EVENTS

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This book explores gender discrimination and women’s movements in China – from the May Fourth movement to the present day. It critically examines the dynamics of the personal and the political, or ‘home’ and ‘work’, and the role this discourse plays in women’s lived experiences. Focusing on women's 'work' within the contested field of gender power struggle, both in the politics and society in China, this book explores the evolving patterns of employment for women over the years. Women have continued to face new challenges at home and outside as the boundaries between the political and personal blurs. The book traces the birth of feminism in China and its intersection with Marxism, leading to the state-led women’s liberation movement, which influenced Chinese women in different ways. At the same time, it also engages with both theoretical and practical trajectories of the women's liberation movement, highlighting the impact of changing ideas on women and gender in contemporary China. Drawing on Chinese scholarly debates, the author interrogates contemporary Chinese discourse on gender-construction of women and, feminist thought in China. Dr. Chandran differentiates between “equality” and “difference” and locates the “paradox” of the same, to explore its impact on women’s work.

Speaker

Usha Chandran is Assistant Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Honorary Fellow, at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi. She holds a PhD in Chinese on Gender issues in China from JNU. Her major research interests include gender issues in China and comparison with India, interface between gender and language as well as popular culture, women’s subjectivity in literature, and exploring Sociological methodologies to study Chinese society. Major publications include authored book titled, Gender Discrimination at Work in Urban China, Routledge, 2025. Edited volume titled, Gender in Language and Expression, Routledge due 2026, co-editing a volume, China's Society and Culture along with Prof. Sabaree Mitra.

Discussants

Hemant Adlakha is Vice-Chairperson and Honorary Fellow at the ICS, Delhi. He was professor of Chinese at the Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, JNU, New Delhi. His areas of research include political discourse in the PRC and modern Chinese Literature and Culture. He is on the editorial board of China Report.

Govind Kelkar is Visiting Professor, Council for Social Development and Institute for Human Development, India. She is an Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi and the Executive Director, GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation, India. She is a Distinguished Adjunct Faculty of Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. Professor Kelkar holds the position of Honorary Professor in the Institute of Ethnology, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, China. She has authored 16 books and numerous scholarly publications. Her recent book is Witch Hunts: Culture, Patriarchy and Structural Transformation (co-authored), Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Ritu Agarwal is Associate Professor at the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and an Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi. She holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from the University of Delhi. Her research interests include rural political economy, urbanization, property rights, gender studies, and provincial politics. Dr Agarwal studied Mandarin Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing. She has been a Visiting Scholar at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming and a Visiting Fellow at Yunnan University and Yunnan Minzu University.

Patricia Uberoi is an Emeritus Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), New Delhi. She has held teaching and research posts at the Australian National University (Canberra), the University of Hong Kong, the Institute of Advanced Studies (Shimla), the University of Delhi, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi), and the Institute of Economic Growth (Delhi), where she also for many years edited the journal, Contributions to Indian Sociology. She was the Director, and later, also Chairperson of the ICS (2015-21). Her research interests centre on aspects of family, kinship, gender, popular culture, and social policy, with regard to both India and China. At the ICS, she was closely associated with the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Forum for Regional Cooperation and co-authored, The BCIM Forum and Regional Integration (Institute of Chinese Studies, 2012) with K.S. Rana.

Chair

Sabaree Mitra is Professor of Chinese in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi. Her teaching and research have spanned the fields of contemporary Chinese literature and criticism, Chinese cultural history, gender issues, India-China cultural relations and regional interaction. Her latest publication is, an edited volume titled China’s May Fourth Movement: New Narratives and Perspectives, published by Routledge in 2023. Her co-edited volume, titled China’s Society and Culture: Studies and Reflections is forthcoming from Routledge in 2026. She is also the Editor of the ICS quarterly journal, China Report, published by Sage.