and all-women groups being more
conducive to women’s participation since critical mass makes
it easier for them to express their concerns (Agarwal, 2010).
Although there were no explicit rules of seclusion in the cases
studied, social norms delineated women’s roles and influenced
their participation at all levels. These were relatively less stringent
in the Indore case compared to the Gwalior and Jabalpur
cases, which corresponded with the higher level of participation
in Indore. This could be because social fragmentation is
less apparent in the communities in Indore, which is located
in the more progressive Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh.
The city is home to migrants from all over India and is culturally
very diverse.