Gender and education mobilities in China and India: towards an inter-Asia comparative framework INTRODUCTION

This introductory article traces the historical, political and economic organization of gender and education in China and India to build a comparative framework for the articles in the issue. We begin with a brief history of women's education in the modern period in each country, followed by a sketch of the contemporary situations and key features of the education systems today, and a discussion of the ways in which gendered family and social structures shape women's education and employment opportunities and practices. Against this contextual background, we then discuss the papers in the issue. We compare the scale of women's education mobilities, the spectrum of meanings attached to these, and the forms of familial involvement across the two countries as shaped by intersectional inequalities specific to each country. Rural-urban and vocational-academic distinctions are highlighted in the Chinese context and caste hierarchies and regional specificity in the Indian context.