Resistance as Resilience Women’s (Un)Evolving Roles in Generationally Disaster-affected Communities in Assam, India

Generational disaster survival in rural parts of Assam has led to displacements and impoverishment of the affected communities. Many, facing perennial floods and erosion, are compelled to move inland, resettling on the outskirts of urban centers. This chapter delves into the evolving positions of women in terms of their economic and political participation in the respective communities. Focusing on ethnic communities, the Koch-Motok and Mising communities in Assam, India, I employ an ethnographic approach to highlight the heterogenous and dynamic nature of women’s roles. Women often surpass traditional gender roles, particularly in the social and economic spheres of their households. I found that while their roles in community reorganizing and re-establishing were critical, their contemporary roles as decision-makers vis-a-vis community leaders became limited over longer periods of self-rehabilitation. These roles are a cumulative consequence of their subjective experiences and the region’s evolving socio-political landscapes. Women’s intersectional identities, preland-displacement socio-economic backgrounds, generational disaster experiences, and the wider socio-political contexts of the region shape their positions. In essence, the evolving roles of women in such self-rehabilitated, post-disaster communities are redefining community resilience—by foregrounding women’s enduring resistance as a central force in the rehabilitation of intergenerationally disaster-affected communities.