Anvi Nagpal, “Beyond Victimhood: A Pluralistic Examination of Rohingya Women’s Acts of Resilience and Agency in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh”
Mainstream Western feminist frameworks are often critiqued for interpreting gender-based oppression through a Western-centric lens, creating a hegemonic view of gender injustice that risks portraying women globally as powerless. Such perspectives frequently overlook nuanced forms of agency and resilience evident in non-Western contexts. In response, this paper presents a counter-narrative grounded in a pluralistic paradigm, building on current scholarly discourse and my position as a South Asian graduate scholar. It aims to enrich the transnational feminist dialogue by challenging reductive frameworks and highlighting diverse expressions of resilience.
Focusing on the experiences of Rohingya women within Bangladesh's Kutupalong Refugee Camp, this study examines their daily practices of reclaiming agency amidst ethnic persecution, displacement, and gender-based violence within a patriarchal social structure. It addresses the objectification of Rohingya women’s bodies as instruments of control within the political aims of ethnic cleansing, documenting patterns of sexual violence perpetrated by the Myanmar military to diminish reproductive capacity and intensify oppression.
The research also explores how various forms of inequality are embedded spatially within the camp, revealing how the camp’s physical layout reflects and reinforces social hierarchies. Architectural drawings serve as valuable instruments in this analysis, enabling a visual examination of the camp’s socio-spatial politics and an overview of its current physical conditions. Despite these challenges, Rohingya women display resilience through acts of agency, such as income generation through small-scale vocational work, participation in camp politics, and asserting autonomy within the camp’s social structure.
This study reframes Rohingya women as active agents, moving beyond portrayals of passive victimhood to emphasise their self-devised strategies of resistance. It argues that transnational feminist truths are inherently nuanced and contextually grounded, contrasting with the broad, often oversimplified claims of dominant Western narratives. By highlighting diverse lived experiences rather than imposing a singular, universal perspective, these truths are made more robust and tangible. Ultimately, this paper underscores the importance of recognizing and amplifying the emancipatory actions of marginalised women, thereby advancing a more inclusive and representative understanding of global gender justice.
Zainab Najeeb, “بحران پخېر راغلې (Welcome Crisis) – Engendering Displacement in Northwestern Pakistan”
This research investigates the changing social and political landscapes experienced by displaced Pashtun women from Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to Peshawar following the 2014 military Operation Zarb-e-Azb. In the absence of male family members due to the Taliban insurgency, these women navigate a complex interplay of colonial-era laws like the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), traditional tribal councils (Jirgas) under the cultural code of conduct Pashtunwali, and the postcolonial state's limited recognition of their citizenship rights. This study aims to examine how forced displacement disrupts entrenched gender norms, particularly by probing the growing tensions between cultural identity and legal status, while reconceptualizing crisis as an ongoing lived experience rather than a temporary rupture (Roitman 2014, Masco 2017).
Through ethnographic research at the University of Peshawar, this project focuses on how Pashtun female internally displaced persons (IDPs) are actively reshaping their social worlds by (a) choosing to remain in Peshawar rather than repatriate to FATA, (b) pursuing higher education at the university, and (c) engaging in political activism on ground and via social media. This research highlights how Pashtun women, often framed as passive victims (Mohanty 1988), are utilizing their education and political engagement to assert agency and challenge state narratives of crisis in the frontier. By focusing on Pashtun women’s practices of forming “newer modes of attachment” (Khan 2010) after becoming displaced, this study problematizes the role of the state in framing the frontier as the site of “chronic crisis.” This research aims to broaden understandings of how women navigate displacement, revealing that their responses are not merely reactive but strategic, as they engage in both survival and resistance within a state-controlled framework of crisis.
Krishna Payeng, “Crisis and Redemption: Unveiling Healing and Resilience Amidst Emasculation in Kashmiri Pandit Narratives”
Crisis(es) profoundly affects human lives, destabilizing individuals and communities socially, economically, politically, and culturally. This paper examines the gendered responses of the Kashmiri Pandit community following the 1990s forced displacement, focusing on the theme of emasculation. The forced migration stripped men of their conventional rights, control, authority, and agency, disrupting their roles within familial and social structures and eroding their sense of belonging tied to their homeland.
In the narratives analyzed, this loss of masculinity is encapsulated in the concept of “emasculation in motion,” meaning men attempting to escape their painful reality through constant movement. This dynamic exemplifies how the theme of emasculation becomes pervasive in their lived experiences. Conversely, women emerge as protectors and caregivers motivated by historical, religious, and cultural factors. They extend their support beyond the confines of family, ensuring both emotional and physical security for their community in times of crisis(es). I argue that post-displacement, Kashmiri Pandit women rely on a reciprocal duality of “caregiving” and “healing.” By connecting with their community through story-telling and decision-making, women, in the meantime, process their trauma and attain self-healing. This interplay highlights the integration of individual and communal healing, fostering hope and resilience in crisis(es). In contrast, men exhibit a duality of “withdrawal” and “adaptation,” often finding themselves conflicted as they navigate their internalized emasculation.
Through writing about their past experiences, the Kashmiri Pandit community seeks social justice and envisions a future that deepens understanding of displacement. This evolving narrative highlights the fluidity of identity, redefined stories, and strengthened solidarity amidst crisis(es). By exploring these gendered responses, this paper enhances our understanding of how marginalized voices navigate crisis(es), envision alternative futures, and create spaces for resilience and healing within their communities.
