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Abstract:
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"This paper highlights struggle of poor tribal women towards protection and conservation of
village common lands i.e. forestland, village pastures and reservoirs. These studies capture
importance of common land resources in the daily survival of tribal women and their forced
alienation and marginalization in the governance of these vital natural resources. The paper
then details out struggle of tribal women leaders, who stood up against the tide of oppression
posed by feudal lords and other powerful patrons in their respective villages. Being tribal women
in socially stratified rural landscape has been an added disadvantage, amongst multiple layers
of vulnerabilities. The paper highlights agonies and discrimination experienced by poor tribal
women at the hands of the powerful patrons & also their own community members. How these
women challenged the conventionally oppressive forces in a constructive and peaceful manner
is broadly captured in the study.
These tribal women leaders spearheaded grassroots movements for the purpose of equitable
and more gender just land relations. These women leaders were instrumental in altering the
skewed property and power relations and establishment of normative protection and
management systems around commons, through village level institutions. These women
leaders also played a strategically critical role in sustaining the developed common pool
resources by working out appropriate resource sharing mechanisms. There have been
enormous economic, socio-political and institutional gains of these initiatives of women leaders;
around common land resources .Work of these women leaders has inspired many other village
leaders and development workers at the grassroots.
This narrative is based on an action & applied research work conducted by development
practitioners in the field areas of Seva Mandir a voluntary organization working in tribal
dominated Udaipur and Rajsamand districts of Udaipur in Rajasthan province of India. The
study represents compilation of case studies in which poor tribal women have displayed a
highest level of leadership towards stewardship of common land of their village. Under the
research, live examples of struggles of women leaders are shared. The study is based on a
combination of personal interviews, focused group discussions and write shops conducted with
the prominent women leaders."
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