Challenging Gender Norms in a Conventional Society: An Analysis of Women Headed Household in a Patriarchal Context
Challenging Gender Norms in a Conventional Society: An Analysis of Women Headed Household in a Patriarchal Context
Thursday, 10 July 2025: 14:00
Location: FSE001 (Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE))
Oral Presentation
The present paper traces the journey of Kanjar women during different periods of history. Kanjars are a traditional dancing
and singing community and one of the most ancient tribes in India. This study will begin with a schematic account of the
pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial history of the Kanjar community. This broad-brush account will necessarily be insufficient, as one does not have either the expertise or historical material to write a comprehensive history of the community. The paper will use official, academic, and popular sources about this past. Gaps and contested versions are therefore a part of this story. This is particularly important, because community members have their own popular history of their past. Through time, the Kanjar community has lived on the periphery of society, earning a livelihood through patronage of their entertaining arts. In the last three decades, Kanjar women have discovered a new source of income through the dance bars of Mumbai, which has transformed their lives completely. To conclude, the paper throws light on various historical junctures that shook the lives of Kanjar women. It further highlights the manner in which they fought for survival and exercised their power at least expected social sites. The central research method used is multisited ethnography due to the peripatetic nature of Kanjars work.
and singing community and one of the most ancient tribes in India. This study will begin with a schematic account of the
pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial history of the Kanjar community. This broad-brush account will necessarily be insufficient, as one does not have either the expertise or historical material to write a comprehensive history of the community. The paper will use official, academic, and popular sources about this past. Gaps and contested versions are therefore a part of this story. This is particularly important, because community members have their own popular history of their past. Through time, the Kanjar community has lived on the periphery of society, earning a livelihood through patronage of their entertaining arts. In the last three decades, Kanjar women have discovered a new source of income through the dance bars of Mumbai, which has transformed their lives completely. To conclude, the paper throws light on various historical junctures that shook the lives of Kanjar women. It further highlights the manner in which they fought for survival and exercised their power at least expected social sites. The central research method used is multisited ethnography due to the peripatetic nature of Kanjars work.