Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan Weavers

Abstract

Historically, women have run the villages in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India, while men sought employment in the more industrialized nearby states, in the absence of local industry or commercial farming. Women have long been the backbone of the rural society and economy of Uttarakhand. They have also been the primary practitioners of crafts and builders of community in the hills. Although some research has documented the role of women in Uttarakhand in the creation and sustenance of livelihoods in difficult geographies, no such research has been undertaken in the craft sector specifically, leaving a lacuna in our understanding of traditional socioeconomic structures in the hills that have been sustained for many centuries. This paper is an exploratory study into the gendered identities of the women weavers in the villages of Uttarakhand and how the practice of this craft has created expressions of gender identity in craft work and the community, at a local, stakeholder and village network level. We document a case study in an organized craft cluster in the state of Uttarakhand in India using ethnographic methods. We used a narrative inquiry methodology to gather insights in this remote craft cluster. Narrative inquiry helped us explore the lived experiences of these crafts- women, exploring their subjectivity and processes of sense-making. We gained deep insights into the construction of beliefs, notions, and community perceptions among them that contribute to their sense of self and social identity.

Keywords

• gendered identity
• women weavers
• himalayan study