Sexuality, Gender Roles, and Domestic Violence in South Asia
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SEXUALITY, GENDER ROLES, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTH ASIA M.E. KHAN JOHN W. TOWNSEND PERTTI J. PELTO EDITORS SEXUALITY, GENDER ROLES, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTH ASIA M.E. KHAN JOHN W. TOWNSEND PERTTI J. PELTO EDITORS Suggested citation M.E. Khan, John W. Townsend, and Perrti J. Pelto (eds.). 2014. Sexuality, Gender Roles, and Domestic Violence in South Asia. New York: Population Council. The Population Council confronts critical health and development issues—from stopping the spread of HIV to improving reproductive health and ensuring that young people lead full and productive lives. Through biomedical, social science, and public health research in 50 countries, we work with our partners to deliver solutions that lead to more effective policies, programs, and technologies that improve lives around the world. Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York, the Council is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization governed by an international board of trustees. Population Council One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza New York, NY 10017 USA www.popcouncil.org © 2014 The Population Council, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-87834-130-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sexuality, gender roles, and domestic violence in South Asia / M.E. Khan, John W. Townsend, Pertti J. Pelto, editors. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-87834-130-6 1. Sex--South Asia. 2. Sex role--South Asia. 3. Family violence--South Asia. I. Khan, M. E. HQ18.S64S495 2014 305.30954--dc23 2014028842 Printed on recycled paper using vegetable-based inks. Contents Preface vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 M.E. Khan, Pertti J. Pelto, and Isha Bhatnagar PART I: THE TRANSITION TO SEXUAL AND MARITAL LIFE Chapter 2: Marital Sex among Newly Married Couples in Gujarat 21 M.E. Khan, Isha Bhatnagar, and Sandhya Barge Chapter 3: Socio-Economic and Sexual Security of Young Women Garment Workers: A Case Study of Bangladesh 55 M.E. Khan, Richard Anker, Aditi Aeron, and Ubaidur Rob PART II: MEN’S AND WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS OF MASCULINITY Chapter 4: The Construction of Gender and Sexual Identities among Young Men in Dhaka, Bangladesh 85 Paula E. Hollerbach, Shivananda Khan, and Sharful Islam Khan Chapter 5: Representation of the “Masculine” Identity in Bangladesh 113 M.E. Khan and John W. Townsend Chapter 6: Migration and Masculinities: Observations from a High HIV Prevalence District in Eastern India 133 Suvakanta N. Swain, Pertti J. Pelto, and S.K. Singh Chapter 7: Sexual Worries and Risk-Taking Behaviors of Men in the Urban Slums of Bangladesh 155 M.E. Khan and Aditi Aeron Chapter 8: Sexual Health Problems and Treatment: Street-Based and Newspaper Advertising by “Sexologist” Practitioners in Bangladesh 175 Sharif Mohammed Ismail Hossain, M.E. Khan, Moshiur Rahman, and Ubaidur Rob PART III: THE NATURE AND PREVALENCE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Chapter 9: Prevalence, Nature, and Determinants of Violence Against Married Women in Bangladesh 203 M.E. Khan, Aditi Aeron, and John W. Townsend Chapter 10: Sexual Violence in the Marital Homes of Bangladesh 231 M.E. Khan Chapter 11: Sexual Violence within Marriage: A Case Study of Rural Uttar Pradesh 255 M.E. Khan, John W. Townsend, Ranjana Sinha, and Seema Lakhanpal Chapter 12: Pregnancy as a Determinant of Gender-Based Violence 273 Bella C. Patel and M.E. Khan PART IV: METHODOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE Chapter 13: Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods for Understanding Issues of Masculinities, Sexuality, and Gender Equity 293 Pertti J. Pelto Chapter 14: Researching Sexual Violence 307 Jill Astbury and Jan Coles Chapter 15: Ethical Issues in Research on Gender-Based Violence 331 John W. Townsend Chapter 16: Masculinities, Male Sexual Worries, and Gender Equity in South Asia: What Have We Learned? 341 Pertti J. Pelto Contributors 363 Preface The two decades from 1990 to 2010 witnessed a remarkable increase in research on sexuality, gender relations, domestic violence, and related issues throughout South Asia. The threat of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic was of course a major driving force behind much of this activity. In India a growing interest in women’s reproductive health was prompted by the groundbreaking 1989 study in The Lancet by Rani Bang, Abhay Bang, and associates in which they reported on the high prevalence of gynaecological diseases among rural Indian women. In neighboring Bangladesh research on reproductive health and sexuality gained momentum with the 1981 publication by ICDDR,B of a large-scale investigation of beliefs and fertility in that country by Clarence Maloney, K.M.A. Aziz, and P.C Sarker. Their quantitative and qualitative data included in-depth interviews and survey responses about sexuality, frequency of coitus, contraception, and other sensitive topics. The 1994 UN Conference on Population and Development, in Cairo, also created awareness of the need for research on sexuality and reproductive health. The