Women’s lives in India have evolved significantly in the past few decades, particularly in the realms of health, education, economic security, and social standing—including media representation. The change is perceptible not only materially but also perceptually. Yet, at the cusp of India’s eightieth year of Independence, the stories or lack of, around the lives of women in the country doesn’t cease to astound.
Women in India: Exploring Work, Life and Freedom critically traces the trajectory of these changes while also revealing the persistent blind spots and prejudices within systems that continue to scaffold their subordination and marginalisation. The book interrogates the extent to which these developments have improved lives of women in different parts of the country and questions whether persistent barriers like gender discrimination, underrepresentation, and unequal work prospects still prevent women from exercising their autonomy and agency in a modern and ever evolving society. Drawing on multidisciplinary perspectives, encompassing disciplines such as sociology, public health, economics, law, media, management, literature and cultural studies, the book underscores the role of women as powerful agents of change despite the sociocultural barriers that continue to hinder their progress. Lives and life-stories of ordinary women form the crux of the chapters authored by an eclectic mix of young Indian scholars from diverse geographical locations.
This book will provide essential reading to students and researchers working in the areas of gender studies, cultural studies, sociology, economics, media, management, literature, social movements, and South Asian studies. Policymakers and general readers interested in women’s issues and well-being will also find the book to be of immense value.
Women in India: Exploring Work, Life and Freedom critically traces the trajectory of these changes while also revealing the persistent blind spots and prejudices within systems that continue to scaffold their subordination and marginalisation.
List of figures, List of tables, List of contributors. Acknowledgements.
Introduction Part I: Literature and culture
1. Crafting écriture féminine:
history, womanhood, and taboo in Bengali womens poetry
2. Women folk songs
as a history of female resistance: a feminist reading of Bhojpuri folk songs
and Malabars Kathu Pattu
3. Engendering Chhau dance of Purulia:
deconstructing the binary
4. The dichotomy of conservatism and freedom:
analysing Amulya Malladis The Mango Season
5. Femvertising: a critical
analysis of the evolution of Indian sanitary napkin advertisements over time
Part II: Body, health, and violence
6. Contesting maternity: reading Zehra
Naqvis The Reluctant Mother: A Story No One Wants to Tell
7. Broken
reproductive health of women sugarcane cutters in Maharashtra, India
8. A
gendered analysis of waist-to-hip ratio and its association with diabetes and
hypertension in India
9. Tracing a way forward: analysing the lives of female
acid-attack survivors in India
10. Beyond violence and victimhood: examining
Anuradha Roys Sleeping on Jupiter Part III: Social movements, employment,
and livelihood
11. The visible invisibility of Dalit Christian women in the
anti-caste movements of Kerala
12. Gendered division of labour and the
environmental burden: a critical analysis of Kiran Nagarkars Jasoda
13.
Stepping into forbidden avenues: a study of biopics on Indian sportswomen
14.
Higher education and womens participation in technology-based industries in
India: a regional outlook
15. Trials within and beyond courtrooms: a study of
gender politics and legal parlance in select Malayalam courtroom films
16.
Impact of organisational gender culture on occupational well-being: has the
glass ceiling shattered? Index.
Seemita Mohanty is Professor of English in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India.
Jalandhar Pradhan is Professor of Economics in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India.
Ipsita Roy is Assistant Professor of Economics in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India.
Debanjali Dutta is a research scholar in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India.
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