“My Family Are Supportive . . . But People in My Village Mock Me”: Bonding and Bridging Capital among Women Pursuing Secondary Education in Kathmandu,Nepal

Abstract

Women’s secondary schools have become an option for educational attainment in Nepal. We assess bonding and bridging social capital available to women who attend the Utprerana Women Secondary School (UWSS) in Nepal’s major city of Kathmandu. Using qualitative approaches, we consider the social capital available to women that both encourages and limits women’s educational access and address the networks women build when attending school. Bonding capital both encourages women to pursue their education and demands that women conform to traditional roles. School attendance prompts a change in bonding social capital, accumulated with family prior to school attendance. Women add to their bonding social capital by strengthening relationships with classmates and teachers. Women’s school attendance improved bridging social capital by enhancing future opportunities. Bonding social capital formed within the school provides emotional support, personal space from domestic responsibilities, and a sense of freedom, while demanding women’s conformity to expectations for student conduct.

Keywords

social capital bonding capital bridging capital women’s education Nepal secondary education

Gender disparity in education is a major challenge in Nepal and can be attributed to the existing patriarchal system. Nepalese society is patrilineal and follows patrilocal residence, where a couple at marriage moves in with the groom’s family (Stone 2014). Thus, in Nepalese society, women are considered someone else’s property. Their education is not thought a smart investment because, once married, they will live with and work for the benefit of their husband’s family (Reinhold 1993; Rothchild 2006). Sons in Nepal are given higher preference over daughters. Men, believed to hold higher status, have easier access to the education system. Women hold a secondary status—their role historically confined to the domestic arena with limited access to education. Disparity between men and women’s educational attainment has been observed throughout the history of the education system in Nepal.

Inequity in education further increases with the rise in level of education. Secondary schooling is costly, creating additional barriers to women’s education access. Sharon Stash and Emily Hannum (2001:356) note that “although some level of education for girls may enhance their value on the marriage market, too much schooling could result in reduced marital opportunities.” It is an implied agreement for marriage that boys, both as partners and children, should be as highly, if not more highly educated than girls.

While nonformal education has contributed to an increase in overall literacy rates among women, the school retention rate remains low for girls. Women who leave school before completion of secondary education are technically literate and beyond the scope of adult literacy classes. A number of schools have opened across Nepal in the last decade to meet the needs of women who leave their education before secondary level completion. The schools provide women an additional opportunity to complete their studies, offering access to the secondary level of education up to Grade 10.

A significant body of literature exists addressing the relationship between social capital and educational development (Buchmann 2002; Dika and Singh 2002; Teachman, Paasch, and Carver 1996; among others). Putnam defines social capital as “features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit” (Putnam 1995:66). Forms of social capital, including family structure, parent-child support, number of siblings, and parent expectations (Coleman 1988), have strong influences on educational outcomes for children and youth. It is those resources, referred to as bonding and bridging forms of social capital, that open or close opportunities and networks (Putnam 2000). Women in Nepal historically depend on bonding social capital available within the household while experiencing limited access to bridging social capital.

Nepal is in a transitional phase where rapid development is encouraging modern values in some aspects of life while preserving traditional ways to navigate other aspects. Women’s schools not only provide opportunities for women to complete their secondary education but also offer a chance for previously illiterate women to be educated. In a society where women’s education is not prioritized, and importance is placed on domestic chores, a decision to return to school can be challenging. Furthermore, in a society characterized by dense social networks, the stock of bonding and bridging social capital available to women can play a major role in determining access to education.

For this project, we examine how married women add to their stock of bonding and bridging social capital while attending secondary school in Kathmandu, Nepal. We ask the following: What role do bonding and bridging social capital play in encouraging or discouraging women’s school attendance? How does attendance in secondary education facilitate a change in bonding and bridging forms of social capital for women? We make use of qualitative semistructured interviews to understand changes in social capital as women start attending school and through their secondary education career.

The first author conducted 35 semistructured interviews with women pursuing their education and women who completed their secondary education at Utprerana Women Secondary School (UWSS) located in Kathmandu, Nepal. The school was established in 2003 and provides secondary level education to nontraditional women students. Stratified snowball sampling was used to identify respondents. Our study examines the ways women’s access to social capital enables them to attend school and how they add to their stock of social capital as they continue school attendance. Our manuscript offers in-depth analysis of the bonding and bridging social capital available to married Nepalese women, and the role bonding and bridging social capital may play in ensuring or limiting access to education.

In the following sections, we review literature on women and education in Nepal, and address the complex dimensions of social capital research. We then turn to a discussion of research design and methods, and offer an overview of the education system in Nepal. Following this, we discuss the influence of women’s pursuit of education on their stock of bonding and bridging social capital. Furthermore, we consider school as a source of bonding and bridging social capital for women. Finally, we highlight our study’s major findings and consider directions for future research.

Literature Review

We begin this section by offering context and literatures regarding women’s educational status in Nepal, elaborating specific challenges for women’s education. We then discuss key social capital literatures, considering specific dynamics of bonding and bridging capital, and address research centering on educational outcomes and specific accessibility for women.

