This volume explores sources of security and insecurity in women’s lives, as well as their agency in creating security for themselves and others in different settings within the South Asian context. Written by South Asian women who work as scholars, media persons and activists in the area of security policy, the original essays in this volume address a number of fundamental questions, including: Whether women have a different perspective on security matters. What security means to South Asian women, and whether this differs from men’s perspective. Whether the same perspectives about state and national security animate women. The manner in which both policy and research can better reflect the experiences of women in the region. The contributors focus on specific issues and case studies which yield an understanding of security that is broad and inclusive–Bangladeshi women protecting their homes during the 1971 war; Maldivian women trying to secure themselves in a society where marriage and divorce are both easy; Afghan women grappling with survival issues in Peshawar’s refugee camps; women militants in Sri Lanka; and peace activists on either side of the India-Pakistan border. Among the distinguishing features of this book are the plurality of perspectives it offers, its delineation of new agendas for both empirical research and activism in the area of security, and its examination of the existing and flawed theories of security. Bringing together a large amount of statistical, ethnographic and survey data, it vividly depicts the relationship between women and security in South Asia. It will interest researchers and practitioners of security policy, conflict resolution, politics and women’s studies, as also those engaged in development work.
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