Outsider within

This short story depicts the emotional turmoil of Maitri, a young married mother who finds herself in the crosshairs of caste and patriarchy. In India, caste is an all-pervasive hereditary rigid system of social stratification characterised by endogamy and social barriers sanctioned by customs, laws and religion. Public discourse on patriarchy and caste tends to focus on inter-caste marriages and honour killings, neglecting their effect on married women in India. Legally and religiously, a woman carries her father’s caste, which does not change upon marriage. However, the lived realities of married women in India weave a different story at the intersection of caste, patriarchy and the state. The role of a daughter-in-law is steeped in societal expectations to perform caste-gender roles, caste traditions and caste-feminine labour. Caste-gender roles are performed through learning and performing caste traditions for her conjugal family, and caste-maternal labour is carried out through socially constructed maternal responsibilities that disseminate caste traditions to the children. Thus, a woman’s duties are not merely personal; her caste and gender bind them. So, where do we position a married woman, caste and her identity? As Maitri navigates her role within her family and community, she begins to question not only her place within the system but also her own identity and sense of belonging, caught in the intersection of caste, gender and patriarchy.