Women, Education, and Family Structure in India

Five decades of independence have produced dramatic increases in women's educational achievements in India; but education for girls beyond a certain level is still perceived as socially risky. Based on ethnographic data and historical documents, this book explores the origins of that paradox. Contributors probe the complex relationships between traditional Indian social institutions—the joint family, arranged marriage, dowry, and purdah, or sexual segregation—and girls' schooling. They find that a patrifocal family structure and ideology are often at the root of different family approaches to educating sons and daughters, and that concern for “marriageability” still plays a central role in women's educational choices and outcomes.