Conclusion

The conclusion synthesises both theoretical and ethnographic insights to interpret women’s actions aimed at creating habitable lives. For women who haven’t capitalised on opportunities presented by neoliberal projects to explore beyond their villages and broaden their horizons, marriage remains central to their conception of an ideal life. They navigate between resistance, conformity, and rationalisation, perceiving their suffering as enduringly beautiful and irreversible. This response reflects a vulnerability rooted in socialized gender norms, fostering a passive endurance of suffering. However, upon closer examination, their responses reveal a latent capacity to transform suffering into opportunities for improving their life. This transformation process is conceptualised as vulnerability evolving into resilience. Women leverage their social networks, seek assistance from the state, engage with the supernatural, and find solace in virtual spaces offered by television and mobile phones to navigate marital challenges. This navigation is characterised by ‘careful resilience’, ensuring that their actions enhance rather than jeopardize their marriages and family lives, thereby contributing to the creation of more habitable circumstances. The conclusion emphasis the nuanced ways in which women exercise agency, adaptability, and resilience amidst adversities, ultimately shaping their experiences into a persistence of a good life within the confines of societal expectations.