Abstract
Lexi Stadlen, Nine Paths: A Year in the Life of an Village. Penguin Random House, 2022, 300 pp., ₹493. ISBN: 9781473584549
Introduction
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 is a planned agenda chartered for the sustainable development of the member nations by the year 2030 through the dimensions of economic, social and environmental development. The set of 17 goals and 169 targets aims at stimulating actions in the areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet. The assessment undertaken by UN Women on SDG 5–Gender equality reveals that the progress that has been made to date on attaining gender equality is insufficient and that the distance to being equal is long and the time available is short (Dhar, 2018). The world is currently not on the right track to attain gender equality by 2030. Gender, women, empowerment and feminization of poverty studies are important in this context.
The book under review, nine paths: a year in the life of an Indian village, written by Lexi Stadlen, highlights the lives of nine women in the north-eastern village of India. The author is an anthropologist and an ethnographer, holding a PhD in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics. The book is the outcome of her research work, spending 16 months in the island village of north-east India. It is a collection of the stories of nine women from different age groups and family circumstances who belong to the Muslim community, which is regarded as a minority community in the country. Their experiences, hardships, beliefs and emotions are depicted in the book as a representation of the true state of many lives in the interiors of this nation. The book, even though written by an anthropologist, is not regarded as a conventional work of anthropology, and it has tried to depict the lives of the people at the grass root level in realistic terms without portraying them in theoretical terms. The author visited more than a hundred households, spent time with the local tea stalls, imams at the mosques, tailors, doctors and madrasa schools, which are closely associated with village life. Gradually, nine women were subjected to the study by the author, entering deeper into their lives. The author observed, followed, listened and watched them and collected more extensive information through interviews, recordings, focus group studies, geological maps, etc.
The book begins with a description of the characters, with a family tree and a geographical map of the village under study. The nine women under study—Kalima, Roshni, Maryam, Tabina, Bashira, Rani, Sara, Nura and Aliya—belong to different stages of their life cycles, hailing from different family backgrounds and life experiences, which shaped their outlook towards the life they lead in the village. The village is an island, and a detailed note of the island explaining its beauty and characteristics has been provided as an introductory section. The book is divided into four parts, with four chapters in each part. It is interesting to note that this partition is based on the four seasons of a year: part one—summer and monsoon, part two—autumn, part three—winter and part four—spring.
Chapters one to four introduce the women, describing their characters through the various events that they pass through. The cyclone that affected the village, the religious practices that they follow, the festival of Ramzan, and the role played by the women’s community in celebrating it, and their social gatherings and exchanges draw the portraits of the nine women. Along with that, the various norms set by society for women, their capabilities, outlooks, aspirations and dreams are also explained in realistic terms. The book covers a range of significant issues women face on a daily basis. The women who are made to do the household chores from morning till night along with their livelihood responsibilities point towards the multiple roles they have to play at the family and societal levels. The role of a daughter, daughter-in-law, wife, mother, mother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, neighbour or an entrepreneur can often be contradictory. However, in order to keep the balance of their lives, they are forced to continue with the circumstances, hoping to come out of the shell one day to lead a better life. The author points out that there are women who are not explicitly restricted by their families but they choose to remain within the restrictions created either by themselves or by the social environment in which they live. The mindset of women towards their own beings and doings plays a significant role in defining their role in the family as well as in society. At the same time, the book mentions the lack of choices they have in various circumstances. The women do not have the choice of deciding and buying the clothes they would like to wear, and they are stopped from going out for festival shopping. They are conditioned to accept the gifts selected by the male members on their behalf. Empirical research has established that in India, women’s autonomy has been assessed by women and their spouses through three dimensions: women’s mobility, access to economic resources and decision-making authority (Jejeebhoy, 2002). These dimensions are reflected in many places in the lives of these women under various circumstances. The author has further pointed out the instance of inertia or mindset that has created restrictions in attaining the dreams of 14-year-old Rani to become an athlete. It was stated in the book that it was her parents’ inability to imagine a world for their daughter beyond their own experience that prevented her from participating in further races. The view that the daughters will have to be married soon and there is no point in spending too much on them will be a hindrance to their lives and hopes. The societal mechanism by which male and female infants are socialized as masculine and feminine adults is regarded as the fundamental aspect of gender development. The gender typing prescribed by society can be reflected in the talents developed by males and females, their occupational preferences, the socio-structural challenges and opportunities faced by the individuals, their self-conceptions, etc. These reflections from their daily lives can be regarded as the primary basis of gender differentiation based on which individuals’ gender roles at familial and societal levels have been defined. This is a strong reason for the feminization of poverty, which can be seen as an outcome of this gender role framework (Fodor, 2006).