Women and Education in Nepal

In the 1940s, adult literacy programs were developed “to prepare the Gorkha Army for British India” (Acharya 2004:1). During the 1950s, Nepal’s literacy rate was a mere 5 percent, with the male literacy rate at 10 percent and the female literacy rate at 1 percent (Savada 1991). The educational system in Nepal developed during the mid-twentieth century, with literacy rates increasing rapidly after the 1951 revolution when importance was placed on the development of education within the country. Huge disparities existed between male and female literacy, and addressing this gap, a number of government programs to improve women’s literacy began in the 1970s. Although the Government of Nepal made persistent efforts to improve literacy, a significant literacy gap continued for traditionally excluded groups and women (Acharya and Koirala 2006). By 2008, the Nepalese government launched the National Literacy Campaign (NLC), an extensive and integrated nonformal education program focusing on illiterate populations from marginalized communities. Combating illiteracy among women was identified as one of the campaign’s prime agendas. At the same time, a number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also began operating adult literacy classes. Given an increase in educational options, large numbers of women have been offered access to literacy through widespread formal and nonformal educational programs.

Measured in a range from those who can merely write their names to those who have obtained higher education, by 2011, literacy increases were evident, marking an improvement in educational status. By the 2011 census, Nepal’s overall literacy rate had increased to 65.9 percent, with the male literacy rate at 75.1 percent and the female literacy rate at 57.4 percent (Central Bureau of Statistics 2012). According to the Non-formal Education Center, between 2011 and 2014, 999,240 women attained literacy while 295,077 men became literate attending adult literacy classes (Himalayan News Service 2015). The leading newspaper of Kathmandu quotes deputy director (Dinesh Ghimire) of the Non-formal Education Center noting that “Men hesitate to attend literacy classes because the majority of students in the classroom are women” (Himalayan News Service 2015). Hence, women in Nepal attend nonformal education or adult literacy classes at higher rates compared with men, incrementally increasing the overall literacy rate for women.

Although women’s education in Nepal has increased considerably over the last few decades, inequalities continue with low retention rates a major challenge for women’s education in Nepal. A large proportion of women leave the educational system due to social and economic problems. Stash and Hannum (2001:355) note that “in many societies, social traditions and financial incentives exert positive pressure on parents to invest in the long-term economic viability of sons over that of their daughters.” Social construct may motivate parents to see stock in their son’s and daughter’s future differently. Investment in a boy’s education is considered future security, while investment in a girl’s, an obligation. Girls, as future wives, mothers, and housekeepers, are believed to need less education to fulfill their gender obligations. Boys, considered future bread winners, are assumed to require higher levels of education (Rothchild 2006).

Nepalese society places heavier and earlier obligations on girls resulting in a negative effect on educational achievement. On the contrary, “boys had few responsibilities in the existing Nepali gendered order” (Rothchild 2006:83–89). Likewise, priority is placed on girls excelling in domestic chores. Stash and Hannum (2001:356) mention that “home training for girls in domestic activities may be viewed by parents as better preparation for their adult marital roles than is the training typically received through the formal educational system.” Parents place emphasis on finding a suitable husband for their daughters rather than on education. Girls experience conflicting priorities resulting in fewer opportunities to attend school and low retention rates when they do (Reinhold 1993). In addition, early marriage is another factor resulting in high dropout rates among girls. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report, “in Nepal, 40 percent of girls are already married by the time they are 15” (UNESCO 2003:124). Thus, numerous social factors stressing women’s roles within the household undermine the importance of women’s education in Nepalese society.

Social Capital and Women’s Access to Bonding and Bridging Social Capital

Researchers have constructed social capital broadly at multiple levels, including individual, group, community and neighborhood, region, and nation (Brunie 2009; Fukuyama 1995; Lin 2000; Putnam 1993, 1995, 2000). Coleman defines social capital by its function as “a variety of entities with two elements in common: They all consist of some aspect of social structures, and they facilitate certain action of actors—whether persons or corporate actors—within the structure” (Coleman 1990:302).

Various scholars have identified sources of social capital (Coleman 1988; Portes 1998). The first inheres in the structure of relationships. For an individual to possess social capital, he or she must be related to others. It is others who are the source of his or her advantage (Portes 1998). James Samuel Coleman (1988) discusses this source in terms of norms and sanctions as mechanisms for support and control. Membership in a community brings demands for conformity. A small town may enjoy a high level of social integration but limited opportunity to nurture individual spirit (Portes and Landolt 1996). The second source of social capital is the norm of reciprocity. Social capital is primarily directed by the accumulation of obligations from others requiring reciprocity in due time (Portes 1998). Robert D. Putnam (1993) explains generalized reciprocity as the concept where individuals help others knowing that somewhere down the road, the favor will be returned. Similarly, Torche and Valenzuela state that “every donation contains the request to return what has been received and it therefore demands reciprocity” (Torche and Valenzuela 2011:188). The third source of social capital is bounded solidarity. Bounded solidarity is a mechanism whereby group identity works as a motivational force (Portes 1998). The fourth source of social capital is enforceable trust, when “someone extends a favor to a fellow member in expectation of both guaranteed repayment and group approval” (Portes 1998:9). In addition, Florencia Torche and Eduardo Valenzuela (2011) argue that trust is a form of social capital that enables individuals to establish and maintain relationships with strangers.

While Alejandro Portes (1998:9) distinguishes three basic functions of social capital: “as a source of social control, family support, and benefits through extra familial networks,” he notes that social capital may not always have positive effects. Based on existing literature, Portes identifies four major consequences of social capital. First, “the same strong ties that bring benefits to members of a group commonly enable it to bar others from access” (p. 15). Monopolization of groups or ethnicities may occur in certain sectors. Second, within a close group, under specific circumstances, other group members may prevent the success of business initiatives. This case arises when less diligent members of the group start acting as free riders. Third, “community or group participation necessarily creates demands for conformity” (p. 16). In such situations, social control is so strong that it starts to influence personal freedom. Last, “there are situations in which group solidarity is cemented by a common experience of adversity and opposition to mainstream society” (p. 17). Hence, social capital may benefit members of the group by increasing their access to social networks, yet the same networks can also limit members’ initiatives and freedom.

