International Seminar on
Changing transitions to marriage: gender implications for the next generation

New Delhi, India, 10-12 September 2008

Seminar organised by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Adolescent Life Course in Developing Countries, the New Delhi office of the Population Council and the Centre for Demographic Urban and Environmental Studies (CEDUA) of El Colegio de México.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Deadline for submission of abstract: 22 April 2008.

Online Submissions

Given the many rapid global changes that are occurring and having an impact on patterns of marriage and gender relations within marriage, it is important to better measure, identify and understand the timing and patterns of marriage, and the consequences of when, who, and how individuals marry. The organization of an IUSSP seminar should encourage needed work in this area.

This seminar will focus on the changes in transitions to marriage and their implications. It will build on a 2005 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) publication (Growing Up Global; the Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries) that provides a comprehensive assessment of evidence on this subject. Trends in the age of marriage and factors affecting the incidence of early marriage have been relatively well described. Much less information is known about the terms and conditions of marriage, how they are changing, their implications for young men’s and young women’s transitions to adulthood and for gender relations both at home and in the larger society when they become adults. This is a relatively neglected area of research where more studies need to be undertaken.

The terms and conditions of marriage refer to a whole range of topics including age differences between spouses, type of marriage (polygamy versus monogamous marriage, consensual union versus formal marriage – legal, religious or traditional), spousal choice, financial transfers, and living arrangements after marriage.

How well individuals fare as adults depends not only on basic investments in human and social capital but also on the qualities of their marriage partner(s), the marital relationships that they develop and the families that they create together. Differentials in wealth, human capital, age, power are all factors that affect the quality of relationships within marriage as well as concrete educational, health and productivity outcomes for current and future generations. Moreover, the practice of marrying daughters at young ages can lead to an early cessation of schooling, limiting their future prospects on the labor market, their abilities to raise children and their social networks.

Rapid global changes, which have implications for education, health and the transmission of disease, urbanization, international migration, employment, will also affect patterns of marriage and gender relations within marriage. Furthermore, in some contexts where numbers of young men significantly outnumber those of young women, the relative scarcity of females on the marriage market would be expected to also give rise to changes in the terms and conditions of marriage and in gender relations within marriage.

It is during the adolescent years that young people begin to take a role in directing their own lives, while their lives as children are planned and governed almost entirely by their parents and other family members. However, in many settings, parents are much more willing to encourage independence and decision-making for sons than for daughters. When girls marry at a very young age, when marriages are arranged and/or when marriage partners bring very unequal assets into the marital relationship (education, property or other assets, earning power), girls are often set on a life path that limits their future options, constrains personal agency and sometimes exposes them to domestic violence. Customary marriage practices as well as marriage law may contribute to gender differences in rights and protections within marriage. Thus the terms and conditions of marriage are not just a private matter but have implications for men’s and women’s roles as citizens, workers, household managers and parents.

In some societies men are now postponing marriage because of social expectations regarding the appropriate job status, employment stability and material possessions a man needs in order to form a household. On the other hand, women are delaying marriage because of shifting gender roles. It is important to document these changing patterns of behaviour and understand the potential implications both for individuals and the wider society. At the same time, it is extremely important to understand why, in this changing environment, some women nevertheless continue to enter into early marriage and, in their role of spouse, continue to be greatly affected by gender inequity (forced to drop out of school; their health is at risk because of early sexual activity and childbearing; they cannot take advantage of economic opportunities; and friendships with peers are often restricted, among other consequences). Much more evidence is needed to understand this dimension of the transition to adulthood in various contexts of the developing world.

Some of the interesting questions that could be addressed at this seminar are listed below, drawing on experiences and data from specific country and regional contexts. All have implications for gender relations and focus primarily on first marriages:

• Are culturally-specific marriage practices adapting and changing in response to rapid urbanization, changing sex ratios, changing educational profiles, the spread of HIV, changes in the nature and location of work, and household nucleation? If so, how are they changing and what implications do these changes have for young women’s and men’s statuses – for their rights and protections within marriage?

• For young women and men, what are the implications of having a greater say in the choice of marriage partners for the stability and quality of marriage, and for gender equity with marriage?

• To what degree and in what contexts does marriage provide protection from – or increase the risks of contracting – STIs and HIV for young women and men?

• To what extent and how does the timing of marriage, as well as the terms and conditions of marriage, affect patterns of sexual behaviour before marriage, within marriage, outside of marriage?

