3.

5 Sociology I
Module II- Family, Marriage and Kinship

Dr. Deepmala Baghel

Assistant professor, sociology
MNLU Nagpur
 Family
• Sociologists are interested in the families as it is the most basic social unit
upon which society is built.
• Smallest Kin group
• Composed of individuals related to each other by blood, marriage, or
adoption.

• Hindu ideology
• Pitri-rin (ancestral indebtedness)

• Family as a unit of
• Shradha performing
• Property holding
Family-Definition
• MacIver and Page – A family is a group defined by a sex relationship sufficiently
precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children

• Burgess and Locke – A family is a group of persons united by the ties of marriage,
blood or adoption constituting a single household, inter-acting and inter-
communicating, with each other in their respective social role of husband and
wife, mother and father, son and daughter, brother and sister, cradling and
maintaining a common culture.
• Characteristics of the family as a special kind of social grouping

• (i) it involves a sexual relationship between husband and wife

• (ii) it involves their cohabitation or living together-common household
• (iii) it involves at least the expectation of relative permanence of the relationship
between them;
• (iv) most importance of all, the relationship is culturally defined and societally
sanctioned-it is a marriage.
• Distinctive Features of Family

• Universality [Kibbutz in Israel]

• Based on emotions
• Limited Size-biological basis
• Common Household
• Source of nomenclature/status
• Inculcate Duties and responsibilities among members
• Taught Social Regulations to members
• Permanent and Temporary Nature- as an institution it is permanent and
as an association it is temporary
 Variations in family-Forms
• Basis of Authority:
• Patriarchal
• E.g. Strong patriarch-Aryan (Ramayana, Mahabharata), Romans, Athens (women’s apartment), China (binding
women’s feet)
• Matriarchal
• Hunters and gatherers, Garo, Khasi tribes in North-east India, Nairs of Kerala
• Briffault: ‘The Mother’- earliest form of family was matriarchal
• Morgan and Bachopen: Matriarchal earliest form is due to promiscuity

• Basis of residence: Patrilocal (northern Indian family) and matrilocal (Nayar in Kerala)

• Basis of lineage/ancestry
• Patrilineal- lineage
• Matrilineal- lineage

• Basis of relation
• Consanguine-Family of orientation
• Conjugal- Family of procreation
Structure of family
• On the Basis of structure

• Nuclear- a married couple and their children

• Extended - the nuclear family plus all kin belonging to either side, living
either together or nearby

• Joint- Indian family type in which number of married couples and their
children live together in the same household
• Common property, kitchen, household,
• Importance as a formation of law
• Inheritance of property within Mitakshara and Dayabhaga schools
 Social Functions of The Family

• Regulation of Sexual behaviour

• Manu (Indian ancient law giver) regarded sexual satisfaction as the aim of family.
• For stable personality development of individual

• Reproductive- Member replacement and physical maintenance members

• Reproduction and rearing, caring of children, old people

• Socialization, Education- teaching basic social survival and various skills as a human beings

• Economic –unit of production and consumption

• Status transmission

• Emotional support-affection, love, care- basic psychological need of an individual

• Religious functions

• Inter-institutional linkage- provision of a recreation, agency of social control, provides opportunity to

individual to participate in social life
Source- UN Population division, Atul Thakur
• Factors contributed for change in family functions

• Industrialization
• Technological development
• Urbanization
• Education system
• The Democratic Political System-Right to vote
• The legal system-enactment of various laws, equal rights to women
with respect to adoption, divorce, and remarriage.
• Changes in family

• Sexual relations -Increase in sexual relations before marriage

• Reproduction is not a solo aim
• Earlier Most of functions performed by family
• Emergence of Special agencies
• state, civil society, day-care centres, pre-school clubs, kindergartens, school,
colleges, old-age homes
• Economic-
• Earlier unit of production
• Now Unit of consumption
• Religious functions
 Structure of family

• Traditional • Modern
• Extended (Joint) family • Nuclear family, multiple forms of
family
• Patriarchal
• Democratic
• Authoritarian • Husband-wife relationship
becomes Equalitarian
• Filocentric
• Individualistic values
New family forms

• Living apart together: – Some couples live apart in different cities or states
because of their employment situation. Known as “commuter marriages,”
these couples generally would prefer to live together, but their jobs require
them to live apart. – Family scholars have identified this arrangement as an
emerging family form known as living apart together (LAT) relationships.

• Increased divorce and blended families: Most divorced individuals remarry

and create blended families, traditionally referred to as stepfamilies.