Robert D. Putnam (2000) identifies two major types of social capital of interest to our analysis: bonding social capital and bridging social capital. Bonding social capital is associated with emotional support and exists within close social networks such as family, friends, and neighbors. Bridging social capital is associated with building beneficial networks among heterogeneous groups such as races, genders, castes, and class groups. Putnam states that “bridging social capital can generate broader identities and reciprocity, whereas bonding social capital bolsters our narrower selves” (Putnam 2000:23). He succinctly differentiates between these forms of social capital when he states that bonding social capital is “good for ‘getting by’ but bridging social capital is crucial for ‘getting ahead’” (Putnam 2000:23).

Scholars claim that there are gender-differentiated consequences of social capital, and women have greater access to bonding social capital associated with managing domestic activities (Agarwal 2000; Lowndes 2004; Reay 2004; Russell 1999; Silvey and Elmhirst 2003). Bina Agarwal (2000) reveals that women depend more on informal relationships, and traditionally, women have played a central role as homemaker enabling them to form close social networks with extended family. Vivien Lowndes (2004) claims that the stock of social capital available to women, based on informal activity in the immediate community, provides a resource for their own and their families’ health and well-being more suitable for “getting by” than for “getting ahead.”

Furthermore, Russell notes that “women’s continued responsibility for caring and domestic work tends to restrict the range of social activity they are involved in, but it does provide an opportunity to build up supportive social networks in the community” (Russell 1999:219). Close ties also work as mechanisms to control women’s behavior, pressuring adherence to gender and societal norms (Silvey and Elmhirst 2003).

Education and Social Capital

Several studies illustrate the relationship between education and social capital (Buchmann 2002; Dika and Singh 2002; Teachman et al. 1996). Sandra L. Dika and Kusum Singh (2002) reveal that social capital is positively linked to educational achievement, attainment, and psychological factors that influence educational development. Furthermore, James Samuel Coleman (1990) uses social capital to assess the effects of various factors on school achievement among children, identifying family background as the single most important element affecting a child’s performance.

Michael D. Reisig, Kristy Holtfreter, and Merry Morash (2002), studying social capital among women offenders in Oregon and Minneapolis, conclude that education is associated with the size of social networks with more highly educated women offenders reporting larger networks. Gila Menahem (2011:1122–23) addresses the differential impact of bonding and bridging social capital on academic performance, concluding that a community’s bridging social capital has a significant positive relationship with academic performance, especially in economically disadvantaged communities. She found that bonding social capital has no such influence and, in most cases, had a negative effect on educational performance.

For the purpose of this study, we make use of Alejandro Portes’ (1998:6) definition of social capital, namely, the “ability of actors to secure benefits by virtue of being a member in social networks or other social structures.” We define bonding social capital as a network comprising immediate and extended family members, friends, and neighbors, and delineate bridging social capital as a link that connects women from diverse backgrounds and helps them get ahead in life.

Women in our study have greater access to bonding social capital. Creation of this capital is largely based on maintaining informal relationships with family, neighbors, and community, and generating emotional capital for the family. Women work to preserve sources of bonding social capital by emphasizing norms of reciprocity. Those pursuing secondary education experience changes in bonding social capital whereby bonding social capital plays a dual role—at some points working to encourage women to continue their education and at other times acting as a way to limit women’s activity, demanding conformity to traditional roles. Secondary school provides women an opportunity to form and expand bridging social capital.

Putnam (2000:20) notes that “bonding and bridging are not ‘either-or’ categories into which social networks can be neatly divided, but ‘more or less’ dimensions along which we can compare different forms of social capital.” In this piece, we consider bonding and bridging social capital as a continuum rather than as a dichotomy. We use nuanced qualitative methods to illustrate how bonding and bridging social capital are experienced on a spectrum both perpetuating and limiting women’s attendance at UWSS secondary school in Nepal. Our study offers insight into educational opportunities and dynamics for women in Nepal’s capital city—a region both largely understudied and seeking to encourage greater literacy among its residents. We add to a growing body of literature on the impacts of education for women in societies experiencing contradictory push and pull factors related to tradition and modernity.

Research Design

Adopting qualitative semistructured interviews for data collection, the first author conducted interviews with 35 women attending an adult women’s secondary school in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. A number of women’s secondary schools are in operation within the district. UWSS is a purposeful selection. The school is located in one of the largest residential areas in the Kathmandu district, and attendees include significant presence of migrant populations from across Nepal. Another dimension of school selection is access to key respondents as the first author’s mother has been attending this school for the past four years and is currently in 10th grade. UWSS provides an opportunity to interview married women who have graduated or are currently attending the school and come from diverse regional and socioeconomic populations.

