Layers in Milk: Gender, Caste, and Agency in a Women’s Dairy Cooperative in Karnataka

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

With the growing participation of rural women in dairy cooperatives, women’s agency in livestock raising remains an under-researched domain. This paper examines women’s agency in the political process in a women’s village dairy in Karnataka, using qualitative methods of observation, in-depth interviews, and telephonic interviews. The paper identifies entrenched power relations that have impeded elections in the dairy board, resulting in the concentration of economic control in the hands of members from dominant landed castes. Patriarchal and caste-based power structures pervade the political administration of the dairy, excluding women from marginalised sections. Amid rising traction for institutions catering to women, this paper questions whether a women-only dairy cooperative needs transformation to enable women to exercise agency in such processes.

Publication Date

12-2025

Journal

Economic and Political Weekly

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