Subverting oppressive structures: on kelinhood, solidarity and feminist research in the bazaars

Feminist principles in research emphasize acknowledging differences to address power imbalances. Taken at face value, discussions on positionality tend to prioritize differences, often turning into mere declarations of the researcher’s social privilege. To counterbalance this tendency, I highlight the critical importance of also focusing on shared experiences between the researcher and research participants. Based on my feminist ethnographic fieldwork, this research note reflects on my positionality as an Uzbek musofir (migrant) kelin (daughter-in-law) conducting doctoral research on the lived experiences of women in Tashkent’s bazaars. It illustrates how my complex, intertwined identity as a locally raised and foreign-educated musofir kelin initially posed challenges in accessing the field and building trust with participants. Yet, it also highlights how, in addition to the shared experience of musofirchilik, the oppressive experience of kelinhood can be subverted to build solidarity and rapport with the women in the bazaars, transforming an oppressive experience into subversive solidarity.