Dr Rajni Palriwala is a Professor of Sociology at University of Delhi. She has particular research interests in gender, kinship and marriage, and in feminist theory and politics. She is a member of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for the study on the Women, Work and Violence in South Asia.
In this interview she talks with Jon Gregson about issues relevant to the project and the potential links between work and violence.
In the first part of the interview Rajni talks about that part of her research in India that pertains to violence against women in some manner, and some of the key learning from this research. She talks about the forms violence can take, and points out that in India much of the research or discussion has focused on domestic violence related to dowry, rape and sexual harassment and violence in the streets, and to a lesser extent abuse and violence against children and the gay community. Violence in the workplace has received much less attention.
Another key message that Rajni highlights is that whilst overall the percentage of employed women in India has not increased, women are now present in some visible sectors of paid employment, and a perception that ‘women are taking jobs’ is leading to a backlash. This happens when age old accepted practices are questioned and challenged, and not just women but Dalits and other sections are being targetted.
“I think there is a strong but very complex and paradoxical relationship between the sorts of changes at the economic level; at access to employment for both men and women, and the details of where men and women are losing, where women are gaining, and increased violence”
In the second part of the interview Rajni offers some reflections on the Women, Work and Violence in South Asia project, highlighting some areas where this study when completed can potentially deliver important insights.
Rajni highlights a range of differences in the cultural contexts in Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan, but thinks the internal comparison at the different levels of employment will be very important. Without pre-judging what will emerge from the study findings, she notes that earlier studies have not identified one clear-cut causal relationship between employment and violence, so the study will shed interesting light on different factors with comparisons between the countries and potentially with the India context. Rajni notes that in the three countries there have been very different trajectories of mobilising around issues of violence and empowerment. She goes on to discuss the importance of social movements that are built from the ground, and poses the question:
“Is it possible to actually.., maybe highlight what might be movements that are taking place there [in the three countries] at local levels in specificities, because if knowledge of those movements is also known, other people might also get inspired”
Footnote: The interview was recorded early evening on October 12th 2016, in the gardens of the India International Centre against the backdrop of some rather noisy birdlife, which i hope does not distract too much from the content.