• Live-in relationships kind of associations

• Same sex families

 Dominant trends in the Indian Family
• The modern family-shift from strong patriarchal family to democratic bases on equality
between husband and wife relationship
• Democratic relations-Decreased control of the patriarch-individualistic
• Economic independence of man and woman
• Changes in relationship between man and woman
• Legal parameters- female member can be Karta in HUF
• Mix-joint and nuclear but towards Smaller family size
• Decline of religious control of family
• Separation between essential and non-essential family
• Filocentric- children dominate the scene in the family and policy of the family
• Increasing rate of family disintegration and related aspects
• divorce, child neglect and abuse, domestic violence, improper care for the elderly
• Times of India study about Mumbai city-The number of households with joint families has gone up by 77% in the suburbs
and 35% in the island city since a decade ago, reveals a detailed analysis of Census 2011 data.
• Research begun at The Heritage Foundation and recently updated at Family Research Council underscores the benefits the
public derives from marriage in terms of higher educational attainment, reduced sexual activity and pregnancy outside of
marriage, lower crime rates, increased personal happiness, and many other social goods.
• Marriage has “more to do with the morals and civilization of a people than any other institution”. Supreme Court of India
 Marriage

• Why marriage is so important in society?

• Social sanctions, rules, regulations for the relationship of

a man and a woman to binds them in a system of mutual
obligations (responsibilities) and rights

• Legally defined definition, laws, policies

• The SC judgment in 'Seema vs Ashwani Kumar' case had
suggested that compulsory registration of marriages,
irrespective of religion of the parties involved, might require a
standalone law.
• Sanctity of marriage institution- various issues and laws like
adultery law (section 397)
• Leach (1955) Marriage is a ‘bundle of rights’ the rights include
• Legitimating offspring
• Socially approved access to the spouse's sexuality, labor and property
• Establishment of affinal relationship between persons and between groups

• Edward Westmark in his ‘History of Marriage’ defines Marriage as “the more or less
durable connection between male and female lasting beyond the mere act of
propagation till after the birth of offspring”.

• Malinowski says that marriage is a “contract for the production and

maintenance of children”

• Horton and Hunt – Marriage is an approved social pattern whereby two or

more persons establish a family.
• Marriage is a Social Institution

• To admit man and woman into family life- sanctioned by both custom
and law

• To establish socially sanctioned sexual relationship

• A way of regulating human reproduction
• Provide mechanism for performing religious duties
• Regulate property relations-inheritance and succession
 Forms of marriage

• Historically marriage has been found to exist in a wide variety of forms in different societies.

• The number of partners

• Rules governing who can marry whom.

• The number of partners

• Monogamy : a man can have only one wife and a woman can
have only one husband
• Preferred form of marriage all over the world

• Polygamy: multiple marriage partners

• G. P. Murdock’s research, based on an analysis of 283 societies, revealed that 193 of these were characterised by
polygyny, 43 were monogamous and only 2 practiced polyandry.
• Polygyny

• One husband with two or more wives: Sororal and Non-Sororal

• Among the Hindus, until the passing of The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, a Hindu man was permitted to marry more
than one woman at a time.
• kings, chieftains, headmen of villages, members of the landed aristocracy actually practiced polygyny
• In Islamic faith polygyny has allowed

• Polygyny
Causes of Polygyny (Edward Westermarck, The History of Marriage)

• Enforced Celibacy
• Desire for more Children
• Social Prestige
• Economic Necessity- Himalayan region
• Earlier ageing of Females

• Polygamy followers justify its practice by referring to religion? Religious

freedom can be the justification for acting against the law? Do you believe
that criminalization of polygamy violates the right to freedom of religion?
• Polyandry
• Polyandry (one wife with two or more husbands)
• Fraternal and Non-fraternal

• Polyandry is even less common than polygyny.

• A few Kerala castes practised polyandry until
recently.
• The Toda of the Nilgiris in Tamilnadu
• The Khasa of Jaunsar Bawar in Dehradun district of Uttaranchal
• Some tribes in Tibetan region

• The factors that are related to the prevalence of polyandry are

• a) Desire to prevent division of property within a family – Tibetan family
• b) To preserve the unity and solidarity of the joint family-sibling group
• c) The need to maintain family in a society where men are away on a commercial or military
journey
• e) Lesser number of females- Toda of the Nilgiri
 Who can marry whom: Rules of Endogamy and Exogamy

• Endogamy: requires an individual to marry within a culturally defined group of

which he or she is already a member
• Types – Tribal Endogamy, Caste Endogamy, Class Endogamy, Subcaste Endogamy, Race
Endogamy
• Exogamy: formal rule compelling the individual to marry outside of his/her own
group
• Types - Gotra Exogamy, Pravar Exogamy, Village Exogamy, Pinda Exogamy

• The Hindu Marriage Act (1955) forbids marriage between sapinda and specifies that marriage between two
persons related within five generations on the father's side and three on the mother's side is void, unless
permitted by local custom
• The exogamic rule prohibits marriage between siblings
 Hindu Marriage

• Concept of Sacrament

• As per Hindu law

Marriage is a union with a commitment to pursue Dharma (related to Indian religion, custom),
Artha (Property ) and Kama (physical desires) together.

