Role of Women in Decision Making in Agrarian Economy of Himachal Pradesh An Empirical Investigation

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1 IOSR Journal Of Humanitis And Social Scinc (IOSR-JHSS Volum, Issu, Vr. (Novmbr. PP 4- -ISSN: 79-7, p-issn: Rol of Womn in Dcision Making in Agrarian Economy of Himachal Pradsh An Empirical Invstigation Sanjt singh * Corrsponding Author: Sanjt singh* Dat of Submission: --7 Dat of accptanc: I. INTRODUCTION Th procss of dcision making in a family has an important baring on th intra-houshold dynamics and wlfar of th housholds. Most of th modls of houshold dcision making assum that th family as a whol is th dcision making unit and thr xists a singl houshold utility function. Each mmbr of th houshold jointly maximizs th lvl of utility for givn incom. Ths so calld unitary modls (Bckr, 9 ar basd on th assumption that th tasts and prfrncs of all houshold mmbrs ar th sam. What would b th houshold wlfar function if houshold mmbrs hav diffrnt prfrncs? This brings to thrfor th qustions about th distribution of rsourcs within th houshold (Bhram, 9. Rural womn constitut th invisibl work forc which kps th family and th rural conomy aliv. But thy and thir labour oftn go un-rwardd or undr-rwardd. Womn rprsnt half of th world s population and on-third of th official labour forc, but thy rcivd only on pr cnt of th world incom and own lss than on pr cnt of th world s proprty (U.N. Confrnc, Copnhagn, 9. Womn play a crucial rol in food production producing mor than half of th world s food (FAO, 9. Womn s conomic and social status within th houshold dtrmins hr ability to ffct dcision which nsurs th halth and wll-bing of th family. Caring capacity howvr gos byond physical car. It also involvs mntal car rlatd to lov, rspct, psychosocial dvlopmnt including confidnc building which all has an ffct on physical halth. Mntal and physical car gos togthr and cannot b sparatd. Th womn s dcision making procss is influncd by thir work pattrns, conomic and social activitis, family structur, traditions, nvironmntal and tchnological conditions basd on rsourcs. Morovr, a womn s dcision-making within th houshold dpnds on hr ag and houshold status. Th adult marrid woman has th powr to dcid what tasks ar to b carrid, which is to do thm. Sh usually suprviss hr daughtrs or othr Youngr womn in th houshold. Mn usually do not intrfr in womn s control of day-to-day houshold dcision, unlss somthing that affcts th mn prsonally is not don (for xampl if mal is not cookd. Lot of studis hav bn conductd (.g. Gor, 9, Davis, 9; Sharma, 9; Mishra, 9; Bourquia, 99 and Sth,, Acharya and Ghimir, Sharma and Sharma, Sharma and Dvi, which clarly showd that womn had surprisingly larg dcision making rol at th houshold lvls. Howvr, thir dcision making if oftn bhind th scns and thrfor socially invisibl, womn involvmnt in dcision making was gratr in traditional subsistnc houshold, whras, in markt-orintd and mony mattrs mals mad th dcision. Himachal Pradsh is a hilly stat. Th cropping pattrn, th agricultural incom and th consumption pattrn of th farmrs, thrfor, vary with th altitud. On th basis of altitud, th cultivatd land in th Stat has bn catgorizd into four zons, viz., (a low hill zon ranging btwn to ft, (b mid-hill zon from to ft, (c high-hill zon from to 4 ft and (d cold zon which is almost covrd by snow for mor than months with altitud of 4 ft. and abov. In th vally ara of low hill zon th main agricultural products ar food grains, i.. what, maiz, paddy, pulss, sugarcan, oilsds, tc. Whras, du to suitabl topography and climatic conditions th high-hill and mid-hill zon of th Stat is widly known for horticultural product, viz., appl, sd, potatos, apricot, graps, gingr and dry fruits tc. Th agricultural activitis in th mid-hill zon bar similarity in som aras to that of low-hill zon whil in othr aras to high hill zon. Th agricultural