Ashita Alag
Ashita Alag is a DPhil Candidate in Law at Pembroke College, University of Oxford. Her research examines gender neutrality in Indian rape law, focusing on how Indian feminist and LGBTQ social movements have engaged with questions of gender, sex and sexuality through debates surrounding the gendered nature of rape law. Drawing on criminal law and feminist legal theory, her work explores how the law recognises victims of sexual violence and considers broader questions about how criminal law should respond to sexual violence beyond traditional gender binaries.
- What is the title of your research, and what is it about?
My research is titled: 'Who is Rapeable? Rape Law and the Making of Gender, Sex and Sexuality in India'
This project attempts to tells the story of how the Indian feminist and LGBTQ social movements encountered the idea of gender-neutrality, how they responded to it, and ultimately, how they found their voice on broader issues of gender, sex and sexuality through it.
- Who is your supervisor?
Professor Jonathan Herring and Professor Shazia Choudhry
- How did you come up with your research topic?
It was during my LL.M. that I became interested in questions around how criminal law deals with sexual assault and rape. I was particularly interested in feminist legal theory and questions of how the harms of sexual violence should be understood and who the law recognises as a victim.
As I read more about Indian rape law and the feminist movement’s role in shaping it, I started thinking about the reasons behind the gendered way in which rape is currently understood. That led me to the question of gender neutrality in Indian rape law, and I felt that this was an area I wanted to explore further through my research.
- Why did you choose Oxford to undertake research in Criminal Law?
My research is on gender neutrality in Indian rape law, and I wanted to be in a place where I could look at the issue not just from a criminal-law perspective, but also through feminist legal theory. My supervisors at Oxford were particularly helpful in showing me that I could develop my research in that direction, and that really reinforced my decision to choose Oxford. I also felt that Oxford gave me the opportunity to look at my research beyond the Indian context and engage with broader debates around gender, sexual violence, and criminal law.
- How do you hope your research will contribute to law and society?
I hope my research will help illuminate the broader issues that underpin the choice between gender-specific and gender-neutral criminal laws. I also hope it can contribute to future discussions on how criminal law should respond to sexual violence beyond traditional gender binaries, both in India and in other jurisdictions.