Browsing by Author "Karmakar, Priyanka"

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Open Access
Daughters in patriarchal social order: A study on girl child in middle class families in Siliguri
(University of North Bengal, 2022) Karmakar, Priyanka; Roy, Sanjoy Kumar
The title of my PhD thesis is "Daughters in a Patriarchal Social Order: A Study on Girl Child in Middle-class Families in Siliguri". Girl child in India has always been subjected to discrimination and negligence due to the overarching patriarchal ideals that value boychild over girl child. The social mechanisms for gender discrimination are reproduced in the family, in the peer groups, in the community, in language, consumption, at work place and in all other social institutions. The larger forces like globalisation, the market economy and consumerism have compelled urban middle-class parents to rationalise their family size and imbibe hedonism. Demographers have asserted that rationalisation of family size culminates to masculinisation of family, thereby reinforcing unwantedness of daughters. A counter-reality to this phe:1omenon of unwantedness of daughters is that alongside rationalization of family size by restricting reproduction to one child or two children, the educated urban middleclass, who are regarded as the intellectual class and harbinger of social change, seem to be freeing themselves, at least partially, of male-child bias and appear to be content with one daughter or even two daughters. They are repudiating the practice of daughter aversion and are welcoming them in the family. The focal point of this study is to reconstruct the understanding of the changing position of daughter/ daughters in the family, be it a single-daughter family or a family with two daughters or family with a son and a daughter and its implications on the girl child/children and for the gender relation at the larger societal level. The study focuses on reconstructing the praxis of 'acceptance' of and 'preference' for the daughters and the socially shHred perceptions behind such practices. The study is empirical in nature. Data pertaining to the research has been collected singlehandedly. The sample for the study, which comprises of urban middle-class families of Siliguri is categorised as (l) families with single daughter, (2) families having two daughters (3) families having one daughter and a son, and ( 4) families having more than one sons and (or) daughters. The rational of this sampling is that I wanted to compare the attitudes of the parents towards single daughters or two daughters and towards the son and daughters and examine how the elements of patriarchy and gender preference work in the micro locale of the interpersonal relations in family. The study exclusively covered the Bengali middle-class families who form the dominant ethnic community of Siliguri. I studied 120 Bengali households, selecting 30 respondents from each of the four categories mentioned above. A total number of 60 households from the Marwari community have also been incorporated in the study with a purpose to grasp the comparative perspectives in attitude towards daughters at the cross-cultural level. The thesis has been arrnngc
Open Access
Missing Daughters: Social Perceptions and Treatment of the Girl Child in India
(University of North Bengal, 31-03-2021) Karmakar, Priyanka
India has been witnessing a decline in both sex ratio and child sex ratio (0-6 years) over decades. Female mortality at pre-natal stage, at the time of birth, neo-natal and during childhood has contributed to a syndrome called “missing girls” in India and other south Asian countries. Demographic data in India record low child sex ratio than sex ratio. Therefore, the problem basically is of missing girls than missing females. The threat lies more in childhood than adulthood. Girl child has been differentiated/ neglected in terms of health, nourishment, education and other gendered values. The problem also lies in the imbalance of child sex ratio in India which shows that apathy towards girl child is visible in some states of India. The vulnerability of the girls is more prominent in north western India than in southern India, which is the result of certain cultural practices that make discrimination and unequal treatment of daughters a normal phenomenon. The paper aims to discuss the various factors of daughter discrimination that leads to drop in sex ratio, making the missing girl syndrome all the more problematic in Indian context. The paper also discusses the basic factors that are responsible for low child sex ratio with major emphasis on foeticide, infanticide and neglect of girl child in India.
Open Access
Self-formation and Life of the Daughters in Marwari Community in Siliguri
(University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Karmakar, Priyanka
The preference for sons over daughters, which is a part of Pan-Indian culture, is more pronounced in some regions and among some communities; the Marwaris of Siliguri, is one such community. The Marwaris, who have migrated to Siliguri from Rajasthan, over the years, are a burgeoning business community in Siliguri, which is a flourishing business hub. The present paper, which is a part of my research in Siliguri, gives an ethnographic account of the Marwari community’s gender perception, especially son preference which they consider “natural” and acceptable because of the various socio-cultural and economic advantages associated with having a son. Such preferential treatment often results into the practice of daughter aversion and discrimination. The paper further demonstrates how the practice of son preference affects the self-formation of Marwari daughters who are made to grow up in an overpowering patriarchal culture and inculcate the values that help perpetuate gender discrimination.