The study sample was drawn using a nonrandom sampling technique. Respondents included married women between the ages of 25 and 65, although several girls in their teens and unmarried women attend this school. The study solely focuses on experiences of married women, and the social and cultural factors affecting their choices. The type and influence of social capital can be largely different for married and unmarried populations—married women face higher moral and social constraints compared with unmarried women. Stratified snowball sampling was used, and interviews were conducted between June and July of 2015. Nepal was struck by a devastating earthquake of 7.8M on the Richter scale on April 25, 2015, which killed around 8,702 people with thousands more injured (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2015). Although interviews were scheduled to start in May, the continuous aftershocks delayed the project by several weeks due to significant social and infrastructural disruption. Interviews were conducted when the school resumed due to closure for a month after the earthquake.

UWSS was established in 2003. Four other women’ secondary schools are also in operation in Kathmandu. UWSS is located in a newly commercialized area and occupies the first and second floors in a four-story building. The building in front of the school and the building next to the school were in the process of demolition at the time of the interviews, due to extensive earthquake damage. Despite the falling rubble, women needed to pass by the buildings to get to school. Students could continuously hear the noise from drilling in their classrooms (Karki 2016:29).

The sample consists of women from two groups: those currently attending UWSS and those who had completed their secondary education from the school. Interviews were also conducted with several teachers, but our focus here is on the perspectives of students. Interviews took between 15 and 35 minutes, were conducted in Nepali, and transcribed into English. The interview schedule focused on gathering information on dimensions facilitating or limiting educational attainment and social capital available to women. We implemented a concept-driven qualitative content analysis coding method using QSR NVIVO 9 (Schreier 2012). Intercoder reliability checks were performed establishing 90 percent reliability across themes. Fourteen coding categories emerged. For the purpose of this study, we drew from six thematic categories: BON-EXE (bonding with extended family, friends, and relatives), BON-IME (bonding with family members sharing the same household), BRI (bridging social capital and women’s involvement in NGOs, employment, and other efforts), CHBRI (changes in bridging social capital as women start to attend school), CHBON (changes in bonding social capital as women start to attend school), PBRI (problems faced when forming bridging social capital), and SCEX (experiences as women start to attend school).

Among the 35 respondents, 17 (48 percent) had previously received some level of education, and 18 (52 percent) had never been to school before. The number of years after which women returned to education ranged from 10 to 42 years. Among the respondents interviewed, 11 (31.4 percent) were pursuing primary, eight (22.8 percent) were attending lower secondary, eight (22.8 percent) were continuing secondary, six (17.1 percent) were pursuing higher secondary, and two (5.7 percent) women were continuing undergraduate levels of education. In addition, 20 (57 percent) were from Brahmin and Chhetri community, nine (26 percent) were from ethnic groups with Tibetan ancestry, four (11 percent) were from the Terai region, one respondent was from untouchable caste, and only one respondent belonged to the Newar community, the native ethnic group of Kathmandu.

Most of the women (57 percent) interviewed for the study belonged to the Brahmin and Chhetri castes, the two top-most castes in Nepal’s caste hierarchy. Sharon Stash and Emily Hannum (2001) argue that girls from dominant and economically privileged high-caste households are disadvantaged in terms of education, noting that high-caste families residing in remote and socially conservative regions are able to implement stringent standards to govern women’s activities. In our sample, reflecting an urban constituency, the highest castes are disproportionately represented. Living in a nuclear family can provide high-caste women liberty to pursue their interests, and women’s higher caste and class positioning may make them more willing to share their stories with a stranger.

Respondents were from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Some women were married to highly educated men in politics or government, or who were businesses owners, roles necessitating the completion of secondary education. Other women’s husbands had never been to school and were working as drivers, barbers, or small businesses owners. Class placement reflects broad categories and correlates to some degree with caste. The class position for this study is determined by considering the husband’s level of education, occupation pursued, and, in a few instances, family income. Women were considered upper middle class if their husband holds government employment with a master’s degree, is an engineer, or owns a highly lucrative business. The lower-middle-class category includes women whose husband holds a government job with a bachelor’s degree or high school degree, owns a grocery store, is involved in politics, or works at an NGO. A majority (24 [68 percent]) of the women included in the study were from the lower middle class, five (14 percent) were from the upper middle class, and only six (17 percent) were from the working class. All the working-class respondents belonged to the lower caste or identified as ethnic groups from the Terai region. A number of women were hesitant to talk about family income, and a few others were unaware of it. Women’s class position within Nepal’s society is influential in pursuit of education. Gallagher (2012) observed similar patterns of education in her Damascus study where she argued that families with greater resources were more willing to keep their daughters in school. Similarly, family resources after marriage also enable a married woman to pursue her education.

“You Need to Maintain Relationships (Bewarrr) with Your Close Ones”: The Role of Bonding and Bridging Social Capital in Women’s Return to School

A woman’s decision to go to school is largely determined by support she receives from family members living in the same household. We start by outlining expectations for Nepal’s secondary education system. We then consider the influence of bonding and bridging social capital on women’s decisions to pursue or continue education. What role does bonding and bridging social capital play in encouraging or discouraging women’s school attendance?

Nepal’s primary and secondary education is based on a 10 plus 2 system. The primary level includes Grades 1 to 2, lower secondary consists of Grades 6 to 8, Grades 9 and 10 are considered secondary level, and higher secondary education includes Grades 11 and 12. Secondary education is completed with the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) national level exam. The SLC, aptly named the “iron gate,” is one of the most important examinations for pursuing higher studies. It is also considered one of the most difficult. Students appearing for the SLC exams sit for six compulsory subjects: English, Nepali, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Health, Population, and Environment. In addition, they also appear for exams in two optional subjects. During 2014–2015, 47 percent of students successfully completed their SLC exams, the highest rate since 2011. As of 2017, the government of Nepal has plans to adopt a two-level education system—where Grades 1 to 8 will be considered primary and Grades 9 to 12 will be considered secondary education. With this new plan, final school leaving exams will be conducted after 12th grade, and regional or provincial exams will occur at the end of the 10th grade.

