Women's caring in India: The intersecting public and private sphere

This paper seeks to examine some aspects of Indian women's roles as they ar e played out in the public and private spheres of their lives. In the proce ss, it traces the history of reform movements far women in 19th and 20th Ce ntury India and identifies the predominant reassertion of caring roles. The engendering of women's caring roles constitutes socialization processes vi sible in everyday interaction, in media, folklore, and practice that are su bsequently examined here. The widespread notion of women working as "supple mentary" or secondary income earners in India has been associated with the withdrawal of women from the labor force, whereby the status of the family or community is buttressed. Much of women's work of caring, however, is per formed not only in the private household/familial spheres, but also in less visible niches within public arenas, as both agriculture and industries us e family and informal labor and thus employ large and increasing numbers of women workers. The important concern that emerges here is on how women can and should derive control over resources acid can be empowered. Thus the p ublic-private framework has to be viewed acid clearly defined within a part icular social context-if we seek to meaningfully address these questions ab out the inter-penetration of public and private spheres in the lives of wom en. These are politically charged issues are addressed by women's groups an d other development initiatives and are relevant not only within public sph eres, but also within domestic or private arenas.