Becky Blab

Govind from Sambhali Trust Jodhpur, which works to empower Dalit women and girls, shares some snippets of his meeting with the maharani:

“Women’s rights are tied to matters of family influence, education, cultural identity, and individualism” she responded, “I would like to see all Indian women achieve their goals and aspirations and I feel that proper family guidance influences this greatly.”

Hm, so women’s rights depend on family guidance?

Clearly, the Maharani is personally invested in these issues but when I made mention of the word “development” she quickly balked. Development implied a loss of cultural identity. As she explained, pride in one’s culture coupled with infrastructure building creates an atmosphere in which women are both rooted in their cultural identity and at the same time enabled to enjoy the same financial, political, and economic independence and stability. The Maharani concluded our conversation by speaking confidently and optimistically about the future of Jodhpur’s women, saying that every effort that gives women more of a voice was a step in the right direction.

But what about when the subjugation of women is so central to the ‘cultural identity’? Does development imply a loss of cultural identity?