Family members sharing the same household and extended family play a crucial role in Nepalese women’s school attendance. We analyze women’s close social networks and their role in encouraging or discouraging women’s educational pursuit. We start by discussing how family members sharing the same household influence women’s decisions. We then turn to the role of extended family, friends, and relatives. Finally, we explain women’s involvement in domestic activities and their engagement in voluntary organizations and employment, focusing on efforts to preserve bonding social capital and maintain existing bridging social capital as factors encouraging or discouraging school attendance.

Support from family members sharing a household plays a major role in ensuring women’s access to school. Among the 35 respondents, 29 (83 percent) report living in a nuclear family, three (9 percent) live in an extended family along with a mother- and father-in-law, two (6 percent) live in an extended family along with their son and daughter-in-law, and only one woman lives alone. A nuclear family for this study is defined as a family consisting of two biological parents and their children. Living in a nuclear family provides women some flexibility in their decision making. Apart from one case, all the women received support from at least one member of their immediate family, be it their children, husbands, or in-laws.

Approximately 20 (57 percent) respondents report that their husband supports their decision to attend school. Support here refers to permission to attend school and provision of financial resources. In a few instances, husbands also showed their support by helping with domestic chores and by providing transportation to and from school.

Eight (22 percent) women mentioned lack of support and constant ridicule from their husbands regarding their educational pursuits. Women from middle-class families were more likely to pursue their education even when their husbands were against their decision. Only one woman identified as working class mentioned accessing education without receiving support from her husband. The economic position of middle-class women enabled them to continue their education irrespective of their husband’s outright support.

A conversation with one woman belonging to the lower middle class, currently studying in eighth grade, reveals that her husband condemns her decision to continue education: “My husband is against my decision to pursue education. He wants me to stay home and take care of household activities. He does not understand why I want to study at this age.” In cases where a husband opposes his wife’s decision to attend school, children support their mother’s decision to pursue education. A student currently studying in fifth grade, who is the first wife of her husband, narrates her experience on entering school. She discusses her husband’s criticism and neglect, and recollects her son’s support:

We had a fight after I enrolled in school. Everyone was really mad at me. They asked me—where did I get the money to start studying? My husband’s second wife keeps asking him why he is allowing me to study. Previously, my husband was supportive about it, but now listening to his second wife, he is against my decision. He says, why do you want to study at this age? My son, who is going to the medical school in Bangladesh, told my husband that I am going to school and if anyone has anything to say against it, he or she should come talk to him. My son is very supportive.

Sons hold a higher status within the Nepalese family, and their decisions are more likely to be accepted by other family members. Children’s cooperation and support are crucial for women’s return to education. Women constantly face opposition from their extended family, friends, and relatives. Women placed higher importance on gaining acceptance from family members living in the same household rather than from those outside. In most cases, at least one member of the family supports school attendance. A 56-year-old respondent, currently studying in fifth grade, shares a similar story:

My family are supportive about me going to school. But people in my village often say “marne bela ma hariyo kakro.” They mock me for going to the school at this age. I do not care if they are unable to understand.

The Nepali proverb Marne bela ma hariyo kakro means: “Why eat green cucumber at the time of dying?” Anna Robinson Pant (2000) discusses the use of this proverb in her research involving literacy classes in Nepal. She elaborates that certain rural communities consider the cucumber a delicacy, but it is very hard to eat when you are old. In this proverb, education is analogous to a cucumber, which is reserved only for certain groups in Nepal’s society. Historically, Nepalese society considered education useful only for the young and for men.

Nine (25 percent) respondents mention that their in-laws support their decision to pursue education, while eight (23 percent) state that their in-laws are against their decision. In addition, eight (23 percent) respondents mention that their in-laws are unaware of their attendance, and seven (20 percent) respondents state that their in-laws are deceased and the extended family are unaware of their school attendance. Women from the working class faced more opposition from their in-laws and extended family. Only one woman from the working class mentioned receiving support from both her in-laws and extended family. Living in a capital city, away from close networks that may constrain educational choice, gives women some liberty to pursue their educational interests.

Eleven (31 percent) respondents mention that they kept their attendance to the school confidential from their extended family, friends, and neighbors. One woman from an upper-middle-class household, who recently completed her secondary level of education shares:

Only a few of my family members know about me going to school. My sister-in-law is always encouraging me to study. My maternal family also knows about it. Apart from that, no one is aware about me going back to school.

Respondents explain that it is more convenient not to tell their in-laws and extended family, because letting people know about their decisions provides an opportunity for gossip. Putnam (2000:21) mentions that “dense social ties facilitate gossip and other valuable ways of cultivating reputation—an essential foundation for trust in a complex society.” Similarly, Rachel Silvey and Rebecca Elmhirst (2003), in their study of Indonesian women migrant workers, note that close ties meant gossip regarding misdemeanors could be quickly circulated, finding its way back to parents in the village. In response to the likelihood for gossip, women attempt to save their reputation by keeping school attendance confidential. In addition, Portes (1998) identifies social control as one of the three basic functions of social capital. Community participation creates demands for conformity. Women attending secondary school, and thus not willing to conform, make efforts to hide their nonconformity by maintaining their secrecy.

