Lakshmi the Rebel : Cultural Economy and Women\'s Agency

The idea underlying this book is to suggest that in a caste-ridden, patriarchal society the status of woman or the girl child cannot improve unless cultural resources are mobilized to complement political, economic and legal initiatives. But culture has to be seen critically, to discern streams of resistance and challenge even though dominant patterns of values might persist. It is important to note that there was a material basis for such practices in the rice economies in which women played an extremely important role in all stages of the production processes of rice. The book will be of interest to students and researchers in sociology, economics, politics, women studies and cultural studies. (jacket)