Women’s Lived Experiences of Im/Mobility in the Sundarbans Delta India: A Gendered Intersectional Analysis

The Sundarbans Delta in India is a climate-stressed region where women use mobility as a livelihood diversification strategy. In contrast, others are left behind to cope with climate-related risks in fragile locations. This qualitative research paper provides a granular understanding of women’s lived experiences and their struggle to deal with climate-related disasters, such as cyclones, floods, and coastal erosion, by considering how the embodied intersections of gender, age, ability, motherhood and marital status shape mobility and immobility in the delta. The paper relates to the idea that women reside at the intersections of multiple identities, which are fluid depending on the spaces they occupy. Therefore, drawing from the theories of gendered intersectionality from a feminist political ecology framework, it challenges the notion that all women occupy the same position in the patriarchal order and experience the same oppression and looks at the multiple axes of differences that intersect historically, politically and socially specific contexts to determine the degree of powerlessness in society. The findings suggest that only able-bodied young women become adaptive agents and undertake circular/seasonal/temporary labour migration to deal with the impact of stressors. In contrast, vulnerable women, such as those with children, disabled women, and elderly women, are typically unable to mobilise the human capital necessary to enter the virtuous flow of skilled labour migration. Additionally, even women who undertake migratory labour journeys are exposed to numerous additional risks while trying to support their families back home in dealing with stressors. The findings provide a nuanced understanding of power relations and the challenges faced by women, which is crucial in understanding the complex nexus between gender, climate change and immobility and underscores the need for gender transformative policies to address root causes of climate-related mobility and immobility in the Sundarbans.