Feminizing Resistance, Decolonizing Solidarity: Contesting Neoliberal Development in the Global South

Social movements in the global South have contested neoliberal development, a major cause of forced displacement, already for decades. Since it is usually the poor, low-caste women who suffer most from large-scale development projects, they have been active in forming movements that contest neoliberal development and neocolonialism, often struggling also against patriarchalism, sexism, and heteronormativity. The phenomenon has been referred to as “feminization of resistance,” and it has been studied from many different perspectives across disciplines. However, in conceptualizing women’s resistance, their political engagement, and activism in the global South, Western theoretical approaches often build on a limited, Eurocentric or Anglo-American perspective, ignoring many aspects that are crucial in non-Western contexts. While especially Western political science is increasingly often criticized for its false universalism, whiteness, and elitism, the demand to decolonize feminism has recently gained more ground in this context. Through an analysis of ethnographic fieldwork with social movement activists in Kolkata, India, and in Kathmandu, Nepal, this article discusses the feminization of resistance in South Asia, highlighting the importance of decolonizing forms of feminist solidarity while also reflecting on its potentials and challenges in the context of engaged social movement research. Drawing on activists’ views, critiques, conceptualizations, and suggestions, this paper argues that taking into account their perspectives, that is, learning from movements – while simultaneously trying to unlearn one’s own academic privileges – creates potential not only for enriching and broadening the theoretical debate on feminization of resistance but can also contribute to efforts of decolonizing Western political thought and feminism.