Constructing Dogra Femininities: Negotiating Caste, Gender, and Belonging in Jammu & Kashmir

Simran; Sejal Yadav

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.89003

Constructing Dogra Femininities: Negotiating Caste, Gender, and Belonging in Jammu & Kashmir

Author(s)	Ms. Simran, Dr. Sejal Yadav
Country	India
Abstract	This paper examines the construction of Dogra femininities in Jammu and Kashmir through the intersecting frameworks of gender, caste, patriarchy, and regional belonging. While scholarship on women in Jammu and Kashmir has largely centred the Kashmir Valley through the lenses of conflict and nationalism, the gendered experiences of women in Jammu, particularly within Dogra society, remain comparatively underexplored. This paper argues that Dogra femininity is not a natural or fixed identity but a socially constructed category shaped through kinship structures, caste hierarchies, ritual practices, and regional identity formation. Drawing upon Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity, the paper analyses how the “ideal Dogra woman” is repeatedly produced through expectations surrounding modesty, sacrifice, caregiving, marriage, motherhood, and loyalty to family honour. Within Dogra society, women function as symbolic carriers of cultural continuity through domestic labour, ritual participation, folk traditions, and caste endogamy. The paper further situates Dogra femininity within the historical evolution of Duggar identity shaped by acculturation, Rajput political structures, cultural exchange, and regional heritage formations. Through an analysis of Dogri folk songs, ceremonial practices, and familial expectations, the study demonstrates how patriarchal authority is normalised within everyday life and emotional structures of belonging. Using Kimberlé Crenshaw’s framework of intersectionality, the paper also interrogates the internal hierarchies within Dogra society, arguing that dominant representations of Dogra culture frequently privilege upper caste narratives while marginalising the experiences of Scheduled Caste Dogra women. Engaging with the works of Sylvia Walby, Simone de Beauvoir, and Pierre Bourdieu, the study explores how patriarchy and cultural capital operate through family structures, respectability politics, education, and social surveillance, while also examining how urbanisation, education, reservation policies, and social media are reshaping gender expectations among younger generations in Jammu. By foregrounding Dogra women as sites of negotiation between caste, gender, tradition, and modernity, the paper contributes to a more nuanced feminist understanding of Jammu beyond Kashmir centric frameworks.
Keywords	Dogra Femininities, Gender Performativity, Jammu, Caste, Patriarchy
Field	Sociology
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-10-05
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.89003

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Constructing Dogra Femininities: Negotiating Caste, Gender, and Belonging in Jammu & Kashmir

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