activitis in th cold-zon, du to th covrag of snow in most of th tim in a yar, bars similarity to som aras to that of high hill zon. Th status of Himachali womn in socity has bn viwd diffrntly with rgard to hr rol in diffrnt placs of th socity. Th main occupation of th womn in th Stat is agricultur including horticultur. Th womn labour accounts for pr cnt of th total farm work, thir participation bing gratr in activitis lik animal husbandry than in crop production. But thr is som tndncy towards sxual division of labour in Himachal Pradsh. Th hill womn work hard with th mn folk and robust. Himachal, lik vry DOI:.979/ Pag

2 othr socity, has latnt rsrvs in its human rsourcs spcially in womn, who gnrally work for much longr hours than mn. Dspit a rlativly highr contribution of womn in th dvlopmnt of conomy, thy lack an qual accss to opportunitis and othr rsourcs. Gndr quality can b a potnt forc for initiating acclration of dvlopmnt and placing it on a sustainabl path. II. OBJECTIVES Th prsnt study has bn takn up for dtaild mpirical vrification with a viw to achiv th following objctivs:. To study th socio-conomic conditions of th sampl housholds among th diffrnt siz of holdings; and. To study th rol of woman in family dcision making among th sampl housholds in th diffrnt siz of holdings. Sampling Th prsnt mpirical invstigation is confind to Mandi District of Himachal Pradsh. For th prsnt mpirical invstigation this district has bn slctd purposly bcaus this district has got pculiar vagaris not only in trms of trrain but also in trms of socio-conomic dmographic structur. This district has a mixtur of most progrssiv and most backward aras of Himachal Pradsh. Administrativly th Mandi district has bn dividd into tn dvlopmnt blocks, viz. Mandi Sadar, Rwalsar, Drang, Chauntra, Chachyot, Siraj, Dharampur, Gopalpur, Sundr Nagar and Karsog. At th first stag all th dvlopmnt blocks hav bn arrangd in an ascnding ordr on th basis of thir rspctiv population and two blocks hav bn slctd randomly. At th scond stag all th panchayats in ach slctd dvlopmnt block hav bn arrangd in an ascnding ordr on th basis of thir rspctiv population and two panchayats hav bn slctd randomly from ach slctd block. Thus total four panchayats hav bn slctd randomly in th study ara. At th third stag a list of villags hav bn obtaind from th offic of ach slctd panchayats and all th villags in ach slctd panchayats hav bn arrangd in an ascnding ordr on th basis of thir rspctiv population and thr villags hav bn slctd randomly from ach slctd panchayat of ach slctd dvlopmnt block. Thus total twlv ( villags hav bn slctd randomly in th study ara. At th fourth stag a list of th housholds hav bn prpard in ach of th slctd villag and all th housholds in all th slctd villags hav bn arrangd in an ascnding ordr on th basis of thir rspctiv siz of holdings viz. marginal ( hctar, small ( hctar, mdium ( - 4 hctar and larg siz of holdings ( 4 hctar and abov and about housholds proportion to th total numbr of houshold falling in ach catgory hav bn slctd randomly for collcting th rquird first hand information, out of which housholds falls in th catgory of th marginal, 9 on th small, 4 on th mdium and rmaining housholds on th catgory of larg siz of holdings groups. Data Collction Th rquird primary data hav bn collctd with th hlp of pr-tstd schduld from sampl housholds and th information prtaining to ag, sx, family composition, occupation (main and subsidiary, ducational status, valu of houshold assts (i.. both productiv and houshold durabls hav bn rcordd as xistd at th tim of survy. Th schdul had both opn ndd and clos ndd qustions. In addition to intrviw schduls, non-participant obsrvation mthods hav also bn followd in ordr to undrstand th way in which thy shar th houshold rsponsibilitis with othr mmbrs of th family. III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Socio-conomic Charactristics