title: Impact of the spread of mass education on married women's experience with domestic violence.
abstract: This paper investigates the association between mass education and married women's experience with domestic violence in rural Nepal. Previous research on domestic violence in South Asian societies emphasizes patriarchal ideology and the widespread subordinate status of women within their communities and families. The recent spread of mass education is likely to shift these gendered dynamics, thereby lowering women's likelihood of experiencing domestic violence. Using data from 1775 currently married women from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, we provide a thorough analysis of how the spread of mass education is associated with domestic violence among married women. The results show that women's childhood access to school, their parents' schooling, their own schooling, and their husbands' schooling are each associated with their lower likelihood of experiencing domestic violence. Indeed, husbands' education has a particularly strong, inverse association with women's likelihood of experiencing domestic violence. These associations suggest that the proliferation of mass education will lead to a marked decline in women's experience with domestic violence in Nepal.
authors.affiliation: Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA; Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA; Institute for Social, and Environmental Research - Nepal, Fulbari, Chitwan, Nepal. Electronic address: nepdjg@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Dirgha J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ghimire
authors.affiliation: Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA; Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA; Department of Sociology, College of LS&A, University of Michigan, PO Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA. Electronic address: baxinn@umich.edu.
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Axinn
authors.affiliation: Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA. Electronic address: emilygs@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smith-Greenaway
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000517:prevention & control; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D009390:Nepal; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018454:Spouses; D014933:Women's Rights; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Domestic violence; Education; Marriage; Social change; South Asia