Allied Studies: Gendered Spaces

Studio Co-ordinator: Mario Da Penha

Aryaa Nayak

This course, conducted by Mario da Penha, took a deep plunge into how gender has been seen, perceived, and interacted with across various timelines in the subcontinent’s history. It reflected on how gender has been a foundational factor shaping how societies and civilisations are structured, not only in terms of visible social roles but also through spatial arrangements, practices, and systems of belief. The course invited us to rethink and reflect upon what the words “gender” and “history” stand for us, and delve into various questions of what is considered public or private, what is acceptable or deviant, and to recognise how these boundaries are constantly negotiated and justified for, especially by those who fall outside the dominant gender norms.

Discussions were rooted in ideas of belonging - what spaces women and queer individuals associate with, the anxieties around occupying these spaces, and the negotiations that come with trying to claim them. It also addressed how gender intersects with ideas of beauty, bodily control, and constantly shifting notions of what is considered pure or impure. These social constructs often become embedded into the built environment, dictating how spaces are used, who they are made for, and who gets left out. Alongside these patterns, there runs a parallel stream of belief, often rooted in religion or culture, that sometimes offers a narrow or fragile sense of liberty, allowing limited ways for people to express or conduct themselves differently.

Through readings, site visits, songs, and visual media, including clips from films and series, the course revealed how urban spaces have always been gendered. They carry a legacy of control, resistance, survival, and slow transformation, showing us how gender continues to shape the experience of city life in ways that are both visible and invisible.

Some of the works produced in the course:

They met in the zenana, where silence grew thin. One whispered: “For gods, I dance and pray,

Not for gold, but for blessings’ light,

My body—art, my mind—sword-sharp and bright.” The other sighed: “I dance, but for men,

Who drown in wine and sorrow’s den. In thumri’s grace, I’m deemed mere flesh—

 A body to crave, not a soul to refresh.” 

Both said: “We blaze like fire, yet glow,

Bright as the moon—but scarred below.”

Dishika More

Why must my movements always have a reason?

Why does my presence demand an explanation?

Why must rebellion be evoked, solely for wanting to wander, to pause?

Why can’t I just... Be?

Why NOT loiter?

Aryaa Nayak

Listen, O Seeker: The Vedas proclaim that wisdom knows no gender;

In every syllable, the divine speaks with an unbiased grace

Born of earth, air and starlight the same,

Man or woman, high or humble—each soul is sacred.

Diya Jain