The Images of Women in Garhwali Folk Literature

Abstract

Folk literature provides numerous examples of women’s courageous voices, their sufferings of various kinds, the regressive and progressive values of a society, and the depiction of multiple instances of gender discrimination, inequality, and the position of women in society. Folk literature not only depicts women’s creation, communication, and negotiation but also covers the whole range of human experiences, revealing the diversity of agency and forms of action and showing women’s power and resistance. This paper examines the representations of women’s images in Garhwali folk literature, focusing on representations of husband-wife encounters, for very simple reasons: First, the husband-wife relationship is arguably associated with the most ambivalent feelings and contested control, and second, women are considered the backbone of the Garhwali household and socio-cultural and religious life. I will also discuss the traditional images of women as well as their changing roles in the ever-changing socio-cultural fabric of the Garhwali society.