Furthermore, 16 (46 percent) women respondents state that they manage all their domestic activities by themselves. Most of the women share the belief that they should complete all their domestic obligations before pursuing outside interests, including pursuit of education. One participant, from a lower-middle-class household, studying in 10th grade, explains how women are solely responsible for their time management:

I feel to a larger extent that it depends on the women, whether or not she would be able to continue her education. A woman needs to properly manage the household first. I cannot leave the domestic activities astray and come to school. I need to complete it on time before coming to school. Our children’s futures are more important than ours.

Gallagher (2012:75) also claims that “wanting something better for one’s children is a universal theme” in her work on Damascus, and similar sentiments were expressed by women participating in our study. In addition, an implicit uniformity is present among the majority of women that the management of the domestic arena is primarily their responsibility. They dedicate energy to running their family as they used to before they returned to school. Women report using unstructured time and sleeping hours to compensate for the time they invest in educational pursuits.

Most respondents report receiving help from other family members, including sons, daughters, mothers, and in a few instances, husbands, and also household helpers’ assistance, to complete household activities. A 42-year-old Brahmin respondent studying in eighth grade recalls receiving help from her family members: “My mother-in-law helps me to get the household work done. My husband helps me as much as possible. Children do not help me much with the household work.” However, in a number of instances, women who mention receiving help from their family members to complete their domestic responsibilities are unclear about the frequency of help they receive. A respondent who belongs to an ethnic group with Tibetan ancestry and recently completed her SLC exams remembers the help she received from other family members to complete her domestic chores: “Most of the time, I complete all my chores before children are home. But whenever they have time, they always help me out with the household activities.” Several women used the phrase “when they have time” while explaining the help they are receiving. The phrase seems like a face-saving mechanism for the family rather than actual assistance. Women responsible for maintaining family relationships in Nepal are hesitant to acknowledge the problems they face in cases where family reputations are involved.

Time management is a prime concern for women. Women emphasize having less time to attend social activities. A woman, studying in seventh grade, explains the importance of maintaining relationships with the people close to you: “If it is really necessary to go, then I go. You need to maintain relationships (bewarrr) with your close ones. After attending those programs, the rest of the time I come to school.” Women are more likely to attend social activities that are of higher importance—such as religious functions at their close relatives’ homes, daughter’s marriage, and funerals. A 42-year-old Brahmin respondent, studying in eighth grade, explains why and which social activities are important for her to attend:

In places where you need to go, I go, and on such days, I miss school. If I come to school on those days, people might get offended. So, that is really problematic. If it is really necessary such as a daughter’s marriage or function in your close relative’s place. If there is no one that can attend the function on your behalf, you need to attend those programs. I have old in-laws, so I am always the one taking them to the hospital. I have been regularly coming to school only for one year or else I wasn’t able to come regularly.

The respondent outlines social activities and responsibilities that require women’s attention. A daughter’s marriage is a significant event for a Nepalese family where financial and physical contributions from extended family are crucial. Norms of reciprocity are seen as an important asset for the family during these times. A participant pursuing an undergraduate degree and from a middle-class household expresses similar concerns:

Participation in such activities has not reduced. We should be able to manage time to participate. You should leave college to attend. You should be able to manage all your relatives, because later you might have a function at your place, and you will need those relatives.

Portes (1998) and Putnam have identified the norm of reciprocity as one of the major sources of social capital. Putnam states that “networks of community engagement foster sturdy norms of reciprocity: I’ll do this for you now, in the expectation that you (or perhaps someone else) will return the favor” (Putnam 2000:20). In addition, Portes (1998) mentions that social capital is primarily directed by the accumulation of obligations from others that needs to be reciprocated in due time. In a close-knit society, importance is placed on preserving social networks, and women work to sustain sources of social capital. Women emphasize maintaining relationships with their close ties and sacrificing their relationships with distant relatives and weaker ties.

Respondents report that they had limited access to bridging social capital before returning to school. Among the 35 respondents, 17 (49 percent) mention their involvement in a voluntary organization. A majority of women are members of a cooperative group (women saving and credit groups), and a few are involved in political organizations and a beautician association. Many respondents state that their involvement in voluntary organizations was not affected after they started to attend school. Women’s cooperatives generally meet once a month. The groups encouraged two interviewees to continue their education. A respondent studying in eighth grade recalls one of the factors that inspired her to attend school: “We have a cooperative, and I am a shareholder. I am actively involved in that cooperative, and I need an SLC certificate to be fully involved in it. So, I am here to complete my studies.” Several women who stopped participating in voluntary organizations suggest that migration from one’s hometown and marriage are two of the prime reasons for not being affiliated with those organizations anymore.

A major limiting factor women face building their bridging capital is lack of time and education. Currently studying in eighth grade, a student elaborates on her earlier hesitancy to join a voluntary organization:

Even when people invited me to be members of such organizations, I was scared that they might ask me to write or read, and I do not know how to do it. I would run away from such places. That was because I was illiterate. I was in constant fear that people might ask me something I am not aware about, and it might be a shameful situation.

Putnam, Lewis M. Feldstein, and Don Cohen (2003:272) note that “educated people and educated communities have skills and resources that enable them to form and exploit social networks more readily, whereas less educated communities have to struggle harder to do so.” This study reinforces those findings and shows that the formation of bridging social capital requires investment of time and education. One of the prime motivations for women to pursue education is to acquire skills that can help create bridging social capital.

