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Women, And Health In Rural India: An Anthropological Perspective, Kelly S. Ward

Honors Papers

In chapter one I define the problem, that public health in rural India is mostly governed by cultural and socio-economic forces. Efforts to improve rural health in India have in the past had varying levels of success, depending on how well they understood the root causes of problems and the ramifications their programs would have on the general lives of rural inhabitants.

I argue that social science literature has largely misunderstood the issues which need to be addressed, viewing health problems as results of "irrational" behavior by rural peoples. I argue that the question of rationality. whether one accuses or …