Research Study on Factors Facilitating Participation of Women in ...

56 Factors Facilitating Participation of Women in Mahatma Gandhi NREGSDecision-making at Household LevelWomen often face a double challenge in their efforts to gain adegree of authority that will permit independent decision making. First,they must overcome internal resistance and from opposition members; andthen they must deal with socio-cultural problems (constraints). Independentwomen in highly patriarchal societies are often subject to strong patriarchalcontrols outside the immediate family and are unable to fully exercise theirpreferences in ways that benefit their families and children. In contrast,women who live in societies that are more tolerant of independent behaviourare less likely to face these barriers. Social controls find expression in manyways restricting the freedom and choices of women.It is also argued that women’s authority over household decisionmaking embodies women’s status as the degree of women’s access to andcontrol over material resources (including food, income, land, and otherforms of wealth) and social resources (including knowledge, power, andprestige) within the family. Women who have significant say in householddecisions such as major household purchases (durables), their own healthcare, purchase of household daily necessities, and visits to family would behaving better friends, have access to resources and also power to usethem.To analyse the quality of participation of the respondents inMGNREGS, it is also required to take into consideration the status of decisionmaking at household level. Many times degree of participation of womenin decision making at household level depends upon favourable conditionsprevailing at household or due to the individual traits of the respondents.Such factors not only affect decision making but participation in otheractivities as well including MGNREGS.In the present study an attempt was made to build the index ofwomen’s participation in decision making (IWPHD) at household level takingfourteen indicators such as matters pertaining to food, clothing, expenditureon self, purchase of assets, children’s education, health and marriages,RS 97