India: Cross-regional marriages influence gender relations

In India, after generations of couples preferring to have sons, rather than daughters, marriages between people of different regions and social classes are becoming necessary – there just aren’t enough women to go around for traditional unions.  While these cross-regional marriages are widely believed to reinforce unequal gender norms and maintain male privilege, Prof. Sharada Srinivasan has developed a new, more complex and innovative research perspective. By interviewing newlywed couples, Srinivasan found that cross-regional unions have the potential to challenge deeply ingrained social practices such as caste-based marriages, dowries and the preference for sons. Photo courtesy Sharada Srinivasan

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