Gender, Patriarchy and Violence

Contents: 1. Introduction/Rajesh Gill. 2. Delivering Gender Justice: An Introspection from Legal Perspective/Justice K. Kannan. I: Gender and Patriarchy in Punjab and Haryana: Some Conceptual Issues: 3. Women in Punjabi Culture: A Glimpse through Punjabi Literature/Madhurima. 4. Khaps and Gender in Haryana: An Interface/Nirmala Devi. 5. From Critical Theorizing to Sociological Appreciation: Locating the ‘Ishq’ amidst ‘Ijjazat’, ‘Izzat’ and ‘Lok Biradari’/Rakesh Thakur. 6. Gender, Caste and Politics in Khaps/Amandeep Singh. 7. The ‘Violence of Green Revolution’: Women, Production, Reproduction and Falling Sex Ratio in Punjab/Kumool Abbi. 8. Gendered Spaces and Issues of Safety in Cities/Rajesh Gill. II: Emerging Forms of Gender Violence: A Field View: 9. Gender and Ageing in Punjab and Haryana: Some Issues/Smita Bhutani and Laxmi Devi. 10. Rape and its Aftermath: Lived Experiences of Victims with Indian Law/Sarvar Abbi. 11. Women and Agency: A Story of Struggle for Empowerment/Kanwalpreet Kaur. 12. Education and Women Empowerment: A Case Study of Batala/Rajni Bala. 13. Abandoned Wives of NRI Husbands: A Saga of Victimization/Komal Sharma. 14. Culture and Honour: Reflections from the Field/Puneet Kaur Grewal. 15. Menstruation and its Cultural Connotations in Rural Haryana/Richa Walia. III: Handling Gender Violence: Policies and Statutes: 16. Gender Implications of Interface between Personal and Customary Laws: The Meos of Mewat in Haryana/Abha Chauhan.
17. Gendercide in the Womb! Law Alone Won’t Do/Geeta Joshi. 18. Assessing Land Acquisition Law from Gender Perspective/Sukhwant S. Sidhu. 19. Legal Protection for Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace in India: An Assessment/Reena Chaudhary. 20. Women in Short Stay Homes: A Study at Amritsar, Punjab/Satinder Kaur. IV: Conclusions and Inferences: 21. Gender Question in Punjab and Haryana: Cultural Fixation/Rajesh Gill.

Gender, Patriarchy and Violence brings out the nuances of gender, patriarchy, caste and violence, in the context of culture and politics, with a special focus on Punjab and Haryana. It includes a brilliant exposition depicting the patriarchal biases not merely by ordinary men and women, but even the judges, often resulting in adjudications which are gendered in nature. Tracing the gendered power dynamics from Punjabi literature, the authors go on to highlight the persistence of gendered spaces and choices along with a cultural fixation even in modern urban contexts. The articles cover the conceptual, empirical and policy issues, in the process of change and continuity in gendered societies. This volume is an outcome of the work being undertaken at the Centre for Excellence under the UGC Scheme of Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area. (jacket)