The Lao: Gender, Power, and Livelihood 0813340624, 0813340632, 9780429496363, 9780813340630

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The Lao

WESTVIEW CASE STUDIES IN ANTHROPOLOGY

Series Editor: Edward F. Fischer Vanderbilt University Tecpan Guatemala: A Modern Maya Town in Global and Loeal Context

Edward F. Fischer (Vanderbilt University) and Carol Hendrickson (Marlboro College) Daughters ofTunis: Women, Family, and Networks in a Muslim City

Paula Holmes-Eber (University ofWashington) Fulbe Voices: Marriage, Islam, and Medicine in Northern Cameroon

Helen A. Regis (Louisiana State University) Magieal Writing in Salasaea: Literacy and Power in Highland Ecuador

Peter Wogan (Willamette University) The Lao: Gender, Power, and Livelihood Carol Ireson -Doolittle (Willamette University) and

Geraldine Moreno-Black (University of Oregon)

Forthcoming From Mukogodo to Maasai: Ethnicity and Cultural Change in Kenya

Lee J. Cronk (Rutgers University) Namoluk Beyond the Reef The Transformation of a Micronesian Community

Mac Marshall (University of Iowa)

The Lao Gender, Power, and Livelihood

CAROL IRESON - DOOLITTLE

Willamette Universi!y GERALDINE MORENO-BLACK

Universi!y of Oregon

New York London

First published 2004 by Westview Press Published 2018 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2004 by Carol Ireson-Doolittle and Geraldine Moreno-Blaek All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reprodueed or utilised in any form or by any eleetronic, meehanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photoeopying and reeording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Produet or eorporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifieation and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in -Publieation Data Ireson -Doolittle, Carol. The Lao : gender, power, and livelihood / Carol Ireson-Doolittle, Geraldine Moreno- Blaek. p. em.-(Westview ease studies in anthropology) Includes bibliographieal referenees and index. ISBN-lO 0-8133-4062-4 (he.); ISBN-13 978-0-8133-4062-3 (he.) ISBN-lO 0-8133-4063-2 (pbk.); ISBN-13 978-0-8133-4063-0 (pbk.) 1. Women, Lao-Soeial eonditions. 2. Women, Lao-Eeonomie eonditions. 3. Women, Lao-Employment. 4. Sexual division oflabor-Laos. 5. Women in development-Laos. 6. Sex role-Government poliey-Laos. 7. Laos-Soeial conditions. 8. Laos-Eeonomie eonditions. 1. Moreno-Blaek, Geraldine. H. Tide. III. Se ries. DS555.45.L37I742004 305.4'09594-de21 2003010968 Typefaee used in this text:lO-pt Minion ISBN 13: 978-0-8133-4063-0 (pbk)

Contents

Tables and Figures Series Editor Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Wornen, Livelihood, and Social Change

Vll

IX Xlll

1

THE PERSISTENT QUESTIONS, 2 HOWWE KNOWWHATWE KNOW: FIELDWORK IN LAos, 6 THE REST OF THE BOOK, 7

1 Laos: Historical Contexts

9

LAOS: RECENT HISTORY AND NATIONAL CONTEXT, IO PATTERNED GENDER INEQUALITIES AND LAo WOMEN, I4 GENDER, SOCIALISM, AND SOCIAL CHANGE, I7 EQUALTTY AND NATIONAL POLTCIES, I975-I995, 24 CONCLUSION, 29

2 Laos: Village Contexts

31

THE RURAL HOUSEHOLD AND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY, 34 VILLAGE UNITY, 39 VILLAGE LTFE DURING THE WAR YEARS, 47 VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT, 49 CONCLUSION,52

3 Farnily, Horne, Children, and Change FAMILY AND KIN RELATIONS, 56 GTVTNG BIRTH AND RAISING CHTLDREN, 64 SOCIALTSM AND EARLY ECONOMIC LIBERALTZATION: EFFECTS ON FAMILY LTFE, 72 CONCLUSION,84

55

VI

Contents

4 Making a Living from the Land: Economics, Gender, and Power

87

THE AGRICULTURAL CYCLE: CELEBRATION AND CULTTVATION , 89 CHANGTNGAGRICULTURALAcTIVTTIES: SOCIALTST REORGANIZATION (1975-1988), 100 CHANGING AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES: EARLY ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION (1988-1995), 105 CONCLUSION, II3

