The social relations of gold: How a gendered asset serves social reproduction and finance in Pakistan

Abstract

AbstractWomen's gold jewelry, particularly in the context of the Indian subcontinent, has been referred to as a barbaric relic, an uncivilized obsession, and a leakage from the economy. Yet women in the region continue to save almost exclusively in gold. In dismissing these savings as a leakage and a waste, we miss a critical opportunity to understand the social relations of gold, where both gold and land are gendered assets. Using the lens of transnational feminism, I draw upon two empirical studies from Pakistan to show that gold is for the most part the only investment women own and control. In the era of liberalization and fiscal discipline, as economic vulnerabilities deepen and Southern states are forced to cut back on welfare, impoverished women's meager gold stocks play a critical role in supporting social reproduction. Attracted by the nonfiat nature of gold, commercial and microfinance banks exploit these sociocultural and economic realities in the pawn market for women's gold. This has critical implications for women's agency, which is relational and fluid in the present context, resulting in its subversion by the gendered regimes of finance capitalism.