Hegemonic at home and subaltern abroad: Kamaiya masculinities and changing mobility in Nepal |
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Authors: | Matthew William Maycock |
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Institution: | 1. School of International Development, the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK;2. Gender and Health Team, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK |
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Abstract: | As former bonded labourers (or slaves), the Kamaiya of far-west Nepal have a history of marginalization, poverty and limited mobility due to the constraints inherent in the Kamaiya system of bonded labour (banned in 2000). Based on ethnographic research in the post-slavery era, this article examines how mobility is becoming an important part of Kamaiya masculinities. I consider in particular an account of migration acquired over a series of interviews with a Kamaiya man named Ram. Ram’s migrant trajectory from Nepal to India and back over variable lengths of time reflect a broader literature on circular migration in India. I argue that transnationally performed migrant masculinities are alternatively subordinated and hegemonic across geographically diverse contexts. By accepting and performing subordinated, often oppressive masculine roles in a broader South Asian context, men such as Ram are producing new, locally hegemonic or at least desirable masculine roles in Kamaiya villages in Nepal. |
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Keywords: | Masculinity mobility Nepal bonded-labour subaltern hegemonic |
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