Introduction

This chapter explores the social relations and patterned gender inequalities in recent Lao culture and society in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. It focuses on women, with some attention given to ethnicity, class, and age as they function in the village context. The chapter examines 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 with the beginnings of development. 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. 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. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.