5 Making a Living in Commerce: Textiles

117

TEXTILE PRODUCTION, II8 TEXTILE BUSINESSES, 133 CONCLUSION,145

6 Gender, Ethnicity, and Development in Luang Prabang

147

THREE STORIES:THE WOMEN AND THEIR VILLAGES, 148 THE LUANG PRABANG WOMEN'S DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, 154 CONCLUSION,166

7 Women and Social Change Among the Lao

169

HISTORTCAL FACTORS, 170 SOCIAL CHANGE, 170 GLOBAL-LoCAL LTNKAGES, 173 SENSE OF AGENCY, 174

Glossary References Index

177 181 187

Tables and Figures

Tables 1.1 Time line ofLao history 1.2 Women-related time line of recent Lao history

12 19

4.1 Annual agricultural cyde 4.2 Distribution of the labor force in Hat Say Fong District, Vientiane Province

93 107

6.1 Luang Prabang Women's Project villages

157

Figures 1.1 Political map of Laos showing surrounding countries

3

I.2 Development project research team interviews a Luang Prabang village wo man under a shady tree on a tropical afternoon

8

1.1 Bomb craters mar the landscape in Xieng Khouang Province, the most heavily bombed area in warld history 1.2 Youngsters perform a patriotic dan ce at a child-care center for children of civil servants 1.3 Women as weH as men were enjoined to unite for the national liberation struggle

14 19 22

VIII

Tables and Figures

1.4 A billboard advertises the importance of working to build the nation

2.1 A riverfront village in central Laos 2.2 Raised village houses create shaded workspaces and provide safety from floodwaters. The tall coconut palms indicate this is a well-established village. 2.3 Villagers gather to celebrate Boun Phavet 2.4 Men threshing rice on a threshing floor

3.1 Choi's wedding 3.2 A family of seven gathers near a fixe in the cold of an early morning. The children range in age from infancy to six. 3.3 An older sister cares for her siblings 3.4 Children help their families by hauling water from the river

4.1 Villagers plowing a rice paddy field and uprooting rice seedlings for later transplanting 4.2 A woman threshing dry-season rice in Na Fai 4.3 Girls and young women sell vegetables outside the central provincial market

25

33

33 43 46

61 67 68 73

94 94 100

5.1 A woman ginning cotton 5.2 A display of shawls and scarves at Phaeng Mai Gallery 5.3 An experienced weaver instructs a young woman at a training center 5.4 A man dyeing silk at one of the Vientiane textile businesses

124 136

6.1 A billboard encourages the production of farm animals 6.2 The rice mill operator pours unmilled rice into the hopper

161 164

136 143

Serles Editor Preface

T

he Vietnam War, fought by U.S. troops from 1961 to 1973, holds a singular place in the American historical consciousness. Its presence looms over every

conflict in which U.S. troops are deployed, from Somalia and Kosovo to Afghanistan and Iraq. The military's failure in Vietnam and the war's divisive effect on U.S. society forever changed the face of U.S. politics. "Not another Vietnam" has become a cautionary cry heard from both the left and the right. In Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, the conflict is referred to as the "American War;' and if it has wrought great change in U.S. politics and culture, the effects in Southeast Asia have been all the more dramatic. In rapid succession, after the breathtaking rooftop evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Saigon in 1975 that marked the fall of South Vietnam to the communist North, the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia and the communist Pathet Lao Party overthrew the centuries-old monarchy in Laos. These revolutions ushered in a two-decade experiment in socialist politics and economics that gave way in the 1990s to freemarket neoliberal reforms. In this book, based on extensive fieldwork carried out among the lowland Lao, Carol Ireson-Doolittle and Geraldine Moreno-Black trace the many changes that took place in Laos over the course of the last decades of the twentieth century: from a peasant society mIed by a monarchy to a socialist political economy to a one-party state trying to find a niche in the global economy.

