Being Women : Conversations

Abstract

This case is based on real life conversations about four working women who are in various leadership positions. These conversations reflect the experiences of these four women and the attitudes of the people around them. Two of the women in the conversations are Sarpanchs from two villages in Central India. The other two women are city based professionals and researchers. In the case of one Sarpanch, the entire work is done by her husband Sarpanchpati, whereas the remaining three women are professionally successful pursuing their duties and roles capably. The case discusses issues of women’s empowerment, gender socialisation, patriarchy, colonisation, decolonial feminisms. It critically examines the interplay between capability, empowerment, gender stereotypes and tradition, as well as the effects of the colonial encounter on the emergence of particular gender stereotypes and “tradition”.