Reetika Revathy Subramanian

In this peer-reviewed journal article published in Gender & Development, I ask: What does it mean to forge temporary friendships and moments of freedom in a job marked by backbreaking labour, open canefields, constant travel, and no privacy?

In this peer-reviewed research article published in Climate and Development journal, I draw on the local practice of Gate-Cane weddings in Marathwada region of western India, and situate it within the context of climate change, capitalist agriculture, and gendered labour relations.

I'm the creator and host of the Climate Brides podcast, which brings to you a series of conversations on early and forced marriages, and the climate crisis in South Asia. The project is supported by the University of Cambridge Public Engagement Starter Fund.

In collaboration with illustrator Maitri Dore, I undertook research and wrote the text for 'Raindrop in the Drought: Godavari Dange'. The multilingual comic book (English, Marathi, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu) was published by Goethe-Institut Indonesian under its 'Movements and Moments: Feminists Generation' project in 2021.

In this ethnographic research paper, I document the ways in which Dawoodi Bohra women use the rhetoric of 'modernity'—by reinventing history, renegotiating patriarchies, reimagining the other and incorporating biomedicine—to preserve and perpetuate the contested tradition of Female Khatna or Female Genital Cutting.

An article based on my research paper, 'Gate-Cane: (Un)tying the knots between climate, cane, and early marriage in rural India' published in Climate and Development journal on quick-fix weddings planned in drought-hit Marathwada region of western India.

I have co-authored a chapter on the work and living conditions of Odia migrant workers in India's textile capital, Surat City. The chapter is titled 'From Fibre to Fabric: Everyday Confrontations with Disaster, Danger & Death by Odia Loom Workers in Surat City' (p.79).

This ethnographic study documents how Dawoodi Bohras talk about female genital cutting and their attitude towards public debates in support of or against it. The research was supported by Mumkin LLP and Grand Challenges Canada.

Using key insights from our comic book 'Raindrop in the Drought', I co-authored this article with Maitri Dore on gender, climate, and sustainable agricultural practices in rural India.

Every year, in drought-affected Dharur taluka of Marathwada, apple sellers, cane cutters, students, and chemists, take to an IPL-styled cricket tournament--Dharur Premier League--to find a momentary escape from disaster and distress. I spoke to some of the players and franchise owners for this story.

An excerpt from our chapter 'From Fibre to Fabric: Everyday Confrontations with Disaster, Danger and Death by Odia Loom Workers in Surat City' published in the sixth edition of the India Exclusion Report 2020.

The COVID-19 lockdown has reportedly led to a surge in child marriages across India. In this article (republished from my blogpost), I draw from experiences of past global climate disasters to understand why it's important to treat the cause, and not just the symptom of this invisible pandemic.

The COVID-19 lockdown has reportedly led to a surge in child marriages across India. In this blog post, I draw from experiences of past global climate disasters to understand why it's important to treat the cause, and not just the symptom of this invisible pandemic. 

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is currently considering to raise the legal age at marriage for females from 18 to 21 years. While the move is being publicly lauded as "progressive" and "empowering", there's much more to it than what meets the eye. Particularly, as India continues to see a spike in child marriage cases during the pandemic. I spoke to child rights activists, advocates and frontline workers to dig deeper.

Co-author. This report by Aajeevika Bureau examines the causes, nature and extent of migrant workers’ exclusion from urban services, and provides policy recommendations to remedy the same. The study was conducted during the pre-COVID 19 period in two major Indian cities: Ahmedabad and Surat.