The Production of Domestic Space and Gender during the COVID-19 Crisis: An Auto-ethnographic Account from a North Indian Small Town

The novel coronavirus-induced pandemic has scarcely left any aspect of life untouched. Against the rabid virus, the home was suggested as the site of safety by the governments worldwide. This article by married partners studies the domestic space of their small-town North Indian home, employing an autoethnographic method. The authors ask, How has the COVID crisis shaped their domestic space? With the authority male figure of the susro/father-in-law dwelling at home round the clock during the lockdowns, the domestic space became more gendered. The COVID crisis resulted in reducing the spatial agency of the ‘wife’/daughter-in-law/bhu in the domestic space. However, it was also the time when she strived to make home-outside-home, thus allowing us a revisit to the idea of ‘home’.