New film highlights how women in India are resisting economic abuse

10th March 2025

‘I didn’t need to ask my husband for his permission. It is my money, and I can do whatever I please with it’

A new documentary produced by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University shines a light on how women in India are resisting economic abuse, navigating systemic and social barriers and negotiating economic freedom through paid work. 

EARNED is the second in a trilogy of films looking at the economic abuse of women in India. It tells the story of five resilient women negotiating economic freedom, resisting the familial, social and systemic injustices that seek to define their lives.

The film premieres at Sheffield Hallam University today (Friday 7 March) on the eve of International Women’s Day.

The documentary series SPENT, EARNED, SAVED: Economic Abuse in India is part of a project funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and Sheffield Hallam University looking at women’s employment and food insecurity in Bihar, India.

Economic abuse tends to involve controlling and coercive behaviour by a woman’s partner and sometimes their in-laws or other family members, threatening her economic security and potential for self-sufficiency. While economic abuse can take many forms, there are three main types: sabotage, restriction and exploitation.

As part of EARNED, women spoke of regaining some financial control through employment. One of the interviewees said: “The main thing I have learnt in life is that life is unpredictable. You can’t predict what’s going to happen. Every person should be individually independent. You should be able to stand on your own two feet at any time.”

Another of the interviewees said: “Two people living together are like two tyres on a vehicle: both have to run in sync for everything to function.”

Dr Punita Chowbey, project lead and senior research fellow in the School of Health and Social Care at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “EARNED reflects the invisible struggles of five women confronting economic injustices both within and outside the home. These women from diverse socioeconomic and occupational backgrounds are not just victims of systemic injustices and economic abuse but active negotiators of their own economic futures.

The first film in the trilogy, SPENT, released in 2023 received a number of awards and accolades including at Cannes World Film Festival, Kerala Short Film Festival, Folkestone Film Festival. It was a semi-finalist for Woman, Life Freedom film festival.