A PORTRAYAL OF FEMALE INDIAN INDENTURED LABOURERS IN THE SWINGING BRIDGE BY RAMABAI ESPINET

Abstract

This study seeks to dispel the erroneous belief surrounding female indentured labour held by European scholars. The study highlights Indian indentured labourers' experiences and how both genders especially women were able to adjust to colonial control. The study examines the text under review through a contextual reading, interpretation, and analysis using concentration on the qualitative research approach. It also makes reference to critical studies and other non-literary materials about the system of indentured labour. The dominance of a putative superior culture over a presumed inferior culture is explained by the theory of power. Further to the study, though Indian women were able to flee the harsh reality of patriarchal society back home, they eventually returned to face similar challenges when they established themselves abroad. This study exposes the abuse of women, showing how white managers and as well as Indian males, who were supposed to be protectors, sexually assaulted them. The study's conclusion emphasizes that, while indentureship may have given women the chance to carve out a place for themselves, the system in its entirety, is predicated on racial domination, cruelty, and survival in the assumed new world.