Women and Well-being: A Study on Demographic Welfare and Opulence Among Female Populace of Selected Religious Groups of Assam

Demographic characteristics can be summarised as the reflection of human population of any region. It deals with attributes such as health condition in relation with fertility, mortality, sex composition, age at marriage, age dependency, etc. which depending on social, economic, and historical factors vary from place to place and from one community or religious group to the other. In this context, women health is a vital determinant of the population structure of any place. Fertility, an important determinant of natural increase of population, is also an expression of physical well-being and child-bearing health condition of a woman. Fertility and mortality are also extensively influenced by the following aspects: the health condition of the female, awareness among the masses, education level of the population, preference of number and sex of the child, age at marriage, income level, work culture, and degree of urbanisation of the community which are notably taken into account. Thus, in this backdrop, the present chapter deals with these determinants of demography and their complex relationships in respect of female well-being. The study reveals variation and discrepancy in terms of women’s health perspective and welfare governed by social, economic, historical, and geographical aspects that contour the religious mosaic of the state.