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We analysed data from the photovoice method and storytelling method to distil what precarity and coloniality meant to our collective. The data, collected over two rounds of fieldwork with the collective, were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun et al., 2023).
Click on the word clouds to read more about the themes that we developed. Each coloured word is a code and codes of the same colour come together to form a theme
Click on the word clouds to read more about the themes that we developed. Each coloured word is a code and codes of the same colour come together to form a theme
Precarity & Coloniality
What is coloniality?
Coloniality is the ongoing effect of colonial rule, even after formal independence.
It shows up in how people are treated, whose knowledge matters, and who gets access to jobs, housing, healthcare and education.
In this project, coloniality helps explain why urban-poor Malaysian-Indian women still face structural barriers today through racialised policies, class hierarchies, and social stigma that have roots in colonial systems.
It’s not just about the past, but how the past shapes the present.
What is precarity?
For many urban-poor Malaysian-Indian women in this project, precarity is not just about poverty. It’s about being stretched thin, undervalued, and at risk of falling through the cracks.
Precarity can mean living with constant instability due to the lack of steady work, secure housing, a reliable income, or social support.
But precarity is not just a space of suffering and hopelessness.
When engaging with precarity, we see how Malaysian Indian women exhibit individual strength and creativity. Precarity structures their relationships with one another and can also build community resilience.
Precarity can mean living with constant instability due to the lack of steady work, secure housing, a reliable income, or social support.
But precarity is not just a space of suffering and hopelessness.
When engaging with precarity, we see how Malaysian Indian women exhibit individual strength and creativity. Precarity structures their relationships with one another and can also build community resilience.