Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-30-2023
Publication Source
Feminist Anthropology
Abstract
This paper examines how relationships are ‘built’ among khwajasaras [non-normative non-binary persons] and female jouno karmis [sex workers] in two sites in Pakistan and India respectively. We focus on the non-normative nature of these relationships, first, to disassemble gender normativity itself; second, to argue that the colonial legacy of bureaucratic norming of kinship in South Asia, anchored in legal consanguinity and affinity on one hand, and territory and patriarchy on the other, erases these found relationships. Finally, in formulating what we term, ‘relative kinship’ –authenticating one's identity and belonging as a citizen typically through a male kin –we trace the current impetus in Pakistan and India to algorithmically converge biographies and biometrics to recalibrate citizenship. We ask, how may we understand the built lives of those deemed by the state to be legally out of place as ‘aliens’ or ‘foreigners’. Through the lens of kinship and gender modalities in marginalized communities, the article has wider implications for thinking about the kinship-nation continuum and the ways in which one does or can belong, if at all.
Inclusive pages
249-263
ISBN/ISSN
2643-7961
Document Version
Published Version
Copyright
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © The Authors.
Publisher
Wiley Periodicals on behalf of American Anthropological Association
Volume
4
Issue
2
Peer Reviewed
yes
eCommons Citation
Hussain, Salman and Dasgupta, Simanti, "Built Lives: Khwajasaras, Jouno-Karmis, and the Politics of Non-Normative Kinship and Citizenship in South Asia" (2023). Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications. 95.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/soc_fac_pub/95
COinS
Comments
To view article on publisher's website, use the DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fea2.12118