Course
Gender Power (WGSS 230)
Document Type
Student Paper
Publication Date
Spring 2025
Disciplines
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Food Studies | Women's Studies
Description, Abstract, or Artist's Statement
This paper examines how the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India, while introduced to address hunger and food insecurity, displaces women from traditional farming, weakens their nutritional autonomy, and erases their cultural roles in food systems. The focus on subsidized rice and wheat benefits male landowners and excludes women, especially Dalit and Adivasi farmers, from agricultural decision-making. Drawing on a grassroots initiative led by Dalit women in Zaheerabad, the paper highlights how community-driven, decentralized food systems rooted in women’s knowledge can improve food security and restore autonomy. It calls for a reimagined PDS that centers women’s lived experiences and leadership.
Augustana Digital Commons Citation
Silwal, Krisha. "Rationing Hunger: The Gendered Consequences of India's Public Distribution System" (2025). Audre Lorde Writing Prize.
https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/wollstonecraftaward/65
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Comments
1st place winner, Long Analytical Essay, 2025