of th Sampl Housholds: Out of th total sampl housholds, housholds fall in th catgory of marginal farmrs having land lss than on hctar, 9 housholds fall in th catgory of small farmrs, having - hctars of land, 4 housholds ar th mdium siz of holdings (-4 hctars and rmaining housholds fall in th catgory of larg farmrs (4 hctar and abov. Out of th total population of 94, 9 ar mals and 9 ar fmals. Th avrag siz of family is th highst on th mdium siz of holdings as compard to th othr class of holdings, followd by larg, marginal and small siz of holdings group rspctivly. Th avrag siz of family among all th sampl houshold cam out.47, which is largr as compard with avrag siz of family at th stat lvl as a whol, i (According to Cnsus,. Th prcntag of labour forc has bn workd out 7., 7., 7. and.4 pr cnt on th marginal, small, mdium and larg siz of holdings group rspctivly. Among all th land holdings togthr this prcntag cam out Th prcntag of dpndants is th highst on th larg siz of holdings group (i.. 9. pr cnt as compard to th othr class of holdings, followd by marginal siz of holdings group (i.. 7. pr cnt and mdium siz of holdings group (i... pr cnt. Th lowst prcntag of dpndants is on th small siz of holdings group (i...7 pr cnt. Among all th holding groups togthr th prcntag of dpndants cam out 7.. Th litracy lvl of DOI:.979/ Pag

3 sampl housholds has bn shows that illitracy was mor among womn (i...7 pr cnt as compard to mn (i...7 pr cnt. In th sampl as a whol 4.4 pr cnt of th population is litrat, out of which 7. pr cnt ar mals and.7 pr cnt ar fmals. Th litracy prcntag is th highst on th larg siz of holdings i... pr cnt and it dcrass to., 4.99 and.4 pr cnt on th mdium, small and marginal siz of holdings rspctivly. About.7 pr cnt womn had ducation up to primary lvl and about 4.4 pr cnt could go up to Matric lvl only. At post graduation lvl th prcntag is vry low (i pr cnt. This shows that ducation lvl of womn in th study ara is not so satisfactory yt. On th othr hand about. pr cnt mal had ducation up to Matric lvl and.9 pr cnt up to primary lvl. Th prcntag of highr ducation among fmals is vry low bcaus fmals oftn far that ducation will mak a girl lss attntiv to houshold chors and lss willing to oby both hr parnts and houshold. This is why thy discontinu thir ducation at an arlir stag as compard to mn. Thrfor, thy hav virtually no choic than to accpt lif as it is mad up of combination of houshold and agricultural tasks. Th pr houshold total ara opratd has bn workd out.7 hctars on th marginal,.7 hctars on th small,.7 hctars on th mdium and 7.4 hctars on th larg siz class of holdings. Among all th sampl housholds, togthr pr houshold total ara opratd has bn workd out.9 hctars. (Appndix-I. Womn s Dcision Making in Houshold Activitis In th prsnt mpirical invstigation it was found that out of th total sampl housholds,. pr cnt wr having joint family systm, which was highr on th larg holding groups as compard to smallr farmrs. Only.4 pr cnt womn of th sampl housholds hld lucrativ mploymnt and vstd with authority had a gratr and ffctiv say in a family dcision making. An analysis of th ownrship pattrn of land showd that womn had titls to land only in.4 pr cnt (i...7 pr cnt on th larg and. pr cnt on th mdium holdings,. pr cnt on th small holdings, whil mn had titls of 9. pr cnt of th housholds. Th ownrship of land by womn was ngligibl on th marginal siz of holdings. Out of th total sampl housholds womn s wr acting as th had of th familis only in. pr cnt sampl housholds. It was obsrvd that womn had usually control ovr th incom thy arnd; dcision making authority in financial mattr was vstd in th hand of mal mmbrs in th family among all th siz of holdings. About 7. pr cnt womn of marginal holdings wr of th opinion that a womn who did not bar a son might b divorcd on th grounds that th man would lik a woman who could bar a son to bquath him