Congratulations to Sreemoyee Majumder on her successful thesis proposal defence!
“My proposed doctoral research titled Uncovering Women’s Agency Navigating India’s Legally Plural System as a Domestic Violence Survivor investigates the interplay between legal pluralism, domestic violence, and women’s agency in postcolonial India. Following India’s independence, a pluralistic system of personal laws, derived from religious practices, was adopted for governing family matters. Feminists have criticized this legal framework, arguing that it contradicts the constitutional right to legal equality, particularly concerning women’s rights. The research addresses a gap in the literature by examining how women survivors of domestic violence navigate this legally plural structure, which includes state and non-state actors such as women’s organizations, local religious tribunals, and community-based groups like Nari Adalats (women’s courts). The project challenges the conventional, linear understanding of women’s agency that often disregards the complex cultural, historical, and socio-political factors influencing their experiences. The research focuses on the survivors’ embodied experiences and their responses to gender-based domestic violence (GBDV) within this pluralistic legal context. The study is set in Kolkata, West Bengal, a region with a significant political shift since 2011, where caste and religion have become increasingly prominent identity markers. This shift provides a unique opportunity to explore how these intersecting identities influence domestic violence and women’s agency. Spanning the period from 2011 to the present, this intersectional study aims to contribute to postcolonial feminist scholarship by offering alternative perspectives on women’s agency, challenging the dominant narratives rooted in Global North frameworks, and providing a more nuanced understanding of women’s rights and experiences in legally pluralistic societies. Now that my proposal defense is complete, with the support of my supervisor, Dr. Gopika Solanki, and my immensely helpful committee, I am super excited to start my fieldwork!”