advent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Bangladesh and India highlighted the need for much more intensive research focused on male sexual behavior and male reproductive health concerns, as well as the dynamics of commercial sex work and the complexities of gender rela- tions. Moni Nag’s influential 1996 book on sexual behaviour and AIDS in India was followed extensive research based on studies in South Asia. vii viii SEXUALITY, GENDER ROLES, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTH ASIA The chapters in this book, which present detailed studies from India and Bangladesh, add further depth to our understanding of sexuality, HIV/AIDS, and gender relations. One of the most striking results from recent research on male sexuality in South Asia, and these two countries in particular, has been the identification of complex sexual concerns among men about “semen loss,” “thinning of semen,” and related anxieties, stemming from ancient Ayurvedic physiological concepts. These sexual anxieties interact with concepts of masculinity to shape male sexuality. Studies from Bangladesh describe how these anxieties contribute to risky sexual behaviors. Another critical topic il- luminated by several chapters concerns patterns and causes of domestic violence. These chapters also emphasize the need to develop effective policies and programs to mitigate the severity of domestic violence in these populations. Other chapters provide examples of the advantages of mixed-methods research. Many of the studies combine qualitative and quantitative data and analysis in ways that have developed more credible and useful information that allow programs to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other serious social issues. This volume would not have been completed without support and encouragement from many people. We are thankful to Sunita Mukherjee, formerly UNFPA country director for Bangladesh, who gave a small grant for analysis of the data; to our colleagues Sharif Mohammad Ismail Hossain and Moshiur Rahman, who assisted with the quantitative household survey; and to our young colleagues who spent long hours with informants to collect the qualitative data on vio- lence and sexuality. We thank all of those young professionals, particu- larly Shampa Maria D’Costa, Faria Hasan Khan, Sabiha Gulshan, Tripti Haque, and I. Bushra. We also appreciate the editorial support provided by Chris Parker and Deepika Ganju, and the assistance in finalizing some of the chapters provided by Shruti Goel and Anvita Dixit. For their help in the design, editing, and promotion of the book, we thank our colleagues at the Population Council, in particular Christina Tse, Robert Heidel, and Michael Vosika in Publishing and Creative Services and Sasha Gruber in the Office of Strategic Communications. M.E. Khan John W. Townsend Pertti J. Pelto CHAPTER 1 Introduction M.E. Khan Pertti J. Pelto Isha Bhatnagar In the past 15 years there has been a large increase in research about sexuality, masculinity, domestic violence, gender inequities and related topics in South Asian countries. The dimensions of men’s and women’s concepts of “masculinity” and sexuality, changing patterns of gender roles and the nature of violence are still only partly understood. The growing concern about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, beginning in the 1990s, brought about a large increase in biomedical and social science research as they relate to the risks of sexually transmitted infections. With heightened concerns about the mechanisms of spread of HIV infections (mainly through sexual contacts), many funding sources have supported research in those hitherto neglected topics. The wealth of new data about patterns of sexuality, linked to gender inequities, has shown that these issues have very serious consequences in relation to the spread of HIV infections. The papers assembled in this volume contribute to our knowledge, and show that issues related to masculinity, gender inequities, and 1 2 SEXUALITY, GENDER ROLES, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTH ASIA domestic violence are highly complex and changing. They suggest important priorities for interventions and highlight key issues for further research. The conceptual framework below (Figure 1.1) is a rough guide to some of the inter-relations in the research data presented in this collection of papers. In this conceptual model, a key outcome is the sexual risk behav- iors of males. Also implied in this model is women’s inability to nego- tiate the use of condoms and other safe sex practices in the domestic scene. Some of the studies reported in the following chapters suggest that the conceptual model has many complexities, often including two-directional interactions among some of these factors in gender relations. The dynamics of gender inequalities in South Asia make it very difficult for women to protect themselves from possible HIV/ STI infection risks brought about through their husbands’ risky sexual behaviors. Although the chapters are not primarily focused on the spread of HIV/AIDS infections, the implications of the patterns of masculinity and gender inequality point directly to such serious health consequences, as well as to other harm that they cause to relationships within the households and to male-female relations.