Intersecting postcolonial and patriarchal structures: experiences of two diasporic Indian women scholars from the Global South

Postcoloniality and patriarchy intersect to shape the lived experiences of Transnational Women of Colour (TWOC), producing layered marginalities across race, gender, culture, class, and status. In Australian academia, TWOC negotiate conflicting cultural, societal, and institutional expectations that influence their positionality, identities, and agency. As TWOC of Indian heritage, raised in Mauritius and India, our personal and professional lives are marked by colonial legacies and patriarchal structures, producing cultural dissonance and tensions. Drawing on duoethnography and reflexivity, we examine intersections and divergences in our experiences through Sara Ahmed’s concepts of wilfulness and agency, and Chandra Talpade Mohanty’s critiques of postcolonial feminist power dynamics. We analyse moments of resistance and disempowerment within Western-dominated academic paradigms that construct and maintain the ‘Other’. By amplifying silenced voices and decentring dominant norms, our work contributes to critical conversations on imperial hierarchies and the need for greater recognition of TWOC in academia.