Conflict within marriage is analyzed as a potential cause of divorce in a South Asian rural community. Little research has been done on the effects of marital strife in contexts where individuals have limited freedom and access to independence.
This research uses data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal (674 married couples) to examine how marital strife affects divorce rates and how much women’s and men’s views on marital strife matter.
According to the findings, (a) marital discord is associated with a higher divorce rate, (b) husbands’ and wives’ views of marital discord have significant influences, and (c) wives’ perceptions of marital discord have an impact separate from that of their husbands.
The results of this study provide more evidence that the degree to which each partner perceives discord inside the marriage is a significant predictor of marital outcomes, even in contexts where the costs of divorce are substantial.
BACKGROUND
Marriage is widespread and occurs at an early age in rural Nepal because of its great importance. Men had an average marriage age of 23.9 and women’s was 19.9 for those who tied the knot between 2000 and 2005.
(Yabiku, 2005). Traditionally, families have been responsible for setting up most couples for marriage (Ghimire, Axinn, Yabiku, & Thornton, 2006).
Marriage has a vital role in maintaining the gendered division of labor within households, as most women are expected to take on the primary caregiving and childrearing responsibilities (Allendorf, 2007). Most women don’t work outside the home, but it’s not unheard of for them to take up temporary employment for pay.
This short-term work is generally devalued because it requires working on the property of more affluent families (Cameron, 1998; Stash & Hannum, 2001). Wage-earning women, being of lesser social rank, are less likely to be expected to exhibit obedience to their husbands and in-laws than women of higher social status (Bennett, 1983). If you read more like this post so you can visit TheActiveNews.Com.