Women's empowerment and its differential impact on health in low-income communities in Mumbai, India
Moonzwe Davis, L.; Schensul, S.L.; Schensul, J.J.; Verma, R.K.; Nastasi, B.K.; Singh, R.
Global Public Health 9(5): 481-494
2014
ISSN/ISBN: 1744-1692 PMID: 24766149 DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2014.904919Document Number: 579880
This paper examines the relationship of empowerment to women's self-reported general health status and women's self-reported health during pregnancy in low-income communities in Mumbai. The data on which this paper is based were collected in three study communities located in a marginalised area of Mumbai. We draw on two data sources: in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with 66 married women and a survey sample of 260 married women. Our analysis shows that empowerment functions differently in relation to women's reproductive status. Non-pregnant women with higher levels of empowerment experience greater general health problems, while pregnant women with higher levels of empowerment are less likely to experience pregnancy-related health problems. We explain this non-intuitive finding and suggest that a globally defined empowerment measure for women may be less useful that one that is contextually and situationally defined.