ARCHIVES
VOL. 12, ISSUE 1 (2026)
Feminist labour and the political economy of care: Emotional work, exploitation, and refusal in Indian women’s writing
Authors
Dr. Devashish Kumar
Abstract
Using the twin frames of feminist labour and the political economy of
care, this paper contends that women's care work functions not as an innate
moral virtue but rather as a structurally exploited resource. In turning care
into a gendered system of labour extraction enabled by moral compulsion,
emotional discipline, and social surveillance, this frame contests cultural
frameworks that naturalise nurturing into feminine destiny. The paper brings
together the insights of feminist care ethics, feminist political economy, and
feminist narrative ethics to show how the domestic and emotional labour of
women works as the invisible infrastructure that undergirds familial stability,
masculine command, and social respectability. Indian women's writing is,
therefore, teeming with portrayals of care as not consummating identity but
depleting obligation marked by depletion, silence, and compromised agency. The
study further finds that within these narratives, it is refusal-refusal to
nurture endlessly, to forgive without accountability, or to absorb harm as
duty-that takes on the figure of a radical feminist ethics.
Thus, by focusing on the theme of emotional labour, unpaid labour, and responsibilities, the paper extends feminist literary theory in India beyond the empowerment model, which highlights the exploitation of Indian women. Finally, this article argues, feminists in Indian literature struggle in a process of boundary-making, indicating a resistance to the very idea of care being made mandatory in the first place.
Thus, by focusing on the theme of emotional labour, unpaid labour, and responsibilities, the paper extends feminist literary theory in India beyond the empowerment model, which highlights the exploitation of Indian women. Finally, this article argues, feminists in Indian literature struggle in a process of boundary-making, indicating a resistance to the very idea of care being made mandatory in the first place.
Download
Pages:101-105
How to cite this article:
Dr. Devashish Kumar "Feminist labour and the political economy of care: Emotional work, exploitation, and refusal in Indian women’s writing". International Journal of English Research, Vol 12, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 101-105
Download Author Certificate
Please enter the email address corresponding to this article submission to download your certificate.