Factors Determing Women's Role in Household Decision Making in Dalit Community: A Case Study of Kotjahari VDC, Rukum District Nepal

Abstract

This study entitled Factors Determing Women’s Role In Household Decision Making In Dalit Community: A Case Study of Kotjahari VDC, Rukum District Nepal was an attempt to examine the factors that affet of Dalit women in household decision making process. The specific objectives of study were to analyze decision making role of women in different actgivities at household level, to analyze the educational status of women and their decision in the study area, to explore women's outside employment and role in household decision making and to find women's decision role by caste/ethnicity. This research paper is carried out under descriptive as well as exploratory research design. Primary as well as secondary data have been used in this study. Primary data have been collected through household survey questionnaire. In the same way, secondary information has been used through unpublished documents, articles, websites propounded by different scholars in different time and venue. One respondent from one household were selected. There were altogether 44 Dalit hosueholds in the study area. Therefore the study population is 44 nos. of respondents and census method was applied for the sampling purpose. In the study area, most of the women were victim of patriarchal mindsetup. Women in the study area themselves do not want to resist male chauvanism as they are following patriarhcal norms and values since many decades. Some of the aspects such as decision on child's education, agricultural activities, taking part in public spheres being changing slowly and gratually in Damai and Badi in comparasion with Kami and Sarki. Respondents of Damai and Badi caste people were somehow modern than the respondents of Kami and Sarki. In the study area women are deprived as they don't have right on their body and her husband decides over heir personal phenomena such as fertility, number of children. Male's dominance found in decision making as a barrier to women in relation to marriage, household chores, agricultural stuffs, education, occupation, taking part in social acgivities, contraceptive use and so on. In the study area, out of 44 respondents only 4 under SLC and 9 were just literate. Among the people who were educationally sound were taking mutual decision in every sphere such as household expenditure, children's marriage, child's education, and so on. Finally, the respondents from Damai and Badi caste, the respondents from Business Sector and Educated respondents were found to be far better than other caste, occupation and uneducated ones.