his proprty and look aftr him in old ag. Womn also playd discriminatory rols with thir girl child compard to boys in th upbringing of childrn. This typ of rol play mphasizd that girls should concntrat in larning mattrs prtaining to th kitchn, and to accpt without qustion that mn wr suprior in all rspcts. Thus, womn had bn psychologically prpard to accpt an infrior social position bcaus of th laborat traditional systms which mad womn nforcs of thir own subjugation practics. Th prptuations of ths practics maintain th customary infrior position of womn with rgard to dcision making, control of rsourcs and thir social position. Evn womn in larg siz of holdings hardly clbrat th birthday of girl child. Only.7 pr cnt womn from larg holding groups found to b in favour of giving qual opportunitis to mal or fmal child for thir upbringing. Dcision making in food rlatd activitis hav facts lik, purchas of food itms, cooking and clanlinss, houshold maintnanc, managmnt and shopping of own houshold durabls, car of childrn, th sick ldrly and disabls, social, cultural and rligious works. Appndix-II indicats that th prcntag of houshold dcision making about purchas of food-itms takn by mals was th highst (i... pr cnt among th small siz of holdings followd by mdium and larg siz of holdings i.. 7. and.7 pr cnt. Whil, it was lowst i... pr cnt among marginal siz of holdings group. Womn wr just consultd but did not act as major dcision-makr. Th mn wr th main dcision makrs. Thy visitd markts frquntly for thir day to day rquirmnts. Whil coming back hom thy purchasd food-itms of thir choic. Morovr, it was found that thr was highr valuation of mn s choic. Th dcision making in cooking and clanlinss activitis was th main concrn of fmals. Almost all siz class of holdings fmals wr th main dcision makrs. It is clar that habitually womn hav drivd skill in cooking food-itms and hav provn to b mor fficint in all affairs of this catgory. In houshold maintnanc, managmnt and shopping of durabl activitis dcision making was don by mals and fmals jointly (i pr cnt in consultation with ach othr in all sizs of holding togthr. In ths activitis vry lss prcntag of mal and fmals wr found taking indpndnt dcisions among th sampl housholds. Th dcision rgarding car of childrn, sick, ldrly and disabld was takn by both mal and fmal jointly. Th prcntag of sampl houshold whr mal and fmal took joint dcision in ths activitis cam out 7.,.7, 77.7 and 4. prcnt on th marginal, small, mdium and larg siz of holdings rspctivly; among all siz of holdings togthr this prcntag cam out 7. pr cnt. Th possibility of indpndnt dcisions by mals and fmals wr vry rar. It is furthr addd that childrn nd scrupls and constant car for thir upbringing. Thir nglct ntails impovrishmnt and dprivation for thm. DOI:.979/ Pag

4 Parnts want highr placs for thir sons and daughtrs in socity. Th sick, ldrly and handicappd prsons also nd loving car of th family mmbrs. Joint (mal and fmal and right dcisions prov to b palliativs for thm hav mbalming and soothing ffcts on thir livs. Th majority of housholds dcisions rgarding social cultural and rligious work wr takn jointly by mals and fmals in all siz of holding togthr. Although among th sampl housholds, dcisions wr takn indpndntly also by mals and fmals. Th prcntag of indpndnt fmal dcision makrs was on th highr sid (i...9 pr cnt among marginal siz of holdings, whras, mals wr found to b having uppr hand on small, mdium and larg sizs of holdings. Howvr, it is found that th population of ara undr study prdominatly blongs to Hindu rligion. Popl bliv in old customs, traditions and blif. Th Socity is orthodox and blivs in ghosts and spirits. Any transgrssion of old dogmas is viwd advrsly. Willy-nilly thy hav to obsrv rits and rituals of th past. May b bcaus of prssur of socity or far of trspassing of rligious bonds, thy tak joint dcisions for social, cultural and rligious