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.

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.

This book demonstrates that gender is a key component of conflict and peace discourse. The marginalization of women in conflict and peace is all pervasive. Kashmir is a mirror image of this global scenario. Kashmiri women aided the militant movement in significant ways though they did not take part in direct combat. They played key roles to sustain and nourish the movement – as protestors, protectors and motivators, and facilitators. Their experiences of participation in the conflict, however, remain subdued by the dominant masculinist discourse. Kashmiri women are excluded from the militancy discourse as contributors as well as from peacemaking discourse as stakeholders. The study interrogates theory and practice of women's participation in conflict and argues that changed gender-roles during conflict do not necessarily revolutionize socially ascribed norms. The book also examines the experiences of women in sustaining conflict to make a case for their due place in negotiating formal peace.

The Indian state of Kerala has invoked much attention within development and gender debates, specifically in relation to its female capital- an outcome of interrelated historical, cultural and social practices. On the one hand, Kerala has been romanticised, with its citizenry, particularly women, being free of social divisions and uplifted through educational well-being. On the other hand, its realism is stark, particularly in the light of recent social changes. Using a Bourdieusian frame of analysis, Development and Gender Capital in India explores the forces of globalisation and how they are embedded within power structures. Through narratives of women’s lived experiences in the private and public domains, it highlights the ‘anomie of gender’ through complexities and contradictions vis-à-vis processes of modernity, development and globalisation. By demonstrating the limits placed upon gender capital by structures of patriarchy and domination, it argues that discussions about the empowered Malayalee women should move from a mere ‘politics of rhetoric and representation’ to a more embedded ‘politics of transformation’, meaningfully taking into account women’s changing roles and identities. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Development Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology and Sociology.

Research on the subject of women′s migration and conflict is generally organised along the twin axes of gender and conflict, and gender and migration. The reality of women′s conflict-driven migration, however, falls between these two axes. The essays in this volume seek to fill this gap by examining the changes in status, identities and power relations among women and men as they move from a conflict situation at home, to migrant camps, to the post-conflict or peace-building phase when they return home. The contributors use a variety of research methods including ethnography, dialogue, oral history, textual analyses and consciousness-raising techniques.

A close look at the relevance, utility and potential of the UNSC Resolution 1325 for achieving inclusive and sustainable peace in India. This is one of the first crucial discussions on what can be adapted and implemented in the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 1325 on women, peace, security (WPS) and militarization in the Indian context. It examines cases that reveal the expanded context of conflict and insecurity, showing the possible relevance and limitations of the UN Resolution as a tool for social and policy change in India. Being comprehensive in approach, the book links discussions on the WPS resolutions (1325 and its successors) with militarism and explores the relevance of the latter in settings that are not deemed as 'conflict'. It deliberates the result of militarization and engendered conflict in the Indian states and also discusses Indian peacekeeping operations, which are an important part of India's international engagement.