Gender and Violence in South Asia

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

This panel brings together junior scholars conducting path-breaking research on the intersection of gender and violence in South Asia. The studies implement a diverse set of qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand the causes and consequences of myriad forms of conflict–e.g., rebel and intimate partner violence–with special attention paid to the central role of gender.

The studies included in this panel examine diverse contexts across India and Nepal and provide important theoretical and substantive insights into gender and conflict. Studying the case of India, Goyal examines how drought occurrence affects norms regarding domestic violence and, in particular, how such environmental disruptions can affect intergenerational transmission of norms regarding domestic violence. Prasai investigates how women’s wings in rebel organizations create new networks among women and mobilize them as combatants, testing her novel theory by investigating patterns of women’s mobilization during different stages of the People’s War in Nepal. Sen, drawing on evidence from insurgencies in India and Nepal, examines how intersecting systems of power like gender, race, and colonialism govern violence and peace during ongoing rebellions. Stommes draws upon novel data from the Indian state of West Bengal to study whether and how women’s representation in local and state government affects armed political parties’ violence in the state.

Two discussants will offer comments: Professors Zachariah Mampilly and Soledad Artiz Prillaman have made important contributions to our understanding of key issues concerning political violence, gender, and South Asia. Professor Aditi Malik, who has produced cutting-edge research on gender and political violence in India and Nepal, will serve as Chair.

Sub Unit

• Division 31: Women , Gender and Politics Research

Individual Presentations

• Environmental Disruption of Gender-Based Violence - Tanushree Goyal, Princeton University

• Gendering Mobilization: Women’s Participation in the People’s War in Nepal - Apekshya Prasai

• Gender, Race, and Coloniality in Governing Political Violence - Rumela Sen, Columbia University

• The Effect of Women’s Representation in Government on Armed Party Violence - Drew Stommes, Yale University

• Protesting with Abandon: Exploring the Drivers of Women's Protests in Pakistan - Amira Jadoon, Clemson University; Aiysha Varraich, University of Gothenburg; Sibongile Abigail Majola, Clemson University

Chair

• Aditi Malik College of the Holy Cross

Discussants

• Zachariah Cherian Mampilly Baruch College, CUNY

• Soledad Artiz Prillaman Stanford University