Feminist Review

, Volume 91, Issue 1, pp 113–134 | Cite as

the conditions of politics: low-caste women's political agency in contemporary north Indian society

  • Manuela Ciotti
Article
First Online:

Abstract

In this article I analyse the structural and cultural conditions of low-caste women's political agency in urban north India. Whereas in Western feminist political theory, the sexual division of labour is considered to be a key constraint for women's political participation, I show how this has a secondary relevance in the context analysed. I argue that issues concerning the division of labour are intertwined with and subject to those of male consent and support for women's activities. I illustrate how it is often the supposedly ‘oppressive’ household boundaries rather than alternative outer spaces that, under a series of enabling circumstances, initiate women's political activities. Against this backdrop, I show how Indian women activists’ political agency is shaped by men's role, and how agency's relational nature is embedded in women's lifecycles, everyday practices and cultural expectations; in essence, in overall gendered agency. Comparative analyses between Western and non-Western models of political participation and discourse have only just begun. In this respect, I contribute to this nascent field in the following directions: not only do the arguments I present in this article challenge the individualistic Western subject of political action, but they also complicate the idea of the resulting empowerment as a culturally constructed process whose understanding arises from the dialectics between insider and outsider values.

Keywords

low-caste women political participation agency comparative politics household gender relations north Indian society 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

Earlier versions of this article were presented at the 33rd Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison in October 2004, and in New Delhi at a workshop on ‘Dalit women in politics: agency, careers and trends’, Centre for Social Research (CSR), in April 2005. I thank the audiences for their comments, and Uma Chakravarti for discussing my paper at the latter workshop. I am very grateful to Patricia Jeffery who carefully commented on an earlier draft of this article and to two Feminist Review anonymous reviewers. I remain solely responsible for the material presented in this article. I am greatly indebted to all the women who participated in this study whose help, hospitality and patience made this project possible. Fieldwork was conducted under the tenure of a Nuffield Foundation New Career Development Fellowship (2003–2006). I am extremely grateful to the Foundation for the generous funding provided. A Residential Fellowship from the Swiss Foundation Centro Incontri Umani during the year 2007–2008 allowed me to complete the final version of this article and I thank the Centro for this precious opportunity.

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© Feminist Review Ltd 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Manuela Ciotti

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