"Mapping from the Margins" Concept Introduced at Nepal Conference

A critical component of the four-day conference has been introducing the concept of "mapping from the margins." In these sessions, conference participants mapped out the conflicts in South Asia from a gendered perspective, creating visual representations that reflect their own experience.

Rita Manchanda, who developed this concept, describes the maps as highly personal and a vehicle for challenging state-centric representations of conflict and borders. She sees the mapping process as a catalyst for discussion and new understandings of conflicts. "This is the newest and most exciting element of what I've been doing. Initially there is some resistance to the idea of "mapping," but when they start doing it, their creative energy flows. First, it's pain and then it's creative vision, a vision of the future. Each map is very different and is a new means [for the mapmaker] to understanding her own conflict. It is also a means of translating the reality of her own conflict to someone else. The "mapping" process at this conference was done by women on-site together in groups and was very creative. It worked for them, so I think they'll take the concept back with them and use it in workshops and their own communities."

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