The ‘Woman Question’ in India Today: Resistance, Resilience, and Policy-making

This panel proposes to undertake a gendered analysis of the new politics emerging in India today. Women in different regions of the country are engaged in their own struggles against various forms of authoritarianism—family, customary laws, and repressive state policies. Although they may be situated in geographically distant locations, and their stories may not often be considered newsworthy, these are narratives of resistance born out of aspiration, resilience, and a desire to transform lives. Such resistance also force governments to introduce important policy decisions, however the effective implementation of such policies might require vigilance on the part of stakeholders.
With this in mind, the panel seeks to bring together research papers on the spirited journeys of ordinary women from across India. As the personal is deeply political, and vice versa, the focus will be on exploring the interplay of the two in the common woman’s path toward greater freedom. We invite papers from relatively underrepresented states and sections of the country, with an aim to examine how seemingly diverse struggles can be connected through feminist threads.