Abstract
This article reflects the use of urban space by women in urban informal sectors in the city of Guwahati located in North East India. The population influx from across the borders in the aftermath of the partition has huge implications both on polity and on economy of the northeastern states in general and Assam in particular. Importantly, the urban informal sectors have a sizeable share in terms of its significant contributions towards Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as generation of employment opportunities largely. Using a feminist perspective, the research is an attempt to investigate the engagement of women in the informal sector in greater Guwahati. Research findings reveal that the occupations of the women workers are location-specific, that is, the manufacturing sectors (textiles, food preparation, printing and skilled service) are mainly home/shop based production (fixed locations) whereas the service sectors (leisure, caring, elementary construction, elementary sales and cleaning occupation) operate at variable locations (construction sites, street pavements, marketplaces and other various locations). Further analysis shows that the informal sector is highly demand dependent and such demands are in the central business areas of the city, therefore informal sector services (skilled services and elementary services) are found to be located in and around the central areas of Guwahati city. Women operators in the informal sector are attracted to the central business district because of the many advantages that it enjoys relative to other parts of a city. The paper concludes by calling on policy makers and physical planning agencies to evolve more pragmatic strategies for urban development matters in order that urban informal sector activities can be integrated into urban development plans. Finally, further research is called for on how urban planners could redesign the urban space with appropriate consideration of the informal sector operators.
Highlights
The informal sector has over the years, assumed centre stage in the writings of many authors interested in understanding the survival strategies of marginalised and vulnerable groups, developing countries (Mitullah and Wachira, 1997; Mupedziswa and Gumbo, 1998; Roy and AlSayyad, 2004; Unni and Rani, 2000; Williams and Gurtoo, 2011)
The key purpose of this research is to investigate the spatial distribution of urban informal sectors and engagement of women in this sector in particular, in the city of Guwahati located in North East India
The research uses a feminist perspective to examine as to how women participate in this sector of the economy
Summary
The informal sector has over the years, assumed centre stage in the writings of many authors interested in understanding the survival strategies of marginalised and vulnerable groups, developing countries (Mitullah and Wachira, 1997; Mupedziswa and Gumbo, 1998; Roy and AlSayyad, 2004; Unni and Rani, 2000; Williams and Gurtoo, 2011). Urban Informality: Transnational perspectives from the Middle East, South Asia and Latin America, Ananya Roy and Nezar AlSayyad (2004) introduced the concept of informal urban areas as the logic that explains the process of urban transformation They did not emphasise on the dichotomy of the formal and the informal sectors but on the understanding that the informal sector is a part of the economic structure of society. Women in the informal sector through feminist geography lens Feminist geography continues to make an impact on human geography since its inception in the mid-1970s It contributes to the increasing understanding of the gendered nature of economic processes through the study of spatial dimension to practice theories important for understanding the gendered relationship between individual consciousness, action, and social change.
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