• Aims of Hindu Marriage

• Fulfillment of Dharma
• Sexual Pleasure-Procreation
• Discharge of Rinas
• Regulate property relations-inheritance and succession

• Rituals involved in Hindu Marriage

• – Kanyadan, Vivaha home, Panigahan, Saptapadi
 Hindu Marriage and Law: Is marriage a ‘sacrament’ or
‘contract’?
A marriage to be sacramental shall comprise of following features

• It is permanent or indissoluble [defeated by insertion of sec 13-B in HMA, ‘divorce by mutual consent’]
• It is eternal [valid not merely in this life but lives to come] [widow remarriage Act, 1856]
• It is holy union [Performance of religious ceremonies is essential] [it is retained by sec 7 HMA].

• Marriage between minors is voidable……Hindu marriage Act 1955

Before the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

• One could marry at any age, as there was no lowest age of marriage .
• Inter-religious and inter-caste marriages were prohibited, but the latter could be sanctioned by custom.
• Marriage was indissoluble; divorce was not permitted unless recognized by custom.
• Death did not dissolve a marriage and therefore a widow could not remarry unless permitted by custom to
do so. etc
• Forms of Hindu Marriage (8 types ): based on ceremonies involved (Manu
Smriti)
• Brahma (father not receive any consideration and gives daughter to learned man)
• Daiva (daughter is gifted to priest)
• Arsha (when son-in-law gives gift of a cow and a bull to would be father-in-law)
• Prajapatya (gift of daughter after honoring groom, father of bride-'May both of you
perform together your duties')
• Gandharva (marriage by love and mutual consent of bride and groom)
• Rakshasa (marriage by abducting bride by groom)
• Asura (bride-price, marriage by purchase),
• Paishacha (marriage by intoxicating bride)

• According to D.N. Majumdar (Races and Cultures of India), “[The present day]Hindu
society recognizes only two forms, the Brahma and the Asura, the higher castes
preferring the former and backward castes the latter...”
• Muslim Marriage

• Social Contract-a secular bond

• Can be annulled-divorce

• Nikah

• Conditions for Muslim Marriage

• Proposal and acceptance in the same meeting
• Capacity for Marriage

• Christian Marriage
• Ordained by God
• Egalitarian principle
• Marriage to regulate sexual behaviour and ensure healthy procreation
 Tribal marriage
• Types of Tribal Marriage

1. Marriage by Capture

2. Marriage by Trial

3. Marriage by Purchase

4. Marriage by Service

5. Marriage by Exchange

6. Marriage by Mutual Consent

7. Probationary Marriage

8. Marriage Intrusion
• Theoretical Perspective on Family and Marriage

• Functionalism-
• George Murdock – functions of family
• i) regulate sexual relations
• ii) account for economic survival
• iii) controls reproduction
• iv) socialises children

• Talcott Parson
• Functional Fit theory- Isolated nuclear family
• Socialization of children
• Stabilization of adult personality
• Roles within family- instrumental and expressive
• Warm bath theory- to avoid conflict in society
• Conflict theories
• Marxist
• Family to facilitate capitalism-creation of submissive labour
• to balance oppression
• Friedrich Engels, ‘The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State: in the Light of the Researches of Lewis
H. Morgan’ (1884)

• Feminism
• Historical social movements attempting to gain equal economic, political and social rights for women

• Patriarchal domination and subjugation of female

• “gender” is socially constructed and flourish within family
• functions of the nuclear family
• Gender socialization-teaching girls to accept subservient roles, whilst boys to believe they were superior
• Socialising women into accepting the “housewife” role as the only possible/acceptable role for a women
• Liberal feminism (Jennifer Somerville) opt for changes (legal, policy, social) in family file for equal gender roles. Family
life compatible employment opportunities
• Marxist feminism- Fran Ansley (1972) argues women absorb the anger that would otherwise be directed at capitalism
• Radical feminists argue that all relationships between men and women are based on patriarchy

