Abstract
This paper is derived from a PhD thesis investigating the impacts of environmental, social and economic changes, as a consequence of the development process, on women in different social groups; and the ways in which women have responded to the changes in a village in Southern Thailand. The implementation of development policy at the national level, including the promotion of high-yielding rubber, the educational system, and financial loans have differentially affected households in accordance with their prevailing resources. The maintenance and accumulation of household resources have been dependent upon the levels of their investments in human resources and modernised means of production, as well as market demand and close connections with city. Social differentiation in the village has been reinforced by the interplay of the state and the market. In spite of changes in household resource profiles, womens loge-standing involvement in household production and reproduction work, as well as the traditional pattern of the wifes management of family money, has not been significantly transformed. The gender ideologies and womens social identities as a mother have been reproduced through social mechanisms and in the development process. The womens work has been significantly contributed to the daily lives of their families and communities. Indeed, it is the hind legs of the elephant that the livelihoods and well-being of rural families and the community have been relied upon.
Key words : economic changes, environmental changes, social changes, Southern Thailand, women
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