AI SearchChanging gender relations of Tibetan refugees in India
Call Number: AIT Thesis no.GD-01-10 Material type:
SeriesSeries: Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. GD-01-10Publication details: Bangkok : Asian Institute of Technology, 2001Description: 75 leavesSubject(s): Online resources: Dissertation note: Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001 Summary: This feminist ethnographic and historical study analyzes how gender relations are reproduced, produced and transformed in the context of a refugee population and through its interaction with the majority population of the receiving country. In this context, the interaction of internal and external structures and women's agency that enable and undermine change are identified and discussed. The specific refugee context of Tibetans who sought refuge in India after China occupied their country in 1959 was taken up. They are now a well-established community in India with succeeding generations. There is considerable change in gender relations to the advantage of women. In Tibet, the female agents strategically acquiesced in their restricted space in the domestic sphere - their role as legitimized by Buddhism that describes a male-created and women-constraining structure. After the arrival in exile, traditional gender relations were renegotiated. Because men lost access to structural resources, they could assert less power over women. Thus, in comparison to independent Tibet, gender relations became more equal. With the establishment of the Tibetan settlements, a reproduction of gender relations was anticipated. However, the Tibetan education system - with the two-fold means of preserving traditional culture and providing modern Indian education - acted as the main enabling structural resource to renegotiate gender relations to the advantage of women. At present, women are - seemingly unnoticed - overrepresented on higher educational levels. The continuous change set the parameters for increasing employment opportunities for women and their ability to take over jobs that were formerly dominated by men. However, as gender relations are subject to constant negotiation, men will anticipate reasserting their power in the future.
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Asian Institute of Technology Library AIT Publications | AIT Thesis no.GD-01-10 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 2 | Available | 30050120672323 | |||||||||||||
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Asian Institute of Technology Library Archives | AIT Thesis no.GD-01-10 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 30050120228662 | |||||||||||||
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Asian Institute of Technology Library Archives | AIT Thesis no.GD-01-10 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 3 | Available | 30050120243554 |
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development
Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001
This feminist ethnographic and historical study analyzes how gender relations are reproduced, produced and transformed in the context of a refugee population and through its interaction with the majority population of the receiving country. In this context, the interaction of internal and external structures and women's agency that enable and undermine change are identified and discussed. The specific refugee context of Tibetans who sought refuge in India after China occupied their country in 1959 was taken up. They are now a well-established community in India with succeeding generations. There is considerable change in gender relations to the advantage of women. In Tibet, the female agents strategically acquiesced in their restricted space in the domestic sphere - their role as legitimized by Buddhism that describes a male-created and women-constraining structure. After the arrival in exile, traditional gender relations were renegotiated. Because men lost access to structural resources, they could assert less power over women. Thus, in comparison to independent Tibet, gender relations became more equal. With the establishment of the Tibetan settlements, a reproduction of gender relations was anticipated. However, the Tibetan education system - with the two-fold means of preserving traditional culture and providing modern Indian education - acted as the main enabling structural resource to renegotiate gender relations to the advantage of women. At present, women are - seemingly unnoticed - overrepresented on higher educational levels. The continuous change set the parameters for increasing employment opportunities for women and their ability to take over jobs that were formerly dominated by men. However, as gender relations are subject to constant negotiation, men will anticipate reasserting their power in the future.
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