Indigenous women at the crossroads of migration and marginalization

Aafia Shereen; Shantanu Ghosh; Sutapa Dutta

doi:10.63207/tefros.v24n1.a5

Authors

Aafia Shereen Amity Institute of English Studies and Research Amity University Noida, India https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4104-3202
Shantanu Ghosh Amity Institute of English Studies and Research, Amity University, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6761-0450
Sutapa Dutta Gargi College, University of Delhi, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0852-6651

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63207/tefros.v24n1.a5

Keywords:

indigenous women, migration, intersectionality, indigenous feminism, marginalization

Abstract

Indigenous migrant women bear layers of oppression leading to their dispossession and invisibility. Positioned at the intersection of systemic inequality, patriarchal dominance, and gender-based violence, they face compounded marginalization. This article foregrounds the everyday realities of indigenous migrant women across South Asia and Latin America, drawing on case studies and narratives from India, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras. Engaging with social contract theory and intersectional feminist frameworks, it questions how indigenous migrant women are often relegated to the peripheries. While mainstream discourses on indigeneity usually emphasize cultural erasure, they lag in addressing the violence and vulnerability of migrant indigenous women. Combining literature review, policy reports, case studies, and narratives documented by earlier ethnographers, this paper focuses on how indigenous migrant women are subjected to racialized sexism, labor exploitation, and cultural alienation. This qualitative methodological approach helps expose the epistemic violence embedded in dominant feminist and migration discourses that exclude indigenous perspectives. As a site of critical resistance, this paper encourages an understanding of indigenous feminism, which reclaims the voices of indigenous migrant women while challenging both settler-colonial structures and internal patriarchies. It advances feminist discourse that reflects plural epistemologies. In doing so, this article repositions indigenous migrant women as key agents of resistance within the broader struggle for recognition, justice, and self-determination. Through this study, we argue that an inclusive legal framework and culturally sensitive migration policies offer potential solutions.

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