Abstract
Women in the marginal areas of Uttarakhand have always played and continue to play a significant role in managing and operating most of the household and agricultural activities. They are the main subsistence provider in the hills and considered the backbone of hill agriculture. Their lives are intrinsically related to land, water, forest, which are the main components and integral parts of an eco-system. An adverse effect on any one of these components disturbs the other components due to strong linkages and interrelationship with each other and creates havoc on the life of people, especially women in the region. However, in recent years, environmental degradation, poor resource management and increased migration of men to the plains have deteriorated the livelihood options and added more workload to women of the region. The sufferings of the communities in these hilly areas are gradually increasing and their standard of living is declining because they have been neglected at both policy and practice levels by the government. The nexus between women, environment degradation and poverty are poorly understood and rarely treated in an integrated way. Therefore, the key objective of the present paper is to analyse the work participation of women operating at different sub-systems, impact of environmental degradation and role of women in sustaining the traditional agro-ecosystem in Khul Gad micro-watershed of Kumoun Himalaya.
Highlights
A considerable amount of literature all over the world have established that women are involved in agricultural activities alongside other domestic works (Boserup, 1970; Momsen, 1991; Sarma, 2009; Bhattacharyya et al, 2010; Bhattacharyya et al, 2011; Bhattacharyya and Vauquline, 2013)
This high work-participation rate of women in the labour force is determined by the nature of the economy of the area (FAO, 2011; Elborgh-Woytek, 2013)
Though there are enough literatures that focus on the importance and contribution of Indian women to both agricultural and household activities (Bhattacharyya, 2009; Bhattacharyya et al, 2010, 2011; Bhattacharyya and Vauquline, 2013; Sen Gupta, 1969; Desai and Krishnaraj, 1987; Biswas, 1990; Samal, 1993), yet, the information regarding the role of hill women in central Himalayan region is lacking in terms of its functioning at different sub-system levels of development (Pokhriyal, 1994; Tyagi, 2006)
Summary
A considerable amount of literature all over the world have established that women are involved in agricultural activities alongside other domestic works (Boserup, 1970; Momsen, 1991; Sarma, 2009; Bhattacharyya et al, 2010; Bhattacharyya et al, 2011; Bhattacharyya and Vauquline, 2013). Though there are enough literatures that focus on the importance and contribution of Indian women to both agricultural and household activities (Bhattacharyya, 2009; Bhattacharyya et al, 2010, 2011; Bhattacharyya and Vauquline, 2013; Sen Gupta, 1969; Desai and Krishnaraj, 1987; Biswas, 1990; Samal, 1993), yet, the information regarding the role of hill women in central Himalayan region is lacking in terms of its functioning at different sub-system levels of development (Pokhriyal, 1994; Tyagi, 2006). I discuss a ‘way forward’, where I argue that the relationship between women, environment and poverty needs to be better understood at the policy level and thereby, this nexus should be treated in an integrated way
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