Are We Empowered?

The book probes the impact of neoliberal reforms on women’s everyday experience of autonomy at home,in their careers and family life, and in the journeys they make from home to work through public spaces. It focuses on the specific case of Assam, India and, within it,a sub-population of young, middle class, Assamese women. The study draws on in-depth interviews and focus groups, in triangulation with a standardised questionnaire, conducted with a sample of students pursuing higher education in different institutions of Assam. Using the indicators: higher education, careers(paid employment) and the sexual geographies of fear and safety,the research uncovers that incomplete gender transformation are embedded in Assamese society. The narrative analysis reveals contradictory processes underpinning women’s changing status in Assam: on the one hand, women pursuing higher education and paid employment are gaining improved status. On the other hand, women who seek fulfilling jobs and careers outside the home find their freedom of movement restricted in public by sexual harassment,and at home they face continuing pressure to maintain labour-intensive standard of cooking and childcare.