activitis. On an avrag maximum dcisions rgarding houshold activitis wr jointly takn by mals and fmals. Th prcntag of sampl houshold who took joint dcision rgarding houshold activitis wr found.9 prcnt on th marginal, 4. prcnt on th small,. prcnt on th mdium and.99 prcnt on th larg siz of holdings. Th prcntag of fmal indpndnt dcision makrs is th highr (i...9 prcnt as compard to mal dcision makrs (i... prcnt on th marginal siz of holdings and.77 pr cnt, among mdium siz of holdings as compard to mal dcision makr i.. 4. pr cnt, du to th rason that most of th womn wr mployd as daily wag arnrs and mal mmbrs wr found to b alcoholic, drug addicts sluggish and lthargic. Among small and larg sizs of th holdings th trnd got rvrsd. Hrin th prcntag of indpndnt mal dcision makrs was on th highr sid than that of fmals. Womn s Dcision Rlating Farm Activitis Rural womn ar intnsivly involvd in agricultural activitis. Normally mn dominat in dcision making rgarding allocating of land for cultivation for growing diffrnt crops, mony to spnd for purchas of agricultural implmnts, labour mploymnt, application to frtilizr, inscticids, sal of farm produc and raising of loans. Howvr, dcisions on farm activitis lik planting, waving, harvsting, and food prsrvation ar shard by both mals and fmals. Th farm rlatd work has bn dividd into svn important activitis (i.. choic of subsistnc crops to b grown, choic of cash crops to b grown, planting trs, livstock kping, labour hiring, purchass of agro-chmicals and quantity of food produc to b sold. It is clar from th Appndix-III that in cas of choic of subsistnc crop to b grown 4.,.7, 7. and prcnt of th mn and 4.7,.,. and. prcnt of th womn wr th dcision makrs on th marginal, small, mdium and larg siz of holdings rspctivly among th sampl housholds. Among all th sizs of holdings takn togthr th prcntag of housholds whr mals wr making dcisions cam out.7 prcnt and found to b in majority, followd by fmals (. pr cnt and by both mals and fmals (. pr cnt rgarding choic of cash crops to b grown. It is clar from th Appndix that in this particular activity mals ar mor skillful in dciding which crop is to b grown for bttr rturns in production. In planting of trs activitis th prcntag of houshold dcision making by mals cam out highst (i pr cnt in mdium siz of holdings followd by small siz of holdings (i pr cnt, marginal siz of holdings (i.. 7. pr cnt and larg siz of holdings (i...7 pr cnt rspctivly. Among all sizs of holdings takn togthr dominant part of dcision making was don by mals (i.. 7. pr cnt followd fmals (i.. 4. pr cnt and jointly by mals and fmals (i... pr cnt.th plantation of trs is an outsid work and rquir physical labour, knowldg about th climatic condition of th ara, fast growth rat of trs and comparativ montary valu of th trss. Th mn hav dpr knowldg of th abov facts. Thrfor, in maximum sampl housholds mn wr th main dcision makrs. In livstock kping activity Appndix III clarly rvals that fmals wr found to b main dcision makrs in most of th sampl housholds of th marginal, small and larg siz of holdings, but on th mdium siz of holdings mn wr found to b dcision makrs in.9 pr cnt of th housholds. Among all sizs of holdings takn togthr dcision wr takn by fmals i... pr cnt followd by jointly mals and fmals both, i... pr cnt and.7 pr cnt jointly by mals. Th obvious rason why womn wr largly involvd in dcision making in this catgory can b ascribd to th fact that th work of livstock kping is mainly don within hom priphrals. Howvr, in larg siz of holding womn thought byond thir dignity to do th mnial jobs lik tnding to livstock s. In labour hiring and purchas of agro-chmicals activitis th prcntag of houshold dcisions making was highst by mals i... pr cnt in all siz of holdings togthr, bcaus both th activitis ar rlatd to markt obsrvations, knowldg about th latst brands of agro-chmicals products, rat diffrntiation in th markt and mals ar mor convrsant with thm. Th prcntag of housholds about dcision making in th abov activitis was nominal by fmals. DOI:.979/ Pag

