sexual minority (i.e., nonheterosexual) women were at greater psychiatric risk than their heterosexual counterparts. We also sought to determine if racial/ethnic minority and human immunodeficiency virus status contributed to psychiatric risks. MethodsHomeless/unstably housed women living in San Francisco between 2008 and 2010 were followed biannually over 3 years. Generalized estimating equation analysis identified significant correlates of any substance use, mood, or anxiety disorder, as well as the total number of psychiatric disorders. ResultsAmong 300 women, 24% reported nonheterosexual identity at the first study visit. Consistent with minority stress theory, lesbian and bisexual identity were associated with higher levels of mental health comorbidity, and bisexual identity was related to greater rates of substance use disorders and mood disorders. Unique to this study, we found that identity assessed 1 or 2 years prior does not predict current substance disorders, but current identity does. In addition, women who were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus also had higher rates of mental health comorbidity and substance use disorders. Contrary to psychosocial stress theory, racial/ethnic minority status was associated with reduced odds of substance use disorder in this population. Recent homelessness was related to greater risk of anxiety disorder. ConclusionsBest research and health care practices should include the assessment of sexual orientation and housing status when addressing risks for mental health and substance disorders among low-income women.

Indian NBFC MFIs Vs. Bangladeshi NGO MFIs

MFIs are the pivotal organizations in each country that make individual microcredit loans directly to villagers, micro entrepreneurs, impoverished women and poor families. NBFC MFIs have been playing a significant role in taking forward the financial inclusion agenda of the Government of India. Bangladesh which is the birth place of microfinance and also pioneer in the world for applying microfinance has NGO form of MFIs. This paper aims to compare the financial performance of NBFC MFIs in India and NGO MFIs in Bangladesh. The study is primarily based on secondary data. The variables, such as institutional characteristics, financing structure, outreach indicators, overall financial performance indicators, revenue and expenses, efficiency and risk and liquidity have been considered to analyse the financial performance of 27 Indian NBFC MFIs and 23 Bangladeshi NGO MFIs. The Mann-Whitney U test has been used for analyzing the data. It is found that the Indian NBFC MFIs stand better than the NGO MFIs of Bangladesh in many aspects, though Bangladesh is the place of origin for the concept of microfinance and Microfinance Institutions.