ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on adolescent girls dwelling in a slum of Guwahati city, using the concepts of biopolitics and necropolitics. The chapter argues that it is the biopolitical and necropolitical governmentality of the state that decided the expendability of adolescent girls in a slum of Guwahati city, as evident from the deprivations and neglect that they face on a quotidian basis and that they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative study was materialized via semi-structured interviews with adolescent girls and the mothers of adolescent girls. The findings of this study indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted adolescent girls in the slum under investigation. Three significant aspects came to light – the impact of COVID-19 on education, health, and play and recreation of adolescent girls. Relevant narratives from the interviews conducted with the participants of the study highlight their perspectives and bring out the lived experiences of adolescent girls during the pandemic.