• What are the social and economic consequences of very early marriages (before 18)? And very late marriages? For each of these, what are the gender implications? What are the implications of very late marriages for men in contexts where premarital sex for young women is not normative?

• Does marriage provide a pathway out of poverty? In what contexts, under what conditions and for whom does marriage lead to upward mobility?

• What are the implications of economic exchanges between families of spouses or between spouses themselves (e.g., dowries and bride prices) for subsequent marital relations and for gender equality within marriage?

• What role does marriage and family law and policy play in shaping the nature of marriage and partner relationships?

• What has been the experience with policies and programs designed to delay marriage or to improve the terms and conditions of marriage, and what do we know about their effectiveness? There are a number of interventions or new programs of this type in South Asia but none have been rigorously evaluated. In-depth ethnographic studies in particular would be valuable for exploring the effect of such interventions. Evidence is also needed on basic questions such as whether families are even aware of the legal age of marriage in societies characterized by early marriage.

The themes we would like to cover in the seminar are the following:
Changes in the terms and conditions of marriage; the role of ideational change versus economic change: How have ideals of romantic love and marriage affected the terms and conditions of marriage? Has the rise in young women’s labour market participation affected the terms and conditions of marriage?

HIV and marriage: How has the epidemic affected marriage patterns in areas hard hit by HIV and how does the timing of marriage affect the spread of HIV?

Changes in the economic exchanges associated with marriage: Has the mean value of dowry and bride price been rising? What are the factors explaining these changes? What are the implications of these changes for the timing of marriage, for the selection of partners, for the terms and conditions of marriage?

Virginity, monogamy and marriage: Societies vary in the extent to which sex occurs only within marriage for men and for women. How might changes in the timing and terms and conditions of marriage affect sexual behaviours within and outside marriage and how are changing patterns of sexual behaviour affecting the terms and conditions of marriage?

Implications of changing sex ratios for marriage patterns: Changing sex ratios can occur because of sex selective migration or because of sex-selection during pregnancy. In settings where this has occurred, papers could explore implications for timing of marriage, for terms and conditions of marriage, for process of partner search and for social and political stability in contexts where a substantial proportion of men remain unmarried.

Marriage laws and policies; implications for marriage timing, terms and conditions of marriage. Under this topic, participants could assess the impact of various changes in law and policies using natural experiments where available or properly designed evaluation techniques.

All papers are expected to address the topic through a gender perspective and, when possible, emphasize the link with poverty or vulnerability. Authors should discuss their findings highlighting implications for policy and programs/actions.

Papers may be country-specific or comparative. Although the focus of the seminar is on developing countries, papers on developed countries or on comparisons of developed and developing countries will be considered if they illustrate important methodologies and/or serve to improve knowledge on the changing transitions to marriage in the developing world. Preference will be given to innovative papers.

This International Seminar will bring together demographers, sociologists, anthropologists, economists, and scholars from other related disciplines who are interested to exchange the latest scientific knowledge on the new terms and conditions of marriage in developing countries.

The IUSSP Scientific Panel on Adolescent Life Course in Developing Countries invites researchers in the field to submit online a detailed 500 word abstract, or upload an extended abstract or full paper (which must be unpublished), and personal information by 22 April 2008. Online Submissions

Applicants will be notified whether their paper has been accepted by 7 May 2008. In the case of acceptance on the basis of an abstract, the completed paper must be uploaded on the IUSSP website by 8 August 2008.

The seminar will be limited to a maximum of 20 contributed papers. Possible outcomes from the seminar include: Proceedings, an edited volume or a special issue of a journal. Papers submitted should be unpublished and remain the property of IUSSP until the committee has made a decision regarding the possible publication of seminar studies.

While abstracts may be submitted in English, French or Spanish, the working language at the seminar will be English, and final papers should be submitted in English.

Current funding for the seminar is limited and efforts are under way to raise additional funds. At present, we have funds to support only a very limited number of participants’ expenses at the meeting and/or travelling. Applicants are encouraged to seek their own travel funding. Those who are applying for financial assistance from the IUSSP should indicate this when they submit by ticking the appropriate box on the on-line submission form when submitting their paper or abstract. Applicants will be informed of the status of their application for financial support by 10 June 2008.

For further information, please contact Fatima Juarez (fjuarez@colmex.mx and fjuarez2@prodigy.net.mx) (please send to both emails) with a copy to Susheela Singh (ssingh@guttmacher.org).