Do women really have a voice?: Reproductive behavior and practices of two religious communities

This paper analyses the reproductive behavior pattern and practices prevalent among migrants of two religious communities, Hindus and Muslims, living in a slum of Delhi. It focuses on the fact that reproductive processes in general need to be viewed from a gender perspective in order to understand the sociological roots and the dynamics of existing power relations between men and women. These help reveal some of the ways in which culture transmits and reinforces ideological beliefs related to the worthiness of men and women in a particular socio-cultural context. This study thus attempts to establish that gender roles and socially given norms, rather than faith in a particular religion, prescribe an institutionalized and restricted behavior pattern for women and control reproductive processes.