Renegotiating boundaries: Self perception and public debate on globalization and gender equality in India

Global trends towards market economics have signalled the ascendancy of neo-liberal paradigms. Their impact in the Asia-Pacific region has brought about significant social and cultural change. For women the consequences of market liberalization and deeper integration into the global economy are often complex and contradictory. Developing countries such as India have pursued policies of economic liberalization over the last decade. Based on fieldwork among lower middle class families in West Bengal, India, this paper examines the apparent paradox between women's conceptions of empowerment and the reality of the overall negative impact of structural adjustment policies on women. I focus on the worldviews of Bengali lower middle classes concerning gender equality, which are mediated by both public debate and the globalized popular media. The analysis pays particular attention to the confluence of the pro-women consumer discourses of the global market with earlier developmentalist notions of the public role of women. By exploring the ways in which women have been recast within the debates on equality and empowerment, my paper considers the implication of these narratives in enabling women to expand their opportunities and disrupt hegemonic codes.