Sanyal, ParomitaRao, VijayendraMajumdar, Shruti2015-09-232015-09-232015-09https://hdl.handle.net/10986/22667This paper brings together sociological theories of culture and gender to answer the question – how do large-scale development interventions induce cultural change? Through three years of ethnographic work in rural Bihar, the authors examine this question in the context of Jeevika, a World Bank-assisted poverty alleviation project targeted at women, and find support for an integrative view of culture. The paper argues that Jeevika created new “cultural configurations” by giving economically and socially disadvantaged women access to a well-defined network of people and new systems of knowledge, which changed women’s habitus and broke down normative restrictions constitutive of the symbolic boundary of gender.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOSANITATIONEMPOWERMENTWOMEN LEADERSBENEFITSOCIAL NORMSECONOMIC GROWTHDEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONSVILLAGESGENDER INEQUALITYFORMAL EDUCATIONDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCEHOUSEKINSHIPRELIGIONOLD AGEABUSEEMPOWERMENT OF WOMENLAWSCULTURAL SYSTEMSPARTNERCULTURAL PRACTICESSOCIAL EXPECTATIONSPUBLIC SERVICESINEQUALITIESRITUALFOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONSSANCTIONSPOLICY DISCUSSIONSFEMININITYSUBSIDYSYMBOLSTOWNSCORRUPTIONWILLSOCIAL SCIENCESAFFIRMATIVE ACTIONSOCIAL GROUPSOLD-AGEPENSIONCULTUREPUBLIC HEALTHHOMELITERACYKNOWLEDGESOCIAL IMPACTTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETRAININGIDENTITYRITUALSWIDOWPOOR FAMILIESWIVESPUBLIC SUPPORTMARGINALIZATIONMATERIAL RESOURCESSEXUALITYPOLITICAL POWERHEALTH CENTERSDEMOCRACYDISCOURSEMIGRATIONMODERNIZATIONPARTICIPATION IN DECISIONGENDER NORMSCOMMUNITY RESOURCE PERSONSANTHROPOLOGISTSCOERCIONJAILLAND OWNERSHIPMARRIAGECULTURAL CHANGEVICIOUS CYCLEPUBLIC SPHEREHISTORYSOCIAL CLASSESMIGRANTSCIVILIZATIONSUBSIDIESSTATUS OF WOMENHUMAN BEINGSSOCIOLOGISTSRESPECTPROGRESSWOMANHOODSMALL LOANSANTHROPOLOGYHOUSEWIVESMIGRANTSOCIAL INEQUALITYDOMESTIC VIOLENCEFOOD SECURITYDAILY LIFELABOR LAWSGENDER DIFFERENCESNURSEWOMANFAMILYPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPENSIONSPOWERGENDERHOMESWIDOWSSPATIAL MOBILITYSOCIAL MOVEMENTSSOCIAL ACTIONPUBLIC DEBATEMANDATESENHANCING WOMENNUTRITIONSTORIESPOPULATIONSILLITERATE WOMENCONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKWORKSHOPSMASCULINITYPOLICYPEER PRESSURESOCIETIESHUSBANDSNUMBER OF WOMENPOLICE OFFICERSEXSOCIOLOGYCHILDRENFEMALESHUSBANDWARSLIBERTYHOUSEHOLDSCAPITALISMEQUALITYSELF-SUFFICIENCYPOPULATIONLAWGIRLSHOUSESLIVING CONDITIONSSOCIETYPOLICY RESEARCHNORMSPOLITICAL PROCESSSOCIAL CHANGEHOUSEHOLD WORKFAMILIESWOMENLABOR MARKETSGENDER ROLESWIFEWEDDINGSOCIAL PROCESSESPOLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPEACEDISTRICTSALLIANCESBENEFITSGENDER EQUALITYPATRIARCHYDEVELOPMENT POLICYHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINEQUALITYWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7411