This introduction to the special issue lays out the importance of studying women’s collectives in South Asia. We argue in this issue that it is particularly important to examine collectives in this moment because transformations in South Asian women’s lives are increasingly described in individual terms in state policy and international development discourses. The emphasis on individual empowerment alone, however, effaces the subtle negotiations that women carry out with state actors, development workers, families, the market and their communities through collectives. The articles in the special issue examine how women’s participation in collectives and collective spaces enables them to imagine transformations in their lives. We also discuss the limitations of collectives-led transformation.

本期特刊的序言阐明了研究南亚妇女集体的重要性。我们在这个问题上认为，此时此刻检查集体特别重要，因为在国家政策和国际发展话语中，越来越多地以个人的方式描述南亚妇女生活的转变。然而，单单强调赋予个人权力，就掩盖了妇女通过集体与国家行为者，发展工作者，家庭，市场及其社区进行的微妙谈判。本期特刊中的文章探讨了妇女如何参与集体和集体空间，使她们能够想象生活的转变。我们还将讨论集体主导的转型的局限性。