Empowerment of tribal women in India: Nature and dynamics

In the Indian context, ‘tribe’ has never been defined precisely and satisfactorily. The tribal groups, for historical reasons, have remained socially and economically backward. The tribal women, as women in all social groups, are more illiterate than men. Empowerment is defined as “a process to enable a powerless woman to develop autonomy, self-control and confidence with a group of women and men, a sense of collective influence over oppressive social conditions”. They have different status in the different sectors, such as; economic sectors, social sectors, political sectors, and religious sectors. The empowerment of tribal women has been recognized as the central issue in determining the status of tribal women. The National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. The political status of Indian women has undergone change due to the progress of education and economic empowerment. However, more tribal women are not getting chance to enter into politics. The tribal women are engaged in agricultural production and conserving forest, etc. Tribal women are courageous in the handling of environmental imperatives. They are not only competent food producers and house makers, but, are also the transmitters of rich local oral traditions. Various development and empowerment programmes are being implemented for their development, namely; MGNAREGA, SGRY, SGSY, IAY and NRHM, etc.