SHIFTING BOUNDARIES: WOMEN'S SETTINGS IN THE SLUMS OF CALCUTTA, INDIA

摘要

Even though the binary division of society into private and public spheres has been criticized, the association of women with the home still continues to direct development efforts, especially in developing countries. In this paper I examine and analyze women's use of settings in the slums of Calcutta against the public-private debate and its subsequent refinement into the private-parochial-public (P-P-P) conceptualization of space, and assess its appropriateness to explain women's socio-spatial experience in the slums of Calcutta, India. The study reveals that stage-in-family-life-cycle, household structure, and other specific circumstances work together to influence women's spatial mobility and related to it - their work choice.