Women in Household Decision-Making Process among British Ex-Army Families

Abstract

In general, this study attempts to analyze the women’s role in household decision-making among British Ex-armies. The main objective of this study is to analyze the women’s role in their household decision-making and to assess the influencing factors of women’s role in decision-making. The study area is wards no. 4, 14 and 15 of Lalitpur sub-metropolitan of Lalitpur District. In the present study, descriptive research design has been applied. The qualitative and quantitative data were acquired. Qualitative as well as quantitative methods have been applied to collect primary data. The applied data collection techniques are Interview, Key Informant Interview and Focus Group Discussion. The total of 60 respondents was samples using random sampling method among the British Ex-army families. The research findings suggested that there are; 78.33 % nuclear families and 21.67 % are joints, males are household heads in 43.33 % families and females head in 56.67 % families. At present, 43.33 % British Ex-armies are still in the foreign employment. The economically active population is 75.17 % of the total population. The total 96.48 % family members of the respondents are literate. Nearly 40 % families have invested their income on productive sectors like business, finance, bank, cooperative, school and college etc. Only 18.33 % wives of the British Ex-army are owners of the family’s lands and 13.33 % women are involving in GEASO’s women organization. Nearly 37 % respondents (women) decide at all times about their families because of the absence of their husband and guardians. With consultation, both male and female of 60 % families decide to choose the occupation of the family members. The females decide alone about lending and borrowing money in 30 % households. The female members of 46.67 % household have dominant role on decision of children education and female of 43.33 % families have dominant role on health treatment. The major influencing factors of women’s role in household decision-making process are education, socio-economic status, social norms, values and traditions, employment situation, rights to property, economic dependency or independency, family’s role, empowerment, opportunity, awareness, participation, legal provision and socio-physical infrastructure. Some important recommendations are: educational level of women should be raised; proper management should be made to empower them and training institutes to provide employment opportunities. They should have access over land and property; awareness programs should be launched to eliminate the gender discrimination. Women should be brought into the main stream of the development, moreover in the nation building. There should be respected the voices of the women in the society as well as in state. Women should be participated in the restructuring Nepal through the social inclusion. Encouragement should be done to them to participate in the social activities. Opportunities should be given to them in decision-making process inside as well as outside their houses. Legal provision should be practiced in behavior; policies and programs related to the women’s participation, their empowerment should be implemented effectively. From the academic point of view, there is needed to carryout the further research in the same topic but in the other areas for policy implication in the field of enhances the women’s role in decision-making through household, community level and the national level as a whole. Thus, there is needed to undertake the research in the various fields of the women of the British Ex-armies such as socio-economic status of the women, women’s participation in politics, community development and resource mobilization, other influencing factors of the women’s role in decision-making, gender issue, women’s participation in decision-making in the ecological basis and in deferent level and fields, women’s participation in nation-building through social inclusion and so on.