DAMS DISPLACEMENT AND RESETTLEMENT OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN MALAYSIA: GENDER INSIGHTS AND LESSONS FROM SOME CASE STUDIES

Abstract

What has gender to do with dams displacement and resettlement? The late social anthropologist Elizabeth Colson through her long-term ethnographic research since the 1950s on forced uprooting by development projects with the Gwembe Tonga of Zambia saw the importance to link gender with the experiences of uprooted women, men and children (cf. Colson 1971, 1999). Yet, in practice, gender continues to be overlooked in many dams and resettlement schemes everywhere. This paper critically reviews issues of dam-induced displacement and resettlement of indigenous communities in Malaysia from a gender lens. It begins by examining resettlement of dam-displaced indigenous communities in Malaysia, particularly in my research areas, to highlight gendered and social consequences, and linkages with ancestral land rights and access to resources. The next section then examines issues of compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation processes. It concludes with gender insights and lessons from my case studies on dam decisions and resettlement processes. The paper argues that dam displacement and resettlement issues are highly gendered, and frequently associated with top-down decisions that seek to legitimise land acquisition of indigenous peoples’ lands in the name of “development”. I thus call on decision makers and implementers to adopt a more responsible and gender-responsive approach to “development”.