ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the epistemological and methodological approaches of the research. Bangladeshi women prisoners are the other of the “other”, that is, their position in India is more thwarted than that of Indian women whose membership in society is considered to be secondary despite constitutional and legal measures/assurances to the contrary. It was, therefore, considered important to view the state and borders from their standpoint. The feminist standpoint theory, which assumes that since women are on the margins of the processes of knowledge production they are able to have a more objective and a better view of the way power is organised in various hierarchies, was considered the most appropriate methodology for basing this kind of research. Further, the chapter discusses the issues considered and challenges faced while engaging with and representing the narratives of the Bangladeshi women to be able to look at borders and the criminalisation of cross-border mobility from a standpoint, which is not implicated in power relations as much as those higher up in the hierarchy are.
