Determinants of women’s empowerment in Nepal

Abstract

This study seeks to identify key determinants of women empowerment in Nepal using a rich set of socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics as well as behavioral factors and regional indicators. Results showed that older age is generally associated with higher empowerment across all these domains, while partner controlling behavior tended to decrease empowerment in beliefs about violence and control over sexuality. Education level and wealth were correlated with increased empowerment in control over sexuality and safe sex, though not in the other two domains. Access to media showed mixed effects, reducing empowerment in decision-making but enhancing it in control over sexuality and safe sex. The results suggest that women’s empowerment has morphed from the purview of gender equality programs to its current state, where it is considered a broader goal for development. Introduction Nepal is characterized by low empowerment of women which may have negative effects on their health status as well as sexual and reproductive rights. We seek to identify key determinants of women empowerment in Nepal using a rich set of socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics as well as behavioral factors and regional indicators. Methods This study utilizes 4,211 women aged between 15 and 49 years from the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for Nepal. Following the previous study for Mozambique, we use Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify components of women’s empowerment along three domains: beliefs about violence, decision-making and control over sexuality and safe sex. We use logistic regressions to identify significant predictors of empowerment in each domain and provide crude and adjusted odds ratios along with their 95% confidence intervals. Results We found that older age is generally associated with higher empowerment across all these domains. Interestingly, while partner controlling behavior tended to decrease empowerment in beliefs about violence and control over sexuality, it was linked to increased decision-making empowerment. Notable regional differences emerged, with higher levels of empowerment observed in the Madhesh and Sudurpashchim regions. Further, education level and wealth were correlated with increased empowerment in control over sexuality and safe sex, though not in the other two domains. Access to media showed mixed effects, reducing empowerment in decision-making but enhancing it in control over sexuality and safe sex. Conclusion Our results have many similarities but also notable differences with previous literature which emphasizes the importance of regular and region-specific studies of women’s empowerment, acknowledging the potential for its change over time and also the prevailing differences across regions.