India’s Bihar State: Poverty, Patriarchy and Population Growth

Jakarta –

Married by her parents at the age of 14, Indian mother of seven Jaimala Devi continued to have children because her husband insisted she could only stop after she gave birth to two sons.

Devi’s stories are common in Bihar, India’s poorest state. India is currently the most populous country with a population of 127 million people, on par with Mexico.

Overall, India’s birth rate has fallen as its economy has improved. However, poverty and deep-rooted bias for male heirs have made Bihar an engine of national population growth.

“Having seven children and managing everything myself is really driving me crazy,” said Devi, quoted from Channel News Asia, Friday (5/5/2023).

“I think we will be comfortable with one or two children. But we had a daughter first, and because of that we have seven,” he continued.

Devi lives with her five daughters and two sons in a dilapidated one-room hut. The only decorations in Devi’s residence are a small television, an old fan, and a few posters of Hindu gods on the walls.

Bihar has rare opportunities for high paying jobs. Devi’s husband, Subhash, is away for most of the year, sending back his meager earnings as a factory worker in the capital New Delhi.

Many fathers leave the state to find work elsewhere such as the capital. They also see the struggle to feed their children as a worthy sacrifice for a chance at a better life in the future.

“Having more children is still seen as a way to get more income-earning family members,” the head of the non-profit organization Population Foundation of India (PFI), told AFP.

‘Respect and Pride’

The insistence of many men to have sons reflects a cultural expectation that they will support their parents even after marrying and having children of their own.

“Giving a son means respect and pride for the family and the mother,” said Chandra.

On the other hand, daughters are usually seen as burdensome and expensive due to the tradition of the wedding dowry being paid by the bride’s parents.

Parents in poorer households often try to escape the responsibilities of daughters by marrying them off early, as was the case with Devi’s marriage as a teenager.

This is especially true in Bihar, where the female out-of-school rate leaves only 55 per cent of women who can read and write. The National Family Health Survey says this is the lowest female literacy rate in India.

Watch Video “Indian Man Infected With Plant Fungus“

(after/kna)