x

Series Editor Preface

We must remember that communism, like capitalism, is predicated on a whole range of broadly Western values; its adoption in Laos, therefore, entailed wide-ranging changes to traditional culture and social organization. In line with the modernist ideology that permeated both capitalist and socialist thought at the time, Laos' new socialist rulers saw the traditionallifeways of the lowland Lao and other indigenous peasant groups as a hin dran ce to development and sought to incorporate these inhabitants into the state as "new socialist persons." As a result, government policies condemned many tradition al ceremonies as wasteful displays contrary to egalitarian efficiency; Buddhist and shamanistic religious practices were discouraged, although not entirely eliminated. Roads were built to connect distant regions, and schools were constructed to educate the next generation of socialist workers, but even such progressive developments upset traditional social structures. The lowland Lao were and are rice farmers practicing wet paddy production and upland dry farming. Traditionallabor was organized around kinship and community relations, but with socialism, farmers were collectivized. Mechanization was introduced to increase efficiency, but paradoxically, it further alienated Lao farmers from their means of production. Ireson-Doolittle and Moreno-Black provide a nuanced ethnography of how these changes affected the lowland Lao, especially in terms of the role of women in society. Although Lao women had once enjoyed respect based on traditionally gendered roles, the socialist revolution introduced Western notions of equality-encouraging women to take a much more active role in local and even national governing committees, for example, and outlawing polygyny. Women were called upon to uphold the "Three Goods" (being a good citizen, a good mother, and a good wife) and the "Two Duties" (defense of socialism and women's emancipation). Contrary to both sides of the polarized debates over globalization, IresonDoolittle and Moreno-Black show that economic liberalization (in the form of Laos' New Economic Mechanism) presents both challenges and opportunities for Lao women. The security, fragile as it may have been, of the collectivity and re li an ce on the redistributive mechanisms of the state is now gone. The privatization of state industry has resulted in mass layoffs, particularly among women. Yet at the same time, economic liberalization has freed up women's entrepreneurial energies, there is greater freedom of religion, and economic growth has been impressive (averaging over 7 percent annually from 1988 to 2001) if not widely distributed.

Series Editor Preface

XI

Ireson-Doolittle and Moreno-Black view this complexity through an anthropologicallens. For example, they trace the historical importance of cotton and silk textile production among Lao women and describe how their vibrant cottage industries were affected by the American War and the socialist period. They go on to show that after economic liberalization, some women returned to artisanal textile production and have found a vast and growing new market for their products: Westerners seeking specialty, handmade products with a patina of native authenticity. Thus, some Lao women now find themselves practicing tradition al arts to make wall hangings, scarves, and decorative pillows for the international market. The Lao: Gender, Power, and Livelihood makes an important contribution to

the Westview Case Studies in Anthropology series and to the discipline as a whole. This series presents works that recognize the peoples we study as active agents enmeshed in global as well as local systems of politics, economics, and cultural flows. There is a focus on contemporary ways of life, forces of so ci al change, and creative responses to novel situations as well as the more traditional concerns of classic ethnography. The Lao brings to bear four persistent questions on the dramatic changes Laos

has seen since 1975, ranging from historical factors and social structure to global linkages and the role of women's agency. These questions ground the authors' analyses and illustrate the uniqueness of Lao culture while acknowledging the often hidden webs of global relations that affect us all. EDWARD F. FISCHER Nashville, Tennessee

Acknow le dgllle n ts

W

orking together on this project has strengthened a growing friendship and intellectual exchange. Even more, however, it has enabled us to build and

nourish relationships and exchanges with friends and colleagues in the Lao PDR. Consequently, we would like to thank the people of Laos who for many years so willingly gave of their time and themselves when they volunteered to participate in the interviews and opened their hornes and their lives to uso Their willingness to share their personal stories was an inspiration. In particular, we would like to thank Dr. Davone, Dr. Outhaki, and the staff of the Lao Women's Union for being generous with their time. The GRID Center of the Women's Union provided us with a wealth ofliterature and documents from which we were able to obtain invaluable information on the changes in the Lao PDR throughout the 1990s. In 2001, we had the good fortune to be able to spend time with a number of very creative and enterprising women who are developing international appreciation and a world market for textiles representing the exquisite and intricate silkweaving traditions of their country. Rassanikone, Kongthong, Viengkham, Carol Cassidy, Komaly, and Chancome all generously gave of their time, their knowledge, and their personal stories. For this, we are very grateful and indebted. Friends and colleagues from Laos and beyond have also contributed with their knowledge and friendship. We would like to thank Jacqui Chagnon, Patricia DeBoer, Nit Noi Faming, Bouaphet Khotnhotha, Ng Shui Meng, Joe and Benchawan Rumble, Sombath Somphone, Nok, Choi, and Somboun. Minavanh Kennavong Pholsena, a good friend and colleague, helped immeasurably as a coresearcher and writer, joining interviews, facilitating arrangements, and sharing

