Representations of Women in Indian Graphic Novels: Evolution and Resistance

Abstract

This paper examines the evolving representation of women in Indian graphic novels from the early 2000s to the present, analyzing how these visual narratives both reflect and challenge traditional gender roles in Indian society. Through close readings of seminal works including Sarnath Banerjee's Corridor, Amruta Patil's Kari, Priya Kuriyan's Drawing the Line, and more recent works like Graphic India's female-led superheroes, this study traces how Indian graphic novelists have developed increasingly complex female characters who navigate tensions between tradition and modernity. Employing feminist literary criticism and visual analysis methodologies, this research demonstrates how the graphic novel medium offers unique possibilities for representing women's experiences through the interplay of text and image. The findings reveal that contemporary Indian graphic novels increasingly serve as sites of resistance where traditional gender narratives are questioned, subverted, and reimagined, creating space for more diverse and authentic representations of Indian womanhood.