Sociologist At Cambridge Studies Hurdles Faced By Aspiring Indian Women
New Delhi:
Asiya Islam, a sociologist at Cambridge University, when at Women's College, Aligarh Muslim University fought restrictions based on gender and inspired by her experiences decided to specialize in Gender Studies. Her story is a part of the This Cambridge Life series. Asiya was selected as Gates Cambridge Scholar and two years into her PhD, she is still as passionate about her area of study as she was in the beginning. As a Sociologist, she is studying the lower-middle-class women's employment and the implications these jobs have for changing gender and class relations in urban India. She believes that these are co-related.
Asiya was brought up an atheist in Aligarh, a small University town in Northern India and went to a Catholic School. As early as her school days she became aware of the chances one gets in life just by the virtue of being born in a certain set up and family.
She was born in a family of academics and would observe her parents and grandparents debate over any and every topic under the sun. As a result, she grew up to question everything around her. In her own words she is what "the economist Amartya Sen describes as 'The Argumentative Indian'".
After her formal education in India, Asiya went on to do a Master's in Gender, Media and Culture at the London School of Economics (LSE). After her course was over, she joined the LSE's equality and diversity team and worked on policies and communications for five years.
She then applied for PhD at Cambridge and was selected the Gates Cambridge Scholar. Asiya is spending her second year of PhD in New Delhi, a place she had never been to when she was in India.
As part of her research, she is spending most of her time with women who come from low income neighborhoods of South Delhi. She iterates that so far academic work in the area of gender, family and employment has so far been driven by statistics and surveys which leave no scope to capture the complexities of women's own narratives and experiences.
In her interactions with these young women who work at cafes, malls and offices, Asiya has realized that despite the promises by privatization of Indian economy, the opportunities available to these women are limited, exploitative and restricting. While the jobs these women hold may be described as 'regular employment' in surveys, these women are frequently left unemployed and with difficulty in finding a new job.
Asiya also found out that the income these women earn is mostly used for family expenses although they sometimes save money for personal 'luxuries'. Asiya concludes that just by being in the workforce, these women have carved out a space for themselves.
As an academic and a sociologist, Asiya's research draws attention to the gender gap and limited opportunities available to lower income group women in India. According to a March 2017 report by World Bank, there are only 27% Indian women in the workforce which is the lowest among BRICS nations. The study also found out that the major reason for women to enter workforce is economic stability at home. The study also found that often women choose to drop out of work after marriage.
Resonating with these findings, Asiya's research seeks to incorporate not just statistics but personal struggles of women working in India.
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Asiya was brought up an atheist in Aligarh, a small University town in Northern India and went to a Catholic School. As early as her school days she became aware of the chances one gets in life just by the virtue of being born in a certain set up and family.
She was born in a family of academics and would observe her parents and grandparents debate over any and every topic under the sun. As a result, she grew up to question everything around her. In her own words she is what "the economist Amartya Sen describes as 'The Argumentative Indian'".
After her formal education in India, Asiya went on to do a Master's in Gender, Media and Culture at the London School of Economics (LSE). After her course was over, she joined the LSE's equality and diversity team and worked on policies and communications for five years.
She then applied for PhD at Cambridge and was selected the Gates Cambridge Scholar. Asiya is spending her second year of PhD in New Delhi, a place she had never been to when she was in India.
As part of her research, she is spending most of her time with women who come from low income neighborhoods of South Delhi. She iterates that so far academic work in the area of gender, family and employment has so far been driven by statistics and surveys which leave no scope to capture the complexities of women's own narratives and experiences.
In her interactions with these young women who work at cafes, malls and offices, Asiya has realized that despite the promises by privatization of Indian economy, the opportunities available to these women are limited, exploitative and restricting. While the jobs these women hold may be described as 'regular employment' in surveys, these women are frequently left unemployed and with difficulty in finding a new job.
Asiya also found out that the income these women earn is mostly used for family expenses although they sometimes save money for personal 'luxuries'. Asiya concludes that just by being in the workforce, these women have carved out a space for themselves.
As an academic and a sociologist, Asiya's research draws attention to the gender gap and limited opportunities available to lower income group women in India. According to a March 2017 report by World Bank, there are only 27% Indian women in the workforce which is the lowest among BRICS nations. The study also found out that the major reason for women to enter workforce is economic stability at home. The study also found that often women choose to drop out of work after marriage.
Resonating with these findings, Asiya's research seeks to incorporate not just statistics but personal struggles of women working in India.
Click here for more Education News
