Reclaiming Dignity: A Recognition-Based Reading of Gangubai Kathiawadi
Abstract
This study analyzes Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi through the lens of Axel Honneth's recognition theory, focusing on the efforts to achieve dignity through a prestigious profession. While sex workers in India are often victims of shame and exclusion, the film serves as a narrative counter depicting how Gangubai managed to turn stigma into empowerment. This study employs qualitative content analysis methods to examine scenes and dialogues, exploring how Gangubai navigates three domains: love, human rights, and solidarity. The findings of the study show that this degree is achieved by assuming the role of a mother figure in her community, by demanding legal and political recognition for sex workers, and by earning social esteem as a respected leader. By making dignity a central theme, the study moves beyond conventional discussions of marginalization and stigma by offering a new look at how Bollywood films reimagine sex workers as agents of empowerment and justice. This analysis places Gangubai Kathiawadi as a significant cultural text that redefines womanhood and advocates for the recognition of marginalized identities.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Acharya, A., & Azhar, S. (2024). We are Treated as Outsiders in Our Own City”: Lived Experiences of Intersectional Stigma Against Sex Workers in Kolkata, India. Sexuality Research and Social Policy. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-01054-8
Afandi, F., Salim, F., Nabila, K. N., Meisya, S. B., & Rangkuti, R. (2025). Feminist Stylistics Analysis of the Movie “Gangubai Kathiawadi”: The Queen of Kamathipura who Defied Gender Inequality. Journal of English Language and Education, 10(3), 577-585.
Alam, A., & Fatima, K. (2023). “Empowering and Integrating Sex Workers in India: A Prerequisite for India’s Economic Growth and Social Progress.” In Handbook for the National Seminar on Sex Workers. the National Commission for Women in collaboration with Jamia Hamdard.
Andersen, C. S. (2022). Recognition and Capability – Prerequisites for Empowerment for Children with Disabilities? Child Indicators Research, 15(4), 1363–1378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-022-09925-5
Aranda, A. M., Helms, W. S., Patterson, K. D. W., Roulet, T. J., & Hudson, B. A. (2023). Standing on the Shoulders of Goffman: Advancing a Relational Research Agenda on Stigma. Business and Society, 62(7), 1339–1377. https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503221148441
Arivanantham, R., & Radhakrishnan, V. (2023). Enclothed Cognition, White Solipsism, and Clothing Transition: A Study on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022). Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 0(0), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509208.2023.2295773
Azhar, S., Dasgupta, S., Sinha, S., & Karandikar, S. (2020). Diversity in sex work in India: challenging stereotypes regarding sex workers. Sexuality and Culture, 24(6), 1774–1797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09719-3
Bhansali, S.L. (2022). Gangubai Kathiawadi. Lookmovie. Retrieved from https://www.lookmovie2.to/movies/view/10083340-gangubai-kathiawadi-2022 Accessed on October 5, 2024
Chaubey, P. (2023). Filmfare Awards 2023: Gangubai Kathiawadi And Badhaai Do Win Big - Full List Of Winners. NDTV. https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/filmfare-awards-2023-gangubai-kathiawadi-and-badhaai-do-win-big-full-list-of-winners-3986692
Daniel, T., Lamb, J., & Campbell, C. (2023). Avoidance and empowerment: How do sex workers navigate stigma? Sexualities, 0(0), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607231201736
Deka, M. (2022). Religion, gender and sexuality: The devadasi system in Assam. Sexuality and Culture, 26(6), 2187–2201. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-09992-4
Dissanayake, A. S. (2024). Navigating gender dynamics: A comprehensive analysis of ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi.’ Ceylon Today. https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/02/13/navigating-gender-dynamics-a-comprehensive-analysis-of-gangubai-kathiawadi/
España, M., Karandikar, S., McCloskey, R. J., & Reno, R. (2023). The Journey through Sex Trafficking, Motherhood, and Building Resilience: A Qualitative Study among Women Living in Kamathipura Red-light Area. Journal of Human Trafficking, 9(2), 229–241.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2021.1885238
Fraser, J. A. (2018). Amazonian struggles for recognition. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 43(4), 718–732. https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12254
Ghosal, S., Jana, S., Mani, A., Mitra, S., & Roy, S. (2022). Sex Workers, Stigma, and Self-Image: Evidence From Kolkata Brothels. Review of Economics and Statistics, 104(3), 431–448. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01013
Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management ofspoiled identity. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Gore, M. N., & Patwardhan, A. R. (2022). Disparities in the Cost of Living Adjusted Earnings of Female Sex Workers in India, Thailand, and the USA: A Need to Create an Equitable Economic Survival of Female Sex Workers. Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 13, 1–5.
https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319221101857
Hart, G., Allen, A., Aubyn, B. S., & Mason, J. (2023). Exploring the Relationships Between Internalised Stigma, Loneliness, and Mental Well-Being Among Sex Workers. Sexuality and Culture, 27(1), 191–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-10009-3
Hearty, K. (2024). The Zemiological Afterlife of Wrongful Conviction: Spoiled Identity, Repair and Survivorship. Critical Criminology, 32(1), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-023-09737-1
Honneth, A. (1992). Integrity and disrespect: Principles of a conception of morality based on the theory of recognition. Political Theory, 20(2), 187-201. https://doi.org/10.1177/0090591792020002001
Honneth, A. (1995). The struggle for recognition: The moral grammar of social conflicts. Translated by Joel Anderson. Polity Press.
