Women and Poverty: Rural-Urban Dimensions

This paper focuses on the gender dimensions of poverty with analysis of rural and urban area specific variations. What are the implications of poverty on women’s lives? Is the impact of poverty on women distinct? In what ways are poor women more vulnerable? So far, the focus has been on rural poverty, with more recent shifts towards the concerns of urban poor. Is urban poverty a spillover of rural poor through migration? What are the characteristic features of urban poverty and how do they differ from rural poverty, especially in terms of the implications for women’s lives. Does the association of female headed households with poverty hold true in the Indian context? How different are the characteristics of female heads in rural and urban areas and what are its implications on poverty among such households? This is examined through an analysis of female headed households over time across rural-urban areas in terms of their marital status, educational levels and employment status. Gender based deprivations and discriminations are additions to poverty related vulnerabilities. The twin and combined impact of gender and poverty are examined through a detailed account of rural-urban poor women’s demographic, educational and employment statuses. The differences among men and women across the consumption expenditure quintiles in terms of the nature of employment is compared to view both gender and poverty elements. i. introduction This paper examines different aspects concerning poor women in rural villages and urban locations to ascertain relative levels of their well-being. Rural poverty and its implications for women have received some attention in the literature; however urban poverty is relatively of newer vintage (Rodgers, 1989; Mathur, 1994). Irrespective of the location, there is a strong stream of argumentation that highlights the twin disadvantages emanating from gender and poverty highlighting that women are the worst sufferers from poverty related deprivations. Given the existing gender based deprivations and inequalities; poverty can be very debilitating and add on to the vulnerabilities of women. Another significant issue is regarding the fact that experiences and responses to poverty are dissimilar among men and women, due to the gendered constraints and variations in the opportunities (Masika, et al., 1997; Razavi, 2000).