Women and Violence in India: Gender, Oppression and the Politics of Neoliberalism

Description

India's endemic gender-based violence has received increased international scrutiny and provoked waves of domestic protest and activism. In recent years, related studies on India and South Asia have proliferated but their analyses often fail to identify why violence flourishes. Unwilling to simply accept patriarchy as the answer, Tamsin Bradley presents new research examining how different groups in India conceptualise violence against women, revealing beliefs around religion, caste and gender that render aggression socially acceptable. She also analyses the role that neoliberalism, and its corollary consumerism, play in reducing women to commodity objects for barter or exchange. Unpacking varied conservative, liberal and neoliberal ideologies active in India today, Bradley argues that they can converge unexpectedly to normalise violence against women. Due to these complex and overlapping factors, rates of violence against women in India have actually increased despite decades of feminist campaigning. This book will be crucial to those studying Indian gender politics and violence, but also presents new data and methodologies which have practical implications for researchers and policymakers worldwide. Cover Author Bio Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction Part I. Theorising and Contextualising Violence against Women 1. The Politics of Voice: Unravelling the Discourses 2. Interventions, Good (or Not) Intentions and the Reality of the Backlash Part II. Narratives on Rape 3. ‘Two Feet Forward and One Back’: Reflections on the Impact of the Anti-Rape Protests in India 4. The Remaking of Subalterns through Western Newspaper Narratives of Rape in India Part III. The Feminist Movement and its Struggles with the Right 5. The Changing Face of the Feminist Movement in India 6. The Religious Right and Violence against Women Part IV. Harmful Cultural Practices 7. The Persistence and Invisibility of Harmful Cultural Practices 8. Dowry, Marriage and Violence Conclusion: The Impact of Neoliberalism on Violence against Women and Girls Notes Bibliography Index