Abstract
The following article examines leadership roles among indentured East Indian women in British Guiana (now Guyana). The research shows that leadership roles among indentured East Indian women were not as broad as those among indentured East Indian men. The main reasons for this are that Indian women were recruited from the lower ranks of Indian society, which stymied leadership roles, and the authoritarian structure of the plantation system, which supported patriarchal trends. Moreover, the colonial records do not reveal leadership roles among Indian women because the records are based on imperial domination and exploitation, reflecting anecdotal rather than analytical evidence. The article shows that in spite of restrictions, indentured Indian women did engage in leadership roles on the sugar plantations but were not as open about these roles as their male counterparts were. Nonetheless, their engagement in leadership roles was instrumental in turning adverse circumstances to their advantage, and they used strategies that were not altogether obvious to the supporters of patriarchy.
Recommended Citation
Roopnarine, Lomarsh
(2015)
"East Indian Women and Leadership Roles During Indentured Servitude in British Guiana 1838-1920,"
Journal of International Women's Studies: Vol. 16:
Iss.
3, Article 12.
Available at:
https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol16/iss3/12