XIV

Acknowledgments

personal stories that provided insight into the changes we write about. Duangdeuane Bounyavong shared her own work and her country horne with Carol as they edited and retranslated Lao poetry; some of these poems appear in Chapter 5. At horne, Steve Hey shared some department chair tasks so Carol could write, and the Chapman-Graves family again provided writing space at a crucial time. Our families gave too. Cotch Camenzind spent many hours supporting us in Vientiane, listening to our ideas, providing insights, and creating diversions so we could have a few moments of relaxation. In addition, he helped with the preparation of the glossary. Bertha Moreno was an endless source of encouragement and support, as she always has been. Ed Black also gave much of hirnself, listening to our complaints, propping us up when we felt we had reached our limit, and plying us with good things to eat. In addition, Ed, Tovah, and Simy were ever patient with the volumes of papers that spread throughout our horne, winding their way from the dining room table to the kitchen and beyond. They endured long separations from Geraldine, even when she was at horne but was hiding out in the study working. We used the previous Westview book by Carol, Field, Porest and Pamily, as a source and resource throughout this text. The Ireson archive of photos, articles, books, and unpublished reports collected periodically with Randy Ireson for nearly thirty years also provided amazing resources for this project. We want to thank Karl Yambert, senior editor at Westview, Perseus, for inviting us to be part of the series; Ted Fischer, the series editor, for his thoughtful comments; Erica Lawrence, for skillfully guiding us through the final stages of manuscript preparation; and Joan Sherman, our copy editor, for both her excellent editing of the manuscript and her very encouraging comments on the book. We also appreciate Virginia Bothun and EIsa Struble for their editorial contributions. This project was supported by a Freeman Faculty Fellowship and grants from the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies (CAPS) at the University of Oregon. Lori O'Hollaren, research coordinator at CAPS, provided special assistance and guidance throughout this time as weIl. An Atkinson Research Grant and academic leaves from Willamette University also supported research in Vientiane during 2000 and 2001. Other institution al resources were provided by the American Friends Service Committee and Swedish Sida. Without all of this support and assistance, we would not have been able to initiate, conduct, and complete the study.

Introduction Women, Livelihood, and Social Change

Davone, the daughter of Laotian nationalist and communist activists, rarely lived with her parents. She was educated in Thailand and Vietnam in the 1950s and early 1960s while her parents worked for national liberation and communist revolution in Laos. After completing medical school in Hanoi, she returned to Laos, first as a physician at the Party headquarters and then as the founding director of a nursing schoollocated in aseries of caves to protect students fram U.S. bombing. Raising her children in the capital city after the communist victory in 1975, she gradually worked her way up the governmental and Party hierarchy while balancing her work and politicallife with her domestic responsibilities.

••• When Noi's husband deserted her, he took their two sons and left their two daughters and an infant. The two teenage daughters helped Noi with the farming, but she depended on her relatives to care for the toddler while she and the girls were working. She sometimes sold bamboo shoots fram the forest and corn fram her field in order to buy much-needed rice, hauling these products 26 kilometers round-trip to and from the nearest market. Noi had to do all the work necessary for family survival, including that usually done by a man, such as repairing the house, clearing the field, and chopping trees for firewood. Although Lao villages had never organized cooperatives, Noi was convinced that a village cooperative would help her. She could earn rice, she

2

INTRODUCTlON: WOMEN, LIVELlHOOD, AND SOCIAL CHANGE

said, Jor the work that she could contribute, and male laborers could da the field clearing and plowing she Jound so difficult In addition, she observed, the cooperative child-care center could care Jor her baby while she worked. Davone and Noi, both ethnically Lao, are citizens of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or Laos-see Figure I.1). Both work outside the horne in addition to keeping up with their domestic duties. They are at once motivated and constrained by family and culture. Their lives have been markedly affected by major social changes, especially political and economic changes. In this book, we consider the changes that have occurred in Lao women's lives since the socialist revolution in 1975. To fully understand these changes, however, we must also consider the gender system that affects men and children as well as women. We foeus on the period from 1975, when the Lao PDR was established, through 1995, a time of early economic liberalization. We present exampIes of women in different situations, but we deliberately concentrate on rural women of all socioeconomic levels because three-quarters of the people in Laos are rural inhabitants and most of our own observations are from rural areas. The lowland Lao, the ethnic group that is the focus of this study, comprise more than half of the population of Laos. Stories from research, literature, and other sources illuminate our main ideas. We hope that this approach will enable the reader to understand the general characteristics of Lao women's lives and experiences. We begin here by explaining the questions that frame our case study.