Furthermore, six (17 percent) respondents mention that they are, or had been, employed at some point in time. One of the working women acquired her job through family referral. Another woman who was previously employed obtained her job through a quota system. Time and education are two important factors influencing women’s employment opportunities. A student studying in third grade expresses a similar concern:

You cannot get a job if you are not educated. Even to get vocational training you should have basic education. I decided to come back to school. I was not able to even help my kids with their home assignments.

Several women discuss time as a major constraint on employment outside of the household. A 40-year-old Brahmin respondent explains her time schedule while she was living in the village:

I used to live in a village with my in-laws. There, I worked very hard and helped to complete domestic chores and cultivate land. Our family used to raise livestock, and I did most of the work, like collecting fodder and feeding them.

Seven (20 percent) of the women mention being self-employed at some point in time. They note having business ventures or conducting piecemeal jobs. It is easier for women to be self-employed, as it provides a flexible time schedule and requires only functional literacy.

A majority of women in our sample were from high-caste and middle-class families. Women receive mixed reactions from their bonding social networks. Support from at least one member of the family sharing the same household is crucial for a woman’s return to education. However, women are also criticized by their extended family and friends. Our findings resonate with past research where dense ties facilitate gossip and work as a mechanism for conformity (Portes 1998; Putnam 2000; Silvey and Elmhirst 2003). Women maintain their bonding social capital, refining bonding networks and preserving relationships with higher norms of reciprocity (Portes 1998; Putnam 2000). Prior to school attendance, women had limited access to bridging social capital. Access to limited bridging networks acts as a factor to encourage educational pursuit.

“You Get to Meet Friends and You Don’t Realize How the Time Flies”: School as a Source of Bonding and Bridging Social Capital

Here, we explore the influence of access to and attendance in secondary education for enhancing women’s social capital. How does attendance in secondary education facilitate a change in bonding and bridging forms of social capital for women? We focus on secondary school as a mechanism to enhance bonding and bridging social capital for Nepalese women, consider the new social networks women create in school, and address the influence of school interactions on encouraging women to continue educational pursuits.

UWSS provides a platform for women to build new social networks across class, caste, and region. All respondents indicate that they enjoy spending time with their classmates. A 38-year-old student from an ethnic group from the Terai region explains several benefits of coming to school: “We have learned lots of new things coming here. An uneducated person is in darkness. After coming here, we get an opportunity to learn new things and meet new friends.” The school provides women with some personal space away from domestic responsibilities. Women in Nepal have limited opportunities to develop friendship ties after marriage and largely depend on familial ties for support. Women note that they are happier after coming to school, having the opportunity to build close friendships with their classmates. Two women made the choice to pursue their undergraduate degrees together after attending school during the same period. Both were able to successfully complete their SLC exams in 2014. One women states, “We both have been doing all our studies together. In 24 hours, we are together for 16 hours, and we are apart for only eight hours while we are sleeping at night.” Similarly, a 42-year-old Chettri respondent mentioned how her landlady influenced her to continue her education. In both cases, the women lived close, and their bond strengthened as they started attending school together. This bond played a crucial role in keeping the women in school.

Women also use bonds established at school to collectively attend a more formal traditional educational system after graduating. While conducting interviews, SLC results were published, and four of the respondents successfully completed their exams. A few others failed in three subjects but had an opportunity to retake their exams two months later. One of the women who failed her SLC exams was teaching primary classes in the same school. Women who were able to successfully complete the exams were planning to attend the same college. They also encouraged their friend, who was currently teaching in the school, to appear for the exams a second time. The women scolded their friend for not paying adequate attention to her own studies. The principal of the school also joined and encouraged the woman to take leave time to prepare for her exams.

The women and principal express support and a desire for conformity to the norms of student conduct. This can be viewed as a source of incentive for the student who failed. Conformity in this context means studying hard and receiving passing grades. Portes (1998) mentions social control as one of the functions of social capital. The woman retook the exams and successfully completed her SLC. The networks established while at UWSS encourage continued academic achievement.

All study participants recount sharing a warm relationship with their teachers. The women appreciate that the teachers acknowledge domestic work that women do at home before coming to school. One of the students, currently studying in 10th grade and from a middle-class household, elaborates on the teacher’s treatment of students, “Teachers’ behavior towards students is really good. They acknowledge the fact that we have come to school managing our work back home. They constantly appreciate our efforts and encourage us to study further.” The relationships that the women have with their fellow classmates and teachers can be considered a form of bonding social capital, as they share close and emotional interactions. The associations also reflect bridging social capital insofar as women from different backgrounds are given an opportunity to connect with one another.

As women spend a significant amount of time with classmates, they develop a strong bond, and the networks provide emotional and moral support. However, the networks or bridges women create across different regions, castes, and social status may not help them get ahead. Women may encourage each other to pursue education but are not able to act further as a consistent source of bridging social capital as each woman holds similar educational standing and limited access to information regarding available opportunities. In the future, alumni may be able to build those bridges for women returning to school. This finding resonates with Putnam et al.’s (2003:282) work, which suggests that “groups often bond along some dimensions and bridge along others.” The school has been able to assist in a preliminary way to create bridging networks for women.

Women attending the school continually work to expand access to opportunities that will enhance bridging social capital. A number of graduates from the school have formed a voluntary organization to keep the students and teachers better connected prior to and after graduation. A Brahmin woman pursuing higher secondary education elaborates on her project to create the organization:

This is a collaborative effort of some of the graduates from the school. It was previously a savings group. All the teachers from the school are committed to a lifetime membership in the organization. They are really supportive. All my friends from the school have supported our efforts, and I am happy about it.

