ABSTRACT
Mobility of women from Bangladesh to India in pursuit of aspirations for a better life, not only challenged the political sovereignty of the two states but also the socio-cultural norms of the family, the community, and the neighbourhood. The narratives of the women showcase the social extension of political borders and vice versa. This chapter discusses the concept of “honour” and how they perceived their act of crossing the political border and their subsequent incarceration as having a negative impact not only on their own sense of honour, but also on the honour of their families, communities, and villages. This, in turn, brings up the issue of social borders, the transgression of which by their acts, they were much more conscious of. They often perceived their incarceration in the Kolkata prisons to be a result of the bhool (mistake) they had done by crossing social borders. This chapter delineates how they negotiated with the notion of honour and manoeuvered themselves and their bodies in terms of their use of prison space, dress codes, workplace, and mobility.
