Publication

Abstract : The presentation was made in National Symposium, “Women’s Land Rights and Access to Agri-resources & Services in Changing Development Scenario” is being jointly organised by Oxfam India and the ICAR - Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (ICAR-CIWA) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. In the recent years, the international forestry community fully recognizes that women and men play different roles in forestry and forestry-related activities. In India, Forest Rights Act (FRA -2006) recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling schedule tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing over such forest for generations. They are empowered to conserve biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance and there by strengthening the governance regime. In this study we have focused on women right under the provision of FRA and gather such evidences from different corners of Odisha. A multi-level process starting from awareness for assertion and determination of rights under FRA. We found significant gender differentiation in right recognition as well as assertion during the different processes laid down under the Act. However, we also found that men play a much more important and multi-variant role in the whole scenario of right recognition process. It needs an immediate attention so as to bring policy level changes in order to give justice to women to sustainable livelihoods etc. Under Section 4 (4) of the Act a right conferred by Sub-Section (1) shall be heritable but not alienable or transferable and shall be registered jointly in the name of both the spouses in case of married persons and in the name of the single head in the case of a household headed by a single person. Forest Rights Act provides legal space for mandatory involvement of women and ensures participation and representation women in the process of decision making relating to forest rights including in process of claiming rights over community forest resources.