5 Th prcntag of mal dcision makrs about quantity of food producd to b sold cam out.7, 7.,. and. pr cnt on th marginal, small, mdium and larg siz of holdings rspctivly. This shows an incrasing trnd with an incras in th siz of holdings xcpt mdium siz of holdings. It happnd du to fact that mn appard to b good bargainrs and plannrs. Th dcision rgarding quantity of food was to kpt in rsrv for sustaining family till th nxt crop cam and how much was to b sold involvd judicious dcisions which th mn kpt in thir mind bttr than womn. Hnc, in farm dcision making activitis th prcntag of houshold dcision making by mals was highst (i... pr cnt followd by fmals (i pr cnt and by both jointly (i...9 pr cnt. It may b notd that in th study ara th patriarchal systm of socity is prvalnt whr normally dcisions ar mad by mal hads. From th abov discussion it can b concludd that irrspctiv of th familial composition that is, nuclar or joint, th authority rmains undr th domain of ldrs who may b husband/parnt-in-law in th family. Womn s ar gnrally playing traditional rol of child baring and raring and managing th houshold chors. Th rsults of th prsnt study do not support th gnrally hld contntion that whn womn bcom conomically indpndnt, thir status is lvatd. Th lack of support to such xplanation may b attributd to th fact majority of our rspondnts wr ngagd in family affairs and hnc had no indpndnt conomic status. Scondly, thy hav takn up conomic rol not to bcom conomically indpndnt but to tak it as a part and parcl of thir lif. It is prhaps for ths rasons that othr family mmbrs xtnd th hlping hands to womn in prforming th rol in various houshold activitis. Thus, it can b concludd that irrspctiv of th familial composition dcision making authority rgarding financial mattrs, ducation of childrn s, halth car for fmal child tc. is still vstd in th hands of mal mmbrs in th family. On an avrag maximum dcision rgarding houshold activitis wr jointly takn by mals and fmals, whras, in farm dcision making activitis th dcision takn by mals was highst as compard to fmals. In th xisting social st up, fmals spcially in rural aras, play a significant rol in rproducing th rural houshold conomy by thir involvmnt in houshold production systm. But thir rol is rathr undrplayd by th convntional statistics and th ambiguity in classifying womn s work. Evn whn womn ar th ownrs of th mans of production, thir labour is bing xploitd, and that thir rol in dcision making is rathr limitd. In addition to this most of th womn in study ara ar lss mobil, this kps thm away from ducational institutions, halth car cntrs, markt and financial institutions. Somtims various houshold and farm activitis kpt th majority of womn so busy that thy could not find tim to visit th mdical cntrs. Evn womn s own tim which is an important rsourc is controlld by th forcs of production, rproduction and car of housholds. This widns th gndr disparitis in basic human capabilitis. Th planning stratgy for womn dvlopmnt should b judicious mix of bnficiary orintd programms National Statistics should fully rflct th invisibl contribution of womn, thn it will bcom impossibl for policy makrs to ignor thm in national dcisions, nor will womn continu to b rgardd as conomic non-ntitis in markt transactions. REFERENCES []. Bkr, G.S. (99, Thory of th Allocation of Tim, Economic Journal, Vol. 7 Cambridg, PP []. Bhram, R.L. (9, Nutrition, Halth, Birth Ordr and Sasonality: Intra-houshold Allocation Among Childrn in Rural India, Journal of Dvlopmnt Economics, No., Nthrlands, PP. 4-. []. Bourqia (99, Womn s Rol in Houshold Dcision, IFAD Rom, IFAD Projct in Eastrn Morocco, PP. -9. [4]. Davidson J. and Dunklman, L. (9, Womn and Environmnt in th Third World, Allianc for th Futur, Earthscan