Honneth, A. (2006). Kamp om anerkendelse: Sociale konflikters moralske grammatik [The struggle for rec- ognition – The moral grammar of social conflicts]. Hans Reitzels forlag.
Huynh, A., Khan, S., Nair, S., Chevrier, C., Roger, K., Isac, S., Bhattacharjee, P., & Lorway, R. (2019). Intervening in masculinity: work, relationships and violence among the intimate partners of female sex workers in South India. Critical Public Health, 29(2), 156–167.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2018.1444266
Karandikar, S., Casassa, K., Knight, L., España, M., & Kagotho, N. (2022). “I Am Almost a Breadwinner for My Family”: Exploring the Manifestation of Agency in Sex Workers’ Personal and Professional Contexts. Affilia - Feminist Inquiry in Social Work, 37(1), 26–41.
https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099211022717
Lepold, K. (2019). Examining Honneth’s Positive Theory of Recognition. Critical Horizons, 20(3), 246–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/14409917.2019.1644810
Lestari, C. S. N., Darmajanti, P., Bethvine Sopaheluwakan, Y., Parnaningroem, R. R. D. W., Fanani, U. Z., Sukarman, S., Putera, L. J., Lubis, I. S., & Suprihatien, S. (2024). The chronicles of Gangubai Kathiawadi: An evolution from book to blockbuster. World Journal of English Language, 15(1), 17.
https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v15n1p17
Nandkumar, R. (2022). Bollywood film ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ paints an ambivalent picture of sex workers’ rights. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/bollywood-film-gangubai-kathiawadi-paints-an-ambivalent-picture-of-sex-workers-rights-188634
Pada, R. T. D. S. (2022). The Progress of Asymmetries in Axel Honneth’s Recognition Theory. Philosophia (Philippines), 23(1), 152–165. https://doi.org/10.46992/PIJP.23.1.A.9
Pokhariyal, P., Parikh, M., & Bhardwaj, S. (2025). Do Sex Workers Have Human Rights? Looking Through the Lens of Indian Cinema. In: Dubin, A., Goswami, R., Sharma, I. (eds). In Indian Cinema and Human Rights: An Intersectional Tale. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-
-97-6028-2_4
Pongpan, K. (2023). Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022): The empowering resistance. Literature and Literacy, 1(2), 81-94. https://doi.org/10.21831/litlit.v1i2.26
Robson, J. (2023). Stigma and spoiled identities: rescripting career norms for precariously employed academic staff. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 44(1), 183–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2022.2137464
Rohilla, N., & Rani, R. (2024). Devadasi and violence in Sisir Das’ A Bride for Jagannatha and Maya Goray’s Devadasi. Asiatic, 18(1), 18–34. https://doi.org/10.31436/asiatic.v18i1.3209
Sengupta, I. (2022). How Gangubai Kathiawadi alters the depiction of prostitution in Hindi films. Newsnine. https://www.news9live.com/entertainment/bollywood/gangubai-kathiawadi-alia-bhatt-depiction-of-prostitution-in-bollywood-156295
Shankar, S., & Ganesan, P. (2021). The devadasis, dance community of South India: A legal and social outlook. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 29(1), 102–140. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10052
Shukla, R. (2019). Sex Workers in Hindi Cinema: Imagos and Realities. In Sengupta, S., Roy, S., Purkayastha, S. (eds) “Bad” Women of Bombay Films. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26788-9_10
Sinha, S., & Prasad, I. (2021). Examining hopes, aspirations, and future plans of women in non-brothel-based sex work in Kolkata, India. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 23(7), 913–926. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2020.1740793
Sumarsono, I., & Masofa, I. (2022). Women’s Empowerment in The Matriarch of Kamathipura, a part of Hussain Zaidi’s Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Lensa: Kajian Kebahasaan, Kesusastraan, Dan Budaya, 12(2), 166. https://doi.org/10.26714/lensa.12.2.2022.166-179
Tangtenglam, S. (2023). Perception of Indian Culture towards Contents of Gangubai Kathiawadi. International Journal of Sociologies and Anthropologies Science Reviews, 3(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.14456/jsasr.2023.1
Tsang, E. Y. ha, Qiao, S., Wilkinson, J. S., Fung, A. L. chu, Lipeleke, F., & Li, X. (2019). Multilayered Stigma and Vulnerabilities for HIV Infection and Transmission: A Qualitative Study on Male Sex Workers in Zimbabwe. American Journal of Men’s Health, 13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988318823883
Vidya, N. ., & Balakrishnan, K. (2023). Forced prostitution and human trafficking in thebrothels : a socio-political analysis of selected films. 11(5), 795–805.
Waelen, R., & Wieczorek, M. (2022). The Struggle for AI’s Recognition: Understanding the Normative Implications of Gender Bias in AI with Honneth’s Theory of Recognition. Philosophy and Technology, 35(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-022-00548-w
Whelan, J. (2021). Specters of Goffman: Impression Management in the Irish Welfare Space. 15(1), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/1936724420983578
Wilson, B. (2020). Can legislation alone protect devadasi girls from child sexual abuse and exploitation? Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 29(5), 606–625. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2020.1774696
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
eISSN : 2550-2131
ISSN : 1675-8021