• David cooper ‘The death of the family’

• Individual suppression
 KINSHIP
• What is Kinship System?
• The kinship system refers to a set of persons recognised as relatives, either, by virtue of a blood relationship technically called consanguinity, or by virtue
of a marriage relationship, that is through what is called affinity.
• The Principles of Descent
• Unilineal and Bilateral
• 'corporate' in nature

Different patterns of Kinship in India (David Mandelbaun and Iravati Karve)

• Norther India-consanguine kinship
• Southern India-affinal kinship

• Importance of kinship patterns

• The Principles of Descent
• Patrilineal descent
• Matrilineal descent
• Nayars of Kerala: An Illustration

• Inheritance Rules
• Property relations-In addition to property of various kinds,
• Rights and obligations, crafts and skills, etc.,
• Social roles and statuses- succession to office to chieftainship, kingship, etc.
• Jural units
• Gender

 Sex-Refers to the physical and biological

• biological characteristics that defines human beings

• Gender-socially constructed roles, behaviours, attributes- socially expected sex role-it is

Social, Psychological and Cultural
• Masculinity and Femininity
Gender Issues
• Think over it…..
• History-Woman playing hunter-gatherer, and the man the keeper of the cave.
• Modern- man is earning member of family whereas women obedient wife, caring daughter-in-law,
loving mother, benevolent grand-mother
• The working woman is ambitious but ruthless and messy,

• Gender in everyday life

• Supreme Court on Sabarimala: 'Gender discrimination in such a matter is unacceptable‘
• Women around the world earn a quarter less than men, finds UN report
• New law in Canada would ban employers from forcing high heels on women
• Women 'arrested for riding bicycles in Iran'
• India: Gender bias leads to extra 239,000 girl deaths per year

• Sussex University to use gender neutral pronouns

• HeForShe campaign: Actor Emma Watson launched a solidarity campaign for gender equality — HeForShe,
initiated by the UN, in 2014. Watson spoke about the need for men to get involved in promoting women’s rights
and also clarified that being a feminist is not equal to being a man-hater.
• 40% of women in sport industry face gender discrimination, report says
• Uber agrees $10m settlement in gender and race discrimination lawsuit
• Egyptian MP in struggle to make adultery punishments gender neutral
• Dabur’s Real Fruit Juice to change packaging which was gender discriminating image
• Gender stratification and gender discrimination?
• Gender inequality=Power
• Discrimination or prejudices based on gender
• Rituals and gender practices
• Women seen as creator, But needs to be guided by male
• Caste-class nexus and gender
• Female foeticide- Cases of sex selective abortions
• Dowry practices
• Triple talaq
• Female genital mutilation
• gap between male
and female- education, health, morality, employment, wages etc.
• Indian legal system
• Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex
• Inheritance rights for women in family
• Adriana D. Kugler and Santosh Kumar, published in Demography- disfavouring female children in the family compared to
male children
• Vina Majumdar- ‘this region has thrown some of the most powerful women rulers in the world, but they did not work for
restructuring of the social order, eliminating patriarchal institutions’
Gender and Family

• Patriarchy and male/female dichotomy

• Family-primary socialization
• How to behave, name, toys, playing behaviour
• Role allocation
• Positive and negative sanctions for following gender roles
• Girl often praises for doing house work whereas boy gets price for doing good in sport.
• Indian traditional mythologies’ glorified motherhood for girls
• Women- home is first-Working women still expect to look after home first
• Indian woman have roles but no identity (Govt. of India Report, 1974)

• Gender based hierarchal placement

• Husband-wife superior-inferior; Wife is younger to husband
• ‘To be a female is often less than to be human’ Sharma and Khosla (1997)

• Property issues and legal status of Coparcenary

• Traditionally Women deprived of property rights, inheritance in family

• Family socialization can be a solution to gender discrimination?

India and gender
inequalities around the
world.

The gender gap index-measure to find

the relative gap between men and
women in four fundamental categories –
economic participation,
educational attainment,
health and survival,
 Statistics related to domestic violence

• International Clinical Epidemiologists Network (INCLEN), 2000, found domestic violence as a

problem that cuts across age, education, social class and religion in India. It was also found that
40% women had experienced at least one form of physical violence in their married life.
• According to National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) 1991, at every 33 minutes one Indian
women is being abused by her husband.
• According to a community and hospital based prospective study, conducted during 1993 – 95
in India, 16% of the deaths in pregnancy were caused by domestic violence.
• According to ‘United Nation Population Fund Report’, around two-third of married Indian
women are victims of Domestic Violence attacks and as many as 70 per cent of married
women in India between the age of 15 and 49 are victims of beating, rape or forced sex.
• Bihar state was found to be the most violent, with the abuse rate against married women
being as high as 59%. It was followed by Rajasthan (46.3%), Madhya Pradesh(45.8%), Manipur
(43.9%), Uttar Pradesh (42.4%), Tamil Nadu (41.9%) and West Bengal (40.3%) (NFHS III).
 Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence’ includes harms or injuries which endangers women’s

health, safety, life, limb or well being, whether mental or physical. It may also
be through physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse.

