Young Urban Women Reclaiming Identities

Abstract

Transnational participatory inquiry in global contexts presents unique challenges of ensuring credibility and authenticity to varied ground realities. A decolonised, decentralised and democratised approach can ensure authentic representation of diverse realities and perspectives from the Global South, uncoloured by the Western gaze. This chapter documents the reflections from a multi-country research study with young urban women (YUW) from marginalised communities, specifically focusing on the unique adaptations and innovations in the peer research process followed in Old City, Hyderabad in India. This research experience shows that a centrally conceptualised transnational study still presents numerous opportunities for democratising and contextualising at various stages of the research process, thereby minimising power hierarchies and enabling shared ownership. The chapter concludes that adopting a reflexive participatory approach enables deep sharing and good quality data, especially on sensitive and taboo matters. It demonstrates that transnational participatory research can serve as transformative praxis and contribute to empowering the communities through a reclaiming of identity and centring of authentic voices of the marginalised.