Social Security and Aged Widows in Conflict Situations: Social Transformation at the International Border in Northwest India

Abstract

Purpose – This chapter attempts to understand the impact of war, conflict, and forced migration in the northwest border of India on the security of the aged widows and the ways they respond, construct, and negotiate their lives.

Methodology – The study is based on group discussions in villages and camps and narratives of seven widowed women who were asked to tell the story of their lives.

Findings – The chapter highlights that widowed women's agency was exercised in a significant manner during the situations of war, conflict, and forced migration, but it was largely circumscribed by the intersection of patriarchy, rural structure, customary practices, and inheritance rights. New norms and new roles were taken up in the migrant camps, but village life with its traditional extended family structure was still considered ideal for the social security it provided. However, aged widows are no longer treated with respect and care, suggesting a decline in the traditional joint family system and of the dominant position of elderly widowed women in it. This was accelerated in conflict situations.

Research implications – The research calls for focusing on women's agency and moving beyond the victimhood paradigm in women's studies. It highlights the significance of individual interpretations of events and the relevance of qualitative methods such as life stories.

Value of chapter – The chapter is valuable for its work on themes such as rural life, gender, and conflict studies and for policy makers to initiate plans dealing with the problems of forced migrants and of the security of the older people, particularly widows.

Citation

Chauhan, A. (2011), "Social Security and Aged Widows in Conflict Situations: Social Transformation at the International Border in Northwest India", Ngan-Ling Chow, E., Texler Segal, M. and Tan, L. (Ed.) Analyzing Gender, Intersectionality, and Multiple Inequalities: Global, Transnational and Local Contexts (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 15), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 235-261. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-2126(2011)0000015016