Sociologist calls it Intimate partner violence (IPV).

• Is pervasive and insidious
• Is carried out in private domain
• Is inflicted by an intimate partner
• Continues over a period of time (chronic)
• Limits avenues of escape for the victim.
• Legal provision for domestic violence

• Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) 2005

• Any kind of abusive behavior by your husband or male partner or their relatives (includes
male and female relatives). It need not be physical abuse. It could also be verbal, emotional,
sexual or economic abuse-The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005

• First law in India to define DV in a comprehensive way

• Rights-based (civil) law-Advocates the right to live with dignity
• Identification of the acts of domestic violence-physical, emotional, sexual, economic

• Criticism
• the judiciary's inability to correctly interpret the nature of violence or harassment faced by a
woman
• Padma Bai vs State of Madhya Pradesh
 • Family and Domestic Violence

• Historically family were-personal space

• John Locke- Natural arrangement-Paternal and political power
• Frederick Engel- describe patriarchal family was a…private service…woman is first
domestic servant
• Marxist –Conflict-–family is based on conflicting interests
• Feminist theories-personal is political

• Indian Family and Domestic Violence

• Indian Family…women as goddess and respect
• Traditional outlook towards Problems within family-dowry deaths, child marriages, sati pratha, widowhood etc.
• Western influence-individualistic orientations
• The 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act- amended in 1984 and 1986 (section 498A) (section 304B)
• 1980s-dowry death-women’s movement
• The most common causes for domestic abuse of include:-
• Gender socialization within family- discrimination of women
• Social tolerance of victimization
• Dowry system,
• Young age of bride,
• Low education, low economic background
• History of domestic violence in the family
• Lack of social network
• Polysubstance abuse, alcohol
• Extra-marital relationship
• Koenig et al (2006) UP study
• Childless-ness, economic pressure, intergenerational transmission of violence,
• Often cited arguments in favour of domestic violence
• Arguing with the partner, refusing to have sex with the partner,
• Neglecting children, going out of home without telling the partner,
• Not cooking properly or on time,
• Indulging in extra marital affairs,
• Not looking after in-laws,
 Impact of Domestic violence

• Psychological and physical Trauma to women

• Grave impact on children

• According to WHO (2001) battered women are subject to twice the risk of
miscarriage and 4 times the risk of having a baby that is below average weight.
• It is estimated that about one third of children who are abused or exposed to
violence as children become violent themselves in later life.
• Boys are at increased risk to abuse an intimate partner in adult relationships if they
were abused or witnessed abuse between parental figures.
• Girls suffer from poor mental health (Kumar et al, 2005)

• Dowry deaths
• According to a 1996 report by Indian police, every year it receives over 2,500
reports of bride-burning. The Indian National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports
that there were about 8331 dowry death cases registered in India in 2011.

• Impact on Family as an institution

 Solutions….

• Gender based socialization of children in the family

• Education
• Women’s economic independence
• Close connection to extended family

• Can we categorize domestic violence as a cause of gender violence?

Domestic violence at world level
• In Russia, a formal declaration by the government stated that in 1994, 15,000
women died as a result of their spouse’s violent behavior.

• In Papua New guinea, it was shown that 56% of women in urban areas were
victims of domestic violence.

• In Canada, one in every 4 women are faced with sexual violence at one point in
their lives and half of these women are exposed to sexual violence before the age
of 16 .

• In Denmark, 25% of women state physical violence to be major cause of divorce.

• In Austria, wife abuse was cited as a cause of breakdown in 59% of 1,500 divorced
cases ( United Nations 1991).
Divorce

• Perceptions towards Divorce

• Civil law,
• The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 permitted divorce to all the Hindus on certain reasonable
grounds.
• Recent update-section 13B(2) is not mandatory but directory in nature : the minimum cooling
period of six months for divorce –not needed
• Societal norms

Impact
• Social interactions
• Between family members
• Outside family members
• Why on increasing rate?