Varsha is a Commonwealth Split-Site PhD scholar at the King’s India Institute and a doctoral student in Gender Studies at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India.

Her research interests include gender and politics, women’s political participation, gender ideology and political agency.

Research

Thesis title: 'Economic Changes and the New Entrants: Understanding women's participation in local governments in Kerala, India'

Varsha's doctoral research examines women’s political participation in India and how it is shaped by context-specific gender ideologies and informal political practices. Focusing on the state of Kerala, India and situated within the context of recent economic changes, it seeks to understand how the political agency of women representatives in local governments is being reshaped through this process.

PhD supervision

• Principal supervisor: Professor Louise Tillin