THE PERSISTENT QUESTIONS

This study explores the social relations and patterned gender inequalities in re cent Lao eulture and society in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. We focus on women, with some attention given to ethnicity, dass, and age as they function in the village context. We examine how women's power relative to men and the resulting inequalities between women and men have changed with alterations in social institutions and culture, mostly recently with the beginnings of development. (See the Glossary for definitions of key concepts mentioned here.) The framework of this book organizes these concepts around four questions that are addressed in each of the chapters that follow; we call them "the Persistent Questions." For each topic area, we describe pre-1975 conditions to provide his-

THE PERSISTENT QUESTIONS

3

CHINA

CAMBODIA

CAMBODIA

THAILAND

o

KILOMETERS

50

100

150

Legend -

International Boundary Provincial Boundary National Capital ® Provincial Capital

@

CAMBODIA Figure 1.1 Political map of Laos showing surrounding countries

torical context (Persistent Question 1). We note changes in each area during socialism and the period of early economic liberalization (Persistent Question 2). In addition, we explore the regional, national, and global influences at work in

4

INTRODUCTlON: WOMEN, LIVELlHOOD, AND SOCIAL CHANGE

these changes (Persistent Question 3). We also offer concrete examples of the responses individual women have made to these influences and changes (Persistent Question 4).

1. Historical Factors: What Are the Historical Factors That Pattern and Affect Social Relations, Gender Relations, and Women's Situation? Past social relations and human decisions shaped the societies now in the throes of change. Awareness of history illuminates present social change; it provides us with the background necessary to better understand often rapid changes in current social relations, gender and other inequalities, local-globallinkages, ideas, and human actions. The effects of Laos' recent tumultuous history on so ci al relations, inequality, relations with the broader world, and cultural ideas are many. War forced or enabled many women to carry out survival tasks or revolutionary activities normally undertaken by men. This history of war and revolution affects Lao society even today.

2. Social Change: How Are Gender Inequalities and Women Themselves Affected by Changes in Social Institutions and Culture? Although patterned inequalities are evident in control over resources and labor (e.g., unequal access to resources, unequal control over the labor of self and others), they are also evident in the ways in which social realities are expressed by dominant groups and challenged by subordinate groups. In the Lao case, economic, political, and cultural changes are particularly evident. The social relations that most directly affect Lao women and rural gender relations are those within the household, the extended kin group, the community, and the local economy. Culturally defined ideas about gender, ethnicity, class, and even societal boundaries (e.g., who are the lowland Lao?) have been reshaped over time in response to changing political and economic conditions and cultural ideas. In Laos, ideas of gender were dramatically redefined by socialist government officials who encouraged fern ale involvement in building the new nation. As a result, the Lao Women's Union, the mass organization responsible for implementing this change, was able to challenge, with some success, "traditional," presocialist cultural views of women.

THE PERSISTENT QUESTlONS

5

3. Global-Local Linkages: How Are Changes at the Local Level That Impinge on Women and Families Affected by Regional, National, and Global Factors? Control over resources, activities, and ideas is located in broad social environments. The environments may include local individuals and groups as well as outside influences that impinge on the local environment. For example, specific local versions of gender and other inequalities can be affected by extralocal influences, such as radio or television programs. These types of media can carry"official" governmental messages and images as well as programs that present alternative ideas from other societies. These and many other influences can be manifested in various ways at the locallevel. In other words, the ways in which regional, national, and international structures and processes intersect with local conditions shape cultures, local social relations, and the human environment. For instance, the global demand for tropical hardwoods and the availability of hardwoods such as teak and rosewood from other countries affect the rate at which the forests in Laos are logged. During periods of high demand and few alternative sources of supply, the forests used by a number of Lao villages are likely to be cut. Logging damages for several years aspects of the village economy that are dependent on the forest, including hunting, fishing, and the gathering of wild foods. Thus, in forest-dependent communities, logging diminishes women's and men's contribution to household livelihood.