At the same time, there are women like Aliya and Sara who realize the importance of education and persuade their daughters and daughter-in-law respectively to attain higher education for a better tomorrow. The boldness and capabilities of these women, even though with limited exposure to the outside world, have been outlined by the author in a significant way. The story of Tabina, the lady who tries to take the benefits of the relief and welfare schemes provided by the government and understands the scope of microfinance opportunities, throws light on the need to create awareness to improve her living conditions. Long-term well-being, especially financial well-being, is a major issue when people get older in many lower-income households. Maryam is the lady who ensured her long-term well-being through asset ownership when her husband passed away, leaving the land and property ownership in her name. She took the bold decision of staying independent without the help of her sons and daughters-in-law. She denied transferring the asset ownership to her sons until her death, which was a brilliant act to ensure the elderly care, economic security and well-being in the long term. Aliya is frequently depicted as a lady who takes a practical approach to life. In spite of her difficult family conditions, including her husband’s illness, she managed the household through farming, sewing and doing domestic chores wherever possible to earn money, thus practising household financial management in a better way.
Chapters 5–8 outline the various issues faced by women in their daily lives. The domestic issues between the women, especially the mother–daughter in-law tensions, are depicted in the book. These ladies are married off at a very early age due to societal norms, family circumstances and traditions. But, early marriage, household responsibilities, multiple pregnancies and maternal responsibilities at a very early age make them confined to the set boundaries. Marriage meant many things to the girls and their families. The financial burden, worrisome negotiations, the transplantation of a girl to a totally new environment and the cultural and behavioural shocks, etc., will have to be experienced by them. Marriages are also regarded as a preventive strategy to stop their daughters from bringing bad names to the family and damaging their future prospects. The absence of single-sex schools contributed to the lack of girls’ higher education. Many parents withdraw their daughters from schools, doubting they might fall in love with their classmates and bring bad names to their families. An unmarried daughter is a worry for the family, but a divorced daughter is a greater concern for the parents, who are already struggling to fulfil their responsibilities and make both ends meet. For this reason, though many women are subjected to domestic violence and unhappy marriages, they choose to remain silent and symbolize themselves as the victims. The author claims that some women desire a life outside of their village, away from their husbands’ families, away from a family that can determine their future course of life. At the same time, there were women like Aliya who believed that every path is somehow circular and, wherever it is, the kind of work and hardships will follow them.
Chapters 9–12 mention about the wedding and death that had taken place in the village, and how the women had to play their roles in these social gatherings. Family bonding and relationships are highlighted during such events, and the women have to play a significant role in ensuring that everything is in its right place. It also mentions how the belief in Jinn influenced the villagers. Chapters 13–16 describe the election and how the women are advised by their families as to whom they should cast their votes. Extramarital affairs and rumours that affect women’s lives, and how the dreams are different for each of these nine women are covered in these chapters.
The afterword, included by the author at the end of the book, states that only six out of the nine women are still living in the village. Some of them have made it to escape from the village as dreamt by them, whereas some others have again entered into the struggles and abuses that re-establish the fact that women’s lives will revolve around the same issues and challenges until the remains of poverty and inertia have been addressed in a meaningful way. The pandemic, which has a devastating effect on many Indian women, can increase their vulnerabilities and make them more dependent on their male counterparts.
All in all, this book is a comprehensive coverage of the real-life scenarios of women at the grassroots level. It not only sheds light on the challenges faced by the women, but also clearly accounts for the capabilities and outlook that they possess. The evidence from this book re-establishes many of the empirical findings of social science researchers, connecting them with the ground realities.