Constructing Dependency: A Feminist Critique of Women’s Symbolic Representation in Indian Welfare Policies

Abstract

This paper critically examines the gendered character of the Indian welfare system by using Nancy Fraser's theory of recognition and redistribution, and Nivedita Menon's feminist critique of state paternalism. Fraser makes a differentiation between a masculine, individualized welfare sub-system rooted in paid employment and rights, and a feminized, needs-based welfare sub-system marked by dependency and stigma. Employing this framework, the paper investigates if Indian welfare programs targeting women and girl children position them as active, rights-bearing citizens or as dependent, passive recipients needing state protection and charity. By doing so, the study not only expands Fraser’s critique to include the regions outside of Global North, but also places Indian welfare discourse within the larger feminist debates on state intervention. Furthermore, Nivedita Menon’s feminist perspective reveals how gender is ideologically shaped and constructed via familial, moral, and legal norms, which are often institutionalized by the state. Menon does not deal with welfare directly, but her critical insights relating to the state's paternalistic conceptualization of gender offer a critical lens through which to examine how such policies reproduce normative femininity. Together, Fraser and Menon provide a dual lens to expose how both economic and symbolic dimensions of welfare policies often reinforce gendered dependency and conventional feminine identity, ultimately constraining women’s agency within state constructs instead of wholly dismantling systemic inequalities.