Publication Limitd, London. []. Davis Lalitha, V. (9, Status and Employmnt of Womn in India, B.R. Publishing Corporation, Dlhi. []. FAO (9, Rport on th FAO-SIDA Projct on Promoting th Participation of Womn in Rural Dvlopmnt, Food and Agricultural Organization of th Unitd Nations, Rom. [7]. Gor, M.S. (9, Urbanization and Family Changs, Popular Prakashan, Bombay. []. Govrnmnt of Himachal Pradsh (, Statistical Outlin of Himachal Pradsh, Dirctorat of Economics and Statistics, Shimla, P.. [9]. Mishra, A.S. (9, Womn Position in th Himalayan with th Spcial Rfrnc to Thri-Garhwal, Papr prsntd at Intrnational Confrnc on Appropriat Tchnologis for Farm Womn, Futur Rsarch Stratgy and Linkag with Dvlopmnt Systm, Organizd by ICAR, Nw Dlhi, 9. []. Sth, Mishra (, Empowrmnt of Womn, Gnrating Awarnss, Yojana, Vol. 4. Nw Dlhi, PP. 9-. []. Sharma, U. (9, Womn s Work and Proprty in North Wst India, Tavistock Publication, London. DOI:.979/ Pag

6 []. U.N. Confrnc Copnhagn (9, Womn and Environmnt in th Third World: Allianc for th futur, Earthscan Publication Ltd., London. []. Sharma K. C. and Dvi Lalita, Rol of Womn in Dcision Making in Tribal Economy of Himachal Pradsh- An Empirical Invstigation, An Intrnational Multidisciplinary Rsarch Journal, Rippl, Vol., Issu-, Bilaspur (C.G, Sp. -Fb.. pp [4]. Sharma K.C. Sharma and Sharma Anju, Work Tim Allocation and Valuation of Rural Womn s Contribution to Houshold Activitis in Himachal Pradsh An Emprical Invstigation, Rsarch Journal, Social Scincs, Vol. 4, No., Punjab Univrsity, Chandigarh,, pp Sr. No. Appndix-I Socio-Economic Charactristics of th Sampl Houshold Particulars Marginal Small Mdium Larg All. Total Numbr of Sampl Houshold 9 4. Total numbr of family mmbrs. Avrag Siz of Family Prcntag of Family work forc (a Mal (b Fmal (c Total Prcntag of Dpndants Litracy Prcntag a Mal b Fmal c Total IOSR Journal Of Humanitis And Social Scinc (IOSR-JHSS is UGC approvd Journal with Sl. No. 7, Journal no. 49. DOI:.979/ Pag

7 Sr. N o. Farm Activiti s. Purchas of Food Itms. Cooking & Claning. Housho ld Maintn anc, Manag mnt & Shoppin g of Durabls 4. Car of Sick, Childrn, Eldrly & Disabld. Social, Culturd & Rligiou s Work Appndix-II Womn s Dcision Making Rlatd Houshold Activitis Marginal Small Mdium Larg Mal Fm Bot Mal Fm Bot Mal Fm Bot Mal Fm Bot al h al h al h al h (. (. (. (. (7.77 (. (7. (. (. (. 7 (. (. (. Man. (. (. 7 ( (.9 (. (7. (7. (. 7. (. 9 (. 9 (. (4. 4. (. 7 (4.4 (. 9 (.. (4. ( (. (. ( (4. (. ( (.. (4. (4.4 4 (.9 4 (.9. (.7 (7. (77. 7 (.. (. (4. (. (.. (4. (. 4 (. 4 (. (.. (. (. (4. 9 (. 4. (. 99 All Mal 9 (. (. 47 (. 4 (. 4 (. 7. (. Fm al (. 4 (. (. 9 (9. 7. (. Bot h (. (9. (74. (7. 7 ( (49. Not: Figur in Parnthss dnot th prcntag of th sampl housholds from th ach rspctiv holdings group. S r. N o. Farm Activi tis. Choic of Subsi stnc Crops Ma l (4. Appndix-III Dcisions Rlating to Farm Activitis of th Sampl Housholds Marginal Small Mdium Larg F Bot Ma F Bot Ma F Bot Ma F Bot mal h l mal h l mal h l mal h 7 (4. (. (. (. (. (7. 7 (. (. Ma l 9 (. All F mal 9 (. Bot h (. DOI:.979/ Pag

8 to b Grow n. Choic of Cash Crops to b Grow n. Planti ng Trs 4. Livst ock Kpi ng. Labou r Hirin g. Purch as of Agro Chm icals 7. Quant ity of Food Produ c to b 4 (. (7. (. (. (. sold Man 7. 7 (. (4. (. 9 (. (. (. (. 49. (. (. 4 (. (. (.. 4 (4. 7 (7. 7 (77. 7 (. (7. 7 (. (7.. (4. 7 (. 9 (. 7 (. 9 (4. 4 (. 9. (. (4. (. (. (. (4.. 4 (7. (4. (. (7. ( (. (4.4 4 (. 9 (7. 7 (. (.. (4. (. (. (4.4 7 (. (7. 7 (.. 9 (. (. (. (7. (. (.. 7 (7. 4 (. (.. (9. (.. 7 (. 4 (. ( (. 47 (. (. 7.4 (. 79 (. 4 (4. 9 (. (9. 4 (. 7 (.. (7. 9 (. (. 4 (. (. 9 ( Not: Figur in Parnthss dnot th prcntag of th sampl housholds from th ach rspctiv holdings group. Sanjt singh Rol of Womn in Dcision Making in Agrarian Economy of Himachal Pradsh An Empirical Invstigation. IOSR Journal Of Humanitis And Social Scinc (IOSR-JHSS, vol., no., 7, pp. 4- DOI:.979/7-4 Pag