Understanding the Concept of Lived Citizenship through the Clinical Experiences of Indian Married Women: An Existential Phenomenological Approach

Modernity coupled with aim of global living has indeed opened new apertures for socio-political developments. Last 10 years witnessed gender mobilization with greater thrust on empowerment. With the rise in sharing the visibility in public spaces, economic independence is paving its way in shaping the popular discourses around gender empowerment. However owing to the deep traditional underpinning, the public private dichotomy seems to pose a challenge to gender sensibilities, often converting them to potentially vulnerable group.

The present paper is an attempt to understand the narratives from clinical spaces of 20 Indian married women who experienced psychic splits around their womanliness which found a non conscious legitimacy in their gendered being. The analysis reveals suggestive thoughts for understanding the intimate citizenship(Plummer, 2003) expressed by these women through their psychic dissonances.