Dam-induced displacement and resettlement and masculinities: the case of India and Malaysia

Dams are the biggest ‘development’ displacement agent. In this paper, we explore the gendered processes and structures of dam-induced displacement and resettlement on Indigenous communities and how displaced men conceptualise masculinities and gender relations within those communities. Drawing upon results of previous research undertaken in India and Malaysia, these two disparate cases allow us to examine how displacement affected men and changed their lives, and subsequently how they (re)constructed and (re)negotiated masculinities and gender-social relations in post-resettlement lives. We highlight two critical issues, namely, household and community land/resources, and compensation and rehabilitation processes to illustrate how gender roles, and in particular masculinities and men’s roles, were transformed in dam displacement in both the countries, and analyse the consequences for women, family life and gender relations. We argue that the outcomes of gender and social asymmetries have largely depended on the realities of power, allowing men to reconstruct their masculinities to retain stereotyped notions of male superiority and female subordination.