The Socio-Economic Status of Women in the Urban Slums of India

The Indian Economy has been transforming, and is now poised to take over China as the leading developing country in the world in terms of its pace of development. (Sharma, 2011) While this is by no measure bad news for a country, it does pose specific problems, an interesting ones at that, where huge masses of traditional inhabitants are now faced with an ‘upturning’ of their familiar cities and constructs as never before. Of particular interest is those who reside in the slums of India, especially within the urban districts. More specifically, the women of the urban slums, encapsulated within their traditional and conservative role, have the most adjusting and adapting to do in this rapidly expanding Indian economy. This paper will seek to delve in to the Socio-Economic status of the women in these Urban Slums as we seek to examine the nature of the growth and development on their lives, and how the transformation has been unique for them, analyzed both from a theoretical and individualist realism approach.