Indigenous Women's Struggles to Oppose State-Sponsored Deforestation in Chhattisgarh, India
Publisher: Gender and Development
Author(s): Sulakshana Nandi and Samir Garg
Date: 2017
Topics: Gender, Land
Countries: India
In Chhattisgarh state, nearly half the land area is covered with forests that are essential to the livelihoods and culture of the indigenous communities there. Tree felling has escalated in the past decades, with natural forests replaced by teak plantations. The article narrates the struggles of AAS, an organisation of indigenous women, for restoration of land and forest rights to the indigenous communities. It shows the importance of people’s organisations and their struggles for natural resource justice. Women have challenged the state, using a range of strategies.