Developing the Women's Empowerment in Nutrition Index in Two States of India

Although South Asia has long been synonymous with persistent and unusually high rates of child undernutrition – the so called Asian Enigma – Bangladesh has managed to sustain a surprisingly rapid reduction in the rate of child undernutrition for at least two decades. We investigate this unheralded success through a regression and decomposition analysis of changes in child growth outcomes across five rounds of DHS surveys from 1997 to 2011. We find that rapid wealth accumulation and large gains in parental education are the two largest drivers of change, though health, sanitation, and demographic factors have played significant secondary roles.

The other Asian enigma: Explaining the rapid reduction of undernutrition in Bangladesh [Policy Brief]

Do tradeoffs among dimensions of women's empowerment and nutrition outcomes exist? Evidence from six countries in Africa and Asia.

Evolution of a gender tool: WEAI, WELI and livestock research

Women’s empowerment and gender equality in South Asian agriculture: Measuring progress using the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI) in Bangladesh and India

Last and least: Findings on intrahousehold undernutrition from participatory research in South Asia

In this paper, we analyze intrahousehold mechanisms that rural South Asian women themselves identify as contributing to their inabilities to achieve adequate nutrition. The majority of our female respondents explain that, within their families, they are most likely to eat least and last and to seek lower quality healthcare later, both of which can lead to undernutrition. We consider the explanations that women provide for why they do so. In addition to norm abidance, we highlight two social factors: a partner's heavy alcohol use and intimate partner violence. Women report that these factors adversely impact their own health and food security status and potentially contribute to differential nutritional outcomes within the same household. The emic perspectives presented here show us: (1) many rural South Asian women report shouldering a relatively greater share of food and nutrition insecurity within their households, and (2) taking their perspectives seriously assists in identifying the underlying contributors to intrahousehold differences. These findings indicate the value a gendered perspective on both the drivers of and measurement of undernutrition. Attending to these intrahousehold factors in future quantitative research may provide important insights for understanding drivers of nutritional outcomes.

Anuradha De

Papers

Developing the Women's Empowerment in Nutrition Index in Two States of India

Last and least: Findings on intrahousehold undernutrition from participatory research in South Asia

Last and least findings on intra household undernutrition from participatory research in South Asia