Conclusion

Abstract

This chapter is the summary of the preceding chapters as well as comments on some theoretical construction of power. This chapter notes that the community generally tends to not recognize a woman’s power or agency. It is not how much power or agency a woman has, but rather the nonrecognition of her power and agency that can become a barrier for her upward mobility. It is also observed that against the “public or official transcripts” of nonrecognition, women have their own “hidden transcripts” regarding their power and agency. Some women have created their own space within the limits of the same sociocultural and religious structures. Citing example of a marginalized woman of Chandhara, this chapter also challenges theoretical constructs of power and argues that structural and cultural practices constrain a person’s actions but cannot always determine them.