‘We are the emerging Nepali society’ : Between the local and global : Subject positions of young women working in NGOs in Kathmandu

Identity is a much-studied topic within social psychology, and it has historically been linked with rapid societal change, such as a shift to modernity or postmodernity. Nepal is one of the fastest developing and urbanizing countries in South Asia, which opens up for identity negotiation as societal structures and discourses shift. Previous anthropological research on young women in Nepal and Kathmandu has highlighted the tension present in constructing identities as modern and Nepali, both because of conflicting discourses available for women as well as hegemonic constructs of Nepali womanhood within development discourse. This thesis investigates how young women working in development NGOs in Kathmandu construct Nepali womanhood and position themselves in relation to these constructions. Building on previous anthropological and sociological research on women in Nepal, a Critical Discursive Psychological approach is introduced for inquiry on the topic. Identity is approached through the concept of subject positions and the critical discursive psychological theoretical tools of ideological dilemmas and interpretative repertoires are used to answer the research questions. The data was collected by semi-structured thematic interviews that included one-on-one, dyad and small group interviews. The data included for final analyses was collected through interviews with 11 participants selected through purposive sampling. The research process was marked by reflexivity and the analyses reshaped the research questions to a focus on the constructions of Nepali womanhood and the subject positions available, in relation to the dilemma of being a modern Nepali woman. The themes brought up by the participants were centred around gender inequality and marriage, both of which were also at the root of the dilemma. From the data three main interpretative repertoires were proposed, namely cultural, neoliberal and development repertoire. The main construction of Nepali womanhood was that of woman as mother, as ideal Nepali, as individual with agency, and as woman in need of development. In solving the dilemma and renegotiating the constructs of Nepali womanhood the participants positioned as atypical either by othering, accepting, resisting or altering. The main result is that the women interviewed actively renegotiate the meaning of both Nepaliness and what it means to be modern when negotiating their identities and thus construct alternative positions. Finally, methodological and theoretical concerns are raised and ideas for further research, such as including men working in the same field in Kathmandu, are proposed