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VOL. 2, ISSUE 3 (2026)
Gender, ecology and resistance: An eco-feminist reading of selected works of Vandana Shiva and Kamala Markandaya
Authors
Nisha Sharma, Amita Rani
Abstract
Eco-feminism provides
an important critical framework for understanding the interconnected oppression
of women and the exploitation of the natural environment. It questions
patriarchal, capitalist and developmental models that treat both women and
nature as resources to be controlled, consumed and exploited. This research
paper examines the relationship between gender, ecology and resistance in
selected works of Vandana Shiva
and Kamala Markandaya. The
primary texts considered are Vandana Shiva’s Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and
Development and Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace, and Kamala
Markandaya’s novels Nectar in a Sieve and The Coffer Dams. Although Shiva
writes primarily as an environmental thinker, activist and theorist, while
Markandaya approaches ecological questions through fiction, both writers expose
the destructive consequences of development models that disregard local
communities, women’s knowledge and ecological balance. Shiva explicitly
connects the marginalization of women with the destruction of forests, food
systems, water resources and biodiversity. Markandaya dramatizes similar
tensions through rural women, agricultural communities, industrialization,
drought, displacement and large-scale development projects. Rukmani in Nectar
in a Sieve and Helen in The Coffer Dams demonstrate different forms of
female engagement with nature and social transformation. The article states
that both authors question anthropocentric and patriarchal systems and
highlight alternative values rooted in care, sustainability, community, and
ecological responsibility; as a result, their work helps to develop an Indian
eco-feminist debate in which resistance involves not just opposition but also
an effort to reestablish sustainable relationships among human beings, women,
and the natural world.
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Pages:19-23
How to cite this article:
Nisha Sharma, Amita Rani "Gender, ecology and resistance: An eco-feminist reading of selected works of Vandana Shiva and Kamala Markandaya". World Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, Vol 2, Issue 3, 2026, Pages 19-23
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