This paper engages with the persistent discourse of the ‘feminisation of vulnerability’ by focusing on chars (unstable river islands) of Assam, Northeast India. Building on growing feminist political ecology literature and through ethnographic analysis, it highlights how mainstream policy and development frameworks often homogenise women and their vulnerability. Instead of viewing women as passively burdened, the paper sees vulnerability as co-produced by class struggles and global agricultural practices – shaped by household and reproductive roles, and intertwined with religious and moral discipline. Bringing the concept of social reproduction to the centre, the study shows that the ecological crisis not only increases hardship but also redesigns gender norms and power relations for both women and men, reshaping the daily work of sustaining life, meaning, and relationships under conditions of systemic breakdown. Overall, the paper advocates for situating women within intersectional realities, shifting the focus from passive vulnerability to relational power, agency, and situated knowledge amidst socio-ecological change.
Sampurna Das (Fri,) studied this question.