4. Sense of Agency: How Do Individual Women Maintain a Sense ofAgency, Power, and Control over Their Lives as They Cope with Changes in Their Own Culture and with Influences from Outside Their Culture? Humans are active agents and therefore affect their environment as they think and act. Although we may sometimes conceive of people as being passively affected by such things as political events, social interactions, dominant groups, or even the physical environment, in reality they often make choices about how to act and react in situations. In doing so, they exert their agency. Their choices can include resisting events, going along with things as they are, trying to make changes, or actively redefining the past or present situation so that images and even memories can be created or reshaped.

6

INTRODUCTlON: WOMEN, LIVELlHOOD, AND SOCIAL CHANGE

This case study is filled with examples of human agency. The establishment of a shop or a weaving cooperative is an example of human agency in action. Women organizing on their own behalf can sometimes resist and even redefine economic, social, and/or cultural changes that may disenfranchise or disempower them (Leonard 1995). The Lao Women's Union, utilizing resources provided by various international aid organizations, has been able to expand the resource base and capabilities of women participating in gender-sensitive rural development projects, thereby increasing their possibilities for decision-making and action and perhaps even reshaping of cultural ideas of gender. As we explore these questions, we highlight aspects of gendered power relationships and women's situations by focusing on the division of labor, knowledge and strategies for survival, access to and control over resources, and political policies and circumstances. We also provide concrete examples of how Lao women and families live in times of dramatic change. Our approach to answering these questions combines a number of different research methods.

HOWWE KNOWWHAT WE KNOW: FIELDWORK IN

LAos

No research or carefully recorded set of experiences provides fully objective and complete knowledge. As feminist social scientists, we have carried out a variety of research studies and believe the inclusion of multiple outlooks represented in different methodologies provides a richer understanding of people's lives than any one method alone could yield. In this section, we will review the different research methods that we used and the research projects and experiences that inform the perspectives and interpretations presented in this book. Our assessment of rural women's responses to socialism and to early economic liberalization draws on fieldwork in Laos ranging over more than three decades and on field experience with culturally similar Lao in northeast Thailand. In addition to our own research and experience, we draw liberally on published sources, government statistics, and the mainly unpublished development and aid agency reports of others. We have a wealth of material available to us since Carol Ireson-Doolittle has been gathering relevant information from Lao government ministries, the Lao Women's Union, foreign aid agencies working in Laos, and local officials and villagers since 1984.

THE REST OF THE BOOK

7

This body of work indudes information obtained through both qualitative methods (such as participant observation, li fe histories, and open-ended interviews) and more quantitatively focused surveys (see Figure 1.2). In all cases, the data obtained during the historical periods of interest were limited by the focus of the projects and the political sensitivity of research itself.

THE REST OF THE BOOK It is the task of anthropology, particularly feminist anthropology, to elucidate the

specific forms of gender inequality at various historical and sociocultural times and places (Rosaldo 1980). In keeping with this task, we propose to examine patterned gender inequality among the Lao of Laos and its variation during the last half of the twentieth century, with particular emphasis on the years from 1975 to 1995. This brief span of time encompasses life in relatively isolated pre-1975 villages, during wartime, under socialism, and during economic liberalization, illustrating how gender inequality varies with changes in political economy and culture. In the following chapters, we look most dosely at rural women's activities and how the lives of these women have changed since 1975. We concentrate especially on politics and community, horne and family, the economy, and rural development, but we also discuss religion, education, health, and other aspects of village life. Our book opens with a discussion of Lao history and the national and political context. In addition, we address gender and social change in Laos. We dose the chapter with adescription of the advent of socialism, government policies, and the Lao Women's Union. In Chapter 2, we discuss village life. We also describe the development of the Lao Women's Union and its staff as agents of change affecting the lives of many villagers. Chapters 3,4, and 5 focus on specific areas of life, such as the family, agriculture, and textile production and marketing. In each chapter, we trace activities related to these areas from the pre-1975 period through the time of early economic liberalization (1988 to 1995). We highlight personal stories to illustrate how people's lives have been affected by the changes occurring in each period. Chapter 3 explores village life and provides insight into women's agency in terms of marriage, bearing and raising children, and other daily activities. In Chapter 4, we discuss women's participation in subsistence activities, emphasizing their important roles in agriculture. We introduce religious beliefs

8

INTRODUCTlON: WOMEN, LIVELlHOOD, AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Figure J, 2 Development project research team interviews a Luang Prabang village woman under a sha