Lifeworlds of female bonded labourers among the Sahariya tribe

ABSTRACT

Debt bondage is one of the most widespread forms of unfree labour today. The majority of the existing studies focuses on bonded labourers as a homogenous group rather than examining group dynamics within the population of bonded labourers. This paper tries to overcome these limitations and examines experiences of women bonded labourers from the Sahariya tribe in India. It argues that gendered norms intersect with other patterns of structural violence creating a situation where women are doubly exploited but also opening new (limited) agentic spaces for these women.

KEYWORDS:

• Bonded labour
• gender
• polyphony
• India

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund.

Notes on contributors

Elena Samonova

Elena Samonova received her PhD from the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her research interests lie in the area of human rights, bonded labour, gender inequality, and agency of marginalised groups. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University College Dublin.