Spirits of the womb
Migration, reproductive choice and healing in Rajasthan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3864567 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M Unnithan (0000-0002-7649-7282, University of Sussex, corresponding author), Maya Unnithan-Kumar (University of Sussex) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Pages | 163-188 |
| Publication date | 2003-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contributions to Indian Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0069-9659 • E-ISSN: 0069-9667 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/006996670303700108 |
| OpenAlex | W1991642824 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 9 |
In this article I focus on the connections between poor women's migration to a basti in Jaipur city in north-west India and their reproductive anxieties, agency and outcomes. I suggest that, in terms of their reproductive choice and freedom, women's experience of migration is highly ambivalent. Three main consequences of women's migration account for this ambivalence: (a) a shift in gender roles, conjugal relationships and related expectations of childbearing; (b) an enhanced recourse to spiritual healers via friendship with women across castes; and (c) a greater resort to private, professional, gynaecological care, complementing the negative experiences of public health sector attitudes, provisions and programmes. While women have a greater role in reproductive decision-making as a result of a shift in gender roles and relationships, they experience greater constraints in bodily terms as reflected in the medicalisation of their bodies. Nevertheless, basti women are constantly negotiating better reproductive outcomes for themselves. Their resort to private health care enables them to avoid state services, allowing them direct access to health care, often without the knowledge of their husbands or relatives
Agency (philosophy · Ambivalence · Friendship · Negotiation · Political science · Population · Pregnancy · Reproductive health · Social science · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Gender Studies · Global Maternal and Child Health · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Psychology · Reproductive Medicine · Social Psychology
No One Will Let Her Live
Immigration and Inequality
Female selective abortion – beyond ‘culture’
Informal support for women and intimate partner violence
Conceptualizing aged reproduction
Aspiring for distinction
Accusations, ‘Wise Planning’ and the Making of ‘Responsible’ Citizens
Choosing Vaccination
The labour of love
To Know the Field
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2006 - 2025 (20) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |