Women′s Livelihood Rights

This interdisciplinary book brings together different dimensions of women′s livelihood, citizenship and development. It unravels the patriarchal structure of natural resource policy in India and argues that the context of citizenship needs to be extended to include the right to recognition of ways of life and livelihood, so that women take their legitimate space as productive human beings, entitled to dignity as a political right, and not merely to protection and welfare.

The chapters in the book reflect the interrelatedness of several complex themes: the need to recognise resource rights together with livelihood strategies; the challenges of democratic governance and of restructuring institutional systems; the role of women′s collective agency in development and the lessons that emerge from women′s struggle for dignity and livelihood.

This interdisciplinary book looks at women`s natural resource-based livelihoods in the wider context of development viewed through the lens of citizenship rights. Unravelling the patriarchal social fabric and policy structures in India, it argues that the concept of citizenship needs to be extended to include recognition of ways of life and livelihood, so that women take their legitimate space as productive human beings, entitled to dignity as a political right, and not merely to protection and welfare.

The editor weaves together a historical perspective on varied dimensions of livelihood, development and citizenship. Drawing upon rich field-based researches in 13 states across India, the authors deal with complex and inter-related themes: the need to recognise women`s right to resources and their livelihood and employment strategies; the challenges of democratic governance and of restructuring institutional systems to make them responsive; and the role of women`s collective agency in development.
Reflecting upon and critically analysing context-specific issues in several less-studied locations, the book shows that there is much to be learnt from empathetic interaction with the collective struggles of poor women, and from action and dialogue on the ground. Further, it suggests that feminist politics has to network strategically with other struggles to counter the resistance of traditional and contemporary patriarchal structures, and to work towards recasting citizenship for a gender-just development that ensures women`s livelihood rights.

Preface
Recasting Citizenship for Women′s Livelihood and Development - Sumi Krishna
PART ONE: RECOGNITION AND RESOURCE RIGHTS
Whose Rights? Women in Pastoralist and Shifting Cultivation Communities: A Continuing Struggle for Recognition and Rights to Livelihood Resources - Sagari R Ramdas and Nitya S Ghotge
Transgressing Political Spaces and Claiming Citizenship: The Case of Women Kendu Leaf Pluckers and the Community Forestry Federation, Ranapur, Orissa - Neera M Singh
Legal Identity and Natural Resource Management: The Foraging Irula Women of Killai, Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu - Thamizoli and Ignatius Prabhakar
PART TWO: WORK AND EMPLOYMENT STRATEGIES
Marginal Lives in Marginal Lands: Livelihood Strategies of Women-headed, Immigrant Households on the ′Char′ lands of the River Damodar, West Bengal - Gopa Samanta and Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt
Migrant Tribal Women′s Struggle for Livelihood: A Study of the Employment Assurance Scheme in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh - Sandeep Joshi
PART THREE: THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE - Chhaya Datar Restructuring the Employment Guarantee Scheme: Efforts to Provide Livelihood Opportunities through Women′s SHGs and Horticulture in Maharashtra
In the Name of the Community: Gender, Development and Governance in Arunachal Pradesh - Deepak K Mishra and Vandana Upadhyay
The Reinforcement of Gender Stereotypes through Modern Education: The Case of Mizoram - B Lakshmi
PART FOUR: RESTRUCTURING INSTITUTIONAL SYSTEMS
Mainstreaming Gender in Agricultural Research and Extension: How do we Move beyond Efficiency Arguments? - Meghana Kelkar
Women and Water Policy: Issues and Alternatives - Seema Kulkarni
Do Property Rights in Land Ensure Greater Participation of Women in Resource Management? Notes from a Study in Rural Karnataka - M Indira
′Just′ Laws are not enough: A Note on the Common Civil Code, Marriage and Inheritance in Goa - Shaila Desouza
PART FIVE: WOMEN′S COLLECTIVE AGENCY, DEVELOPMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
The Sangha Mane: The Translation of an Internal Need into a Physical Space - Vinalini Mathrani and Vani Periodi
SHGs as Change Agents in Enhancing the Political Participation of Women in Local Self-Governance - Mandakini Pant
Exploring Linkages between Citizenship, Livelihood Security and Gender Equality: Planned Interventions and Outcomes in Rajasthan - Shobhita Rajagopal
PART SIX: DIGNITY IN STRUGGLE: LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Women′s Development under Patriarchy: The Experience of the Sathins - Rajesh Ramakrishnan, Viren Lobo and Depinder Kapur
Index