Identification of Madhesi women is often looked through the binary of Madhesi women and Pahadi Women. This juxtaposed idea limits the diverse identity of Madhesi women, not only through the lens of the centre, but also within their own larger community. This results in viewing the idea of marginalisation of Madhesi women, only through the dual lenses of firstly, being a Madhesi, and secondly, womanhood.

It is essential to understand that this juxtaposed identity of Madhesi women (to Pahadi women) is a derivation from the concept of Centre and Margin. The dichotomy of these two, however, cannot just remain binary. They are layered, hence, they may or may not contain multiple layers of centres and margins, within the centre and margin. A very simplistic understanding of centre and margin in Nepal, particularly in defining Madhesh, is that, centre becomes Pahad, and Madhesh is the margin. What I am trying to emphasise here is, Madhesh itself may contain layers of centres and margins. And that needs to be identified, and also centralised in understanding, reimagining and documenting the women of Madhesh.

Crenshaw’s and Patricia Hill Collins’ theorisation of Intersectionality and Matrix of Domination, respectively, can be used to understand why it is essential to look at Madhesi women through their diversity rather than a singular identity marker of Madhesh. Firstly, Madhesh is not a homogeneous category, which means that Madhesi women are not homogeneous, and neither are their experiences. Madhesi women comprise various castes, classes; additionally, their experiences vary based on their conjugal status, their status with the state, their citizenship rights, access to inheritance and many more. For example, two Madhesi women, one Brahmin, one Dom, both have diverse experiences, both are placed differently when it comes to accessibility and decision making, both are scaled differently in terms of social status, one a veiled goddess, the other an untouchable server. How fair is it to place these two women in the same category of Madhesi Women and provide them with similar opportunities and rights?

One may argue, and I might also agree, that categorising women and their experiences into a larger box is a tool of exclusion. This helps in continuing the historical and traditional exclusions, while creating an illusion of equality and equity, which addresses the issues through the same larger box, under the principle of affirmative action and positive discrimination. Constitutional tools like Affirmative actions, and Positive discrimination can only be useful and impactful when marginalised communities are addressed in a more particular manner.

Madhesi womanhood is often understood through the narrow lens of Savarna (upper-caste) Madhesi women, reinforcing a singular and limited portrayal of their identity. The dominant perception of a Madhesi woman is one of a veiled figure, confined within the four walls of her natal or marital home, detached from public life, and placed under the constant surveillance of male family members. However, this characterisation fails to capture the diversity of experiences among Madhesi women across caste, class, and indigenous identities.

In reality, Madhesi women actively engage in public spaces, resisting restrictive norms in both subtle and visible ways. Many navigate the public sphere while maintaining their veils, participating as vendors in haat bazars (local markets), sustaining their families through generational occupations, and contributing to economic life in both veiled and unveiled forms. Despite their undeniable presence, their contributions remain undocumented and overlooked in mainstream narratives.

This erasure stems from systemic exclusion within Madhesh itself, where caste, class, indigenous status, and marital position shape their access to visibility and recognition. The “otherization” of these women is not just an external imposition but also a result of internal hierarchies that continue to marginalise those who do not fit the dominant Savarna mould. Recognising and documenting the diverse realities of Madhesi women is crucial to challenging these singular narratives and ensuring their voices are acknowledged in both historical and contemporary discourse.

These issues remain unaddressed inside the Madhesi Feminism Movements, which has resulted in the inability of diverse Madhesi women to create a more inclusive and diverse identity for themselves. It wouldn’t be too harsh to say, but the Feminist Movement of the Centre assumes a very wrong and incomplete idea of the Feminist Movement of the Margin (Particularly of Madhesh). This is not only because the Margin has failed to identify itself as diverse and stratified, but also because the Centre has never tried to study Madhesh in an appropriate manner. It has mostly been only for the sake of ticking the box of inclusion and diversity that the centre approaches the margin, that too in a very incomplete, hence wrong manner.

Madhesi womanhood, its singular identity, its comprehension in juxtaposition with Pahadi (Only) is a propaganda, rather than a mere mistake. It is a tool for creating a line between who is to be visible and who is to be invisibilized through generations. Understanding gender and the subordination of gender alone would be inadequate to understand why Madhesi women remain largely unidentified in a diverse manner. The layers of margins created within Madhesh and among Madhesi women themselves need to be understood and visibilized, for Madhesi feminism to be fruitful and adequate. It is now essential to reimagine, redefine and refurbish the “Madhesi Feminist Movement”. The margins within this Margin must be assessed to understand the systematic invisibilization of diverse experiences of women, where power and domination are constantly functioning through various tools of policies, media, pop culture, etc. Hence, it’s time, the Madhesi Feminist resistance to talk of power and domination within to address the inequalities themselves, so that the resistance moves to lobby the undefined issues through the centre, gradually bringing margins to the centre, and erasing the lines between them.

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Natasha Jha is a Madhesi feminist and lawyer committed to advancing gender equality and social justice. She works in development projects with a focus on women and marginalised communities. Since 2022, she has been researching the lived experiences of Madhesi women and aims to document their stories to highlight their voices and perspectives.