The Gendered Apparatus of the Military: A Study of the Army Officer’s Wife in India

Singh, Taarika

Abstract

Military wives have recently become the subject of research with an increasing focus on the role of their labour in upholding and reproducing processes of militarisation. This thesis examines the centrality of Indian Army officers’ wives and explores how their gendered labour is upheld while they also hold the potential to critique the durability and ubiquity of military and patriarchal power.
Based on over 80 interviews with women married to officers of the Indian Army conducted over seven months of fieldwork, this thesis contends that officers’ wives are not apolitical or irrelevant to the gender order or military apparatus. They consciously engage with and perceive their distinct relationship with the military apparatus and the broader socio-cultural milieu as expressions of their agency (choices). They stress their capacity to control their labour and distinguish themselves from other women in the larger military and civil order in multiple subjective ways.

Citation

Singh, T. The Gendered Apparatus of the Military: A Study of the Army Officer’s Wife in India. (Thesis). SOAS University of London

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 18, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 18, 2025
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00551266
• Additional Information: 264 pages
• Award Date: 2025