This voluntary organization can help women create bridging social capital as they transition into higher education or employment.

The school is a source of both bonding and bridging social capital. Friendship ties with classmates and teachers provide emotional and moral support enhancing bonding social capital. These bonds also require conformity to student conduct (Portes 1998) setting expectations for success. In addition, the school promotes bridging social capital by connecting women from diverse social and economic backgrounds fostering networks that will prove useful into the future.

Discussion and Conclusion

Women included in this study are mostly from high-caste and middle-class families. This contradicts previous findings where women from high-caste and economically privileged families residing in rural areas were more disadvantaged in terms of education. However, married women living in the capital city are able to use their class and caste privilege to continue their education. Women in our study identify four major sources of bonding social capital that facilitate school attendance: living in a nuclear family, support from one’s husband, support from children, and support from extended family and friends. Living in a nuclear family offered women flexibility in decision making and opportunity to pursue their interests. Women from upper-middle to middle-class households are more likely to pursue education even without their husband’s support. In cases where husbands do not support a woman’s educational decisions, support from children, especially sons, allowed women to attend school. Extended family, friends, and relatives were most likely to constantly criticize women for school attendance. In such situations, women placed more importance on gaining acceptance and support from family members sharing the same household rather than their distant relatives or friends. Many women report that they prefer to keep their school attendance confidential in an effort to hide their nonconforming behavior (in this case going to school) from their social networks. Portes (1998) notes that engagement with one’s community creates a demand for conformity, and thus, women in this study chose to maintain confidentiality to avoid negative penalties.

Furthermore, a majority of women fulfill all their domestic responsibilities before coming to school. Women emphasize attending mandatory social activities. Obligatory social functions were those requiring certain norms of reciprocity, such as a daughter’s marriage or a function for an extended relative. Portes (1998) and Putnam (2000) identify norms of reciprocity as a major source of social capital. In a society where bonding social capital branches out to include all extended family members and distant relatives, women work to maintain relationships with close ties. Women attending secondary school refine their bonding social capital by preserving their closest relationships and sacrificing their weaker relationships. Women work to preserve their bonding social capital because they value relationships and respect norms of reciprocity.

Establishing relationships with teachers and classmates increases a student’s stock of bonding capital. Engagement with teachers and students act as motivators to study ahead by encouraging conformity (in this context studying properly). Women also share warm relationships with their teachers as they connect at an emotional level. While women in this study bond with fellow classmates, they also connect with women from diverse backgrounds, enhancing their bridging capital.

Women’s access to bridging capital prior to school attendance is limited and expands only incrementally after they start attending school. Lack of time and education are two major factors hindering women’s access to this form of social capital. A number of women are involved in a voluntary organization, and a few are employed. However, a majority of women are not readily able to form these useful networks. A number of recent graduates established an NGO to connect teachers and students. In the future, this voluntary organization could work to increase women’s bridging social capital.

The bonding social capital associated with the extended family changes as women start to pursue their education. This finding supports previous studies where women experience a decrease in bonding social capital as they enter the workforce (Coleman 1988; Lowndes 2004). Nevertheless, women also create bonds with their classmates and teachers. This can help compensate for the weaker relationships women sacrifice on return to school. An increase in bridging social capital may occur as women attend higher levels of education and put in increased individual effort. The bonding social capital formed within the school cannot be underestimated as it provides women personal space from their domestic responsibilities and offers a sense of freedom. The school also demands women’s conformity to expected student conduct—thus acting as both an agent of liberation and also a form of social control.

Our study contributes to an understanding of bonding and bridging social capital among Nepalese women pursuing secondary education. We highlight the dual roles played by bonding social capital where exercise of this social capital form, on the one hand, can support women’s educational pursuits and, on the other, may limit women’s opportunities by enhancing conformity to traditional women’s roles. In addition, our study supports Putnam et al.’s (2003) assertion and demonstrates how bonding and bridging social capital manifests as a continuum for Nepalese women. The social capital of Nepalese women is understudied, and this manuscript can work as a foundational piece for future efforts to analyze existing opportunity structures. Future studies may expand on the singular nature of social capital to include cultural and other types of community capitals or may focus on the influence of identity or social control on women’ decisions to pursue secondary education. Economically privileged married women may have more opportunity to pursue secondary education in the urban Nepalese context. In addition, this study hints at the possibility that high-caste married women may have greater prospects to continue their education. Future studies can delve deeper into changing caste-class dynamics and women’s access to education.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Our deep gratitude to the Utprerana Women Secondary School, the women willing to share their experiences with secondary education, and to all those who dare to continue their education irrespective of social and cultural challenges. We appreciate Drs. Heather McLaughlin and Stephen Perkins and the comments of several external reviewers for their insights on previous versions of this manuscript.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

Srijana Karki is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at Oklahoma State University. Employing primarily qualitative techniques, her research interests include stratification, gender inequality, transnational feminism, education, and environmental justice. She is interested in exploring the practical applications of sociological research.

Tamara L. Mix is the Laurence L. and Georgia Ina Dresser Professor at Oklahoma State University. She has research interests in environmental justice, social movements, and race, class, and gender inequality. A qualitative researcher, she has conducted community-engaged projects addressing issues of environmental contamination, water access and quality, food justice and security, and resource inequality.

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