Of Dais and Midwives

Middle-class' Interventions in the Management of Women's Reproductive Health—A Study from Colonial Punjab

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12317826
AutoresAnju Malhotra (0000-0003-0155-3531, Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University, Delhi, autor correspondente)
Ano2003
Volume10
Fascículo2
Páginas229-259
Data de publicação2003-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoIndian Journal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0971-5215 • E-ISSN: 0973-0672
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/097152150301000203
OpenAlexW2056205335
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8
Referências citadas9

This article deals with the politics behind the introduction of 'scientific' midwifery practices by the colonial state in Punjab and the manner in which the emerging Punjabi elite responded to this change. The colonial attack on native dais revolved around their purportedly 'dirty' habits, lack of formal training and the unhygienic conditions of childbirth. The issue of cleanliness became central to the way in which the Punjabi high-caste elite reorganised and sanitised their relationship with the dais. even while utilising their labour. The stakes of the Punjabi elite in the repro ductive health of their women were high, as this issue became one of the defining moments of their modernity and middle-class status. How the growth of such a politics created space for some upper-class women medical professionals to emerge, the 'lady' doctors and the 'certified' dais, is also examined

Caste · Childbirth · Colonialism · Elite · Middle class · Political science · Politics · Pregnancy · Psychological intervention · Social class · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Social and Economic Development in India