ABSTRACT

The region of South Asia represents a dynamic context for the study of gender and women. The region has seen the emergence of complex and varying forms of women’s movements. Grassroots women’s movements in the region’s major nation-states of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have emerged around a wide array of social, cultural and economic issues. This has ranged from women’s participation in social movements, mobilization against war, activism to promote women’s rights and socio-economic justice. Four of the major countries in the region (Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka) have had elected female prime ministers. Meanwhile, differences of religion, ethnicity, caste, class and language have meant that women’s identities and experiences have been shaped in complex and varying ways both within and across nationstates in the region. This diversity has produced a rich scholarship on gender in the region. The Handbook of Gender in South Asia will provide a broad overview which both covers the central contributions that have defi ned this fi eld and captures some of the innovative and emerging paradigms that are shaping the future of the fi eld.