Nowadays there is a widespread concern in gender studies over women's exploitation, oppression and domination by patriarchy in Nepalese society. Gender generally refers to the complex process by which male and female become socially men and women, affecting their own actions, desires and wishes. It also refers to the masculine and feminine genders which are also known to be a product of the social organisation of the sexes into two distinct categories: men and women.
The data derived from fieldwork carried out in January 1992 was gathered from four districts of the eastern Development Region: Morang, Sunsari, Jhapa, and Ilam. Twelve milk producer associations (MPAs) in these districts are taken as a basis for the situational analysis. The paper deals with the gender role in the peasant farm household. It further focuses on the gender role in milk producer associations, mainly concerned with milk production, milk processing and milk marketing. Recommendations are made for the MPAs, summarised in the paper's conclusion.