ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with women’s agency constrained within the institutional structures of education, work force participation, paid work, gender violence, and political participation. It examines these dynamics at work using a single village as a case study. The chapter summarizes the complex journey of women’s empowerment. Women’s empowerment is connected to their work and is more valuable with employment that is regular and has social benefits. One of the key factors identified in earlier research around women’s workforce participation is the support of the family. One of the major narratives encountered in MS was the passion, the junoon with which women worked in MS. Violence was a central concern for MS and sangha women right from the beginning. The process of collectivisation meant that women were encouraged to talk about the most pertinent issues of their lives. More often than not, these conversations invariably turned to domestic violence.
