A discussion of Indian women's status in society focusing on the familial domain and the external forces that impinge on it. The seven essays were written to honor the work of sociologist M.N. Srinivas and reflect many of his views regarding the changing roles of women in a developing society. Among the topics discussed in the collection are those involving the survival and nurturance of the girl child, her access to education and participation in productive activity, and her right to natal property. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Includes songs by Buddhist nuns, testimonies of medieval rebel poets and court historians, and the voices of more than 60 other writers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the diverse selections are a rare early essay by an untouchable woman; an account by the first feminist historian; and a selection from the first novel written in English by an Indian woman.

This book examines women and society in India during 600–1200 CE through epigraphs. It offers an analysis of inscriptional data at the pan-India level to explore key themes, including early marriage, deprivation of girls from education, property rights, widowhood and satī, as well as women in administration and positions of power. The volume also traces gender roles and agency across religions such as Hinduism and Jainism, the major religions of the times, and sheds light on a range of political, social, economic and religious dimensions. A panoramic critique of contradictions and conformity between inscriptional and literary sources, including pieces of archaeological evidence against traditional views on patriarchal stereotypes, as also regional parities and disparities, the book presents an original understanding of women’s status in early medieval South Asian society. Rich in archival material, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of ancient and medieval Indian history, social history, archaeology, epigraphy, sociology, cultural studies, gender studies and South Asian studies.

This book analyses the impact that prolonged socio-political conflict in India has had on political and social spaces for women. Focusing in particular on Assam in the North East of India, it looks at how the conflict can be restricting, and yet can also have the potential to expand these spaces for women owing to the collapsing of boundaries of gender roles, thereby creating niche areas that may be leveraged for socio-political transformation. Based on empirical material collected from in-depth interviews with individuals on both sides of the conflict, the book locates the analysis in both a legal and political context. It examines the causes, dynamics and impact of the ethno-political conflicts in Assam, as well as the efficacy and outcomes of ‘capacity building’ programmes aimed at rehabilitating the surrendered militants as well as assisting affected women. The book goes on to look at the role played by civil society, especially the Mahila Shanti Sena (Women Peace Corp), towards conflict transformation. It highlights the preventive, mitigative and adaptive measures taken by the women and their role as agents of peace in the volatile zones of North East India. Analysing the changing role of women in conflict situations, as well as the legal measures and regulatory mechanisms in place for women in vulnerable pockets of India, this book is a useful contribution to Gender Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, and South Asian Politics.

Indian society has undergone many rapid changes in the relatively short time that has elapsed since the country gained independence. These changes have created their own pulls and pressures and the one segment of Indian society that has, perhaps, been most affected is women. While the rest of the world is changing, they are nearly always required to conform to age-old and traditional images and stereotypes. This absorbing collection of twenty-one articles, some previously published and others especially commissioned, examines and challenges the various roles ascribed to women in the context of a rapidly changing society. There are two concerns that bind the essays together--first, that the reality of women's subordination can best be understood by traditional and mythical portrayals of women; and, second, that this understanding must be balanced by a sensitivity to the "immediate" context (for example, the present-day violence against a woman's person and personhood). The contributors to this volume belong to a wide variety of backgrounds ranging from activists to academics. Between them, they provide perspectives from the grassroots and also the disciplines of anthropology, psychology and sociology. The book is divided into five sections which cover (a) contextual, analytical and theoretical views of women; (b) empirical research organized around existing stereotypes about men and women; (c) an exploration of common forms of violence against women; (d) the way women are portrayed in diverse media (e.g., films and television); and (e) a description of the growing efforts to sensitize people to the inequalities between the sexes. Providing as it does a coherent analysis and fresh perspective concerning the issues and problems that affect women's lives in India, this book will appeal to all those who wish to know about and understand the position of women in Indian society. "This book is especially useful for getting one's bearings in the symbolic dimension of India's women. . . commendable for it critically spotlights, as no other collection has, a range of topics and problems important in Indian feminism. For all libraries with South Asia holdings." --Religious Studies Review "Any student looking for an introductory book on the issues confronting Indian women will find [this book] both comprehensive and insightful....[It] provides an important contribution to the development of alternative theoretical perspecitves in feminism." --Amita Handa, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Samita Sen's history of labouring women in Calcutta in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries considers how social constructions of gender shaped their lives. Dr Sen demonstrates how - in contrast to the experience of their male counterparts - the long-term trends in the Indian economy devalued women's labour, establishing patterns of urban migration and changing gender equations within the family. She relates these trends to the spread of dowry, enforced widowhood and child marriage. The book provides insight into the lives of poor urban women who were often perceived as prostitutes or social pariahs. Even trade unions refused to address their problems and they remained on the margins of organized political protest. The study will make a signficant contribution to the understanding of the social and economic history of colonial India and to notions of gender construction.