Smash the Patriarchy?: Household Ties and Women’s Political Behavior in South Asia

Abstract

The household is a difficult setting to study because its operations are, by design, not observable via public behavior. Violence within the household is often concealed; coordination over whom to vote for is not recorded; the bargains struck within marriage are rarely stated in terms that researchers can capture. Soledad Artiz Prillaman and Naila Kabeer take up this problem in India and Bangladesh, respectively. Both authors directly demonstrate the links between household ties and women’s political behavior.