Women and Multiple Vulnerabilities in Conflict Areas

The state of Jharkhand was carved out of southern Bihar on November 15, 2000 essentially as a 'tribal state'. Economic growth was seen as the path to meet the goals of poverty alleviation and equity for the substantial tribal population left out of the post-independence mainstream development story in India. This has led to violent conflicts over land, mineral wealth and other natural resources, increasingly alienating the tribals. It compels us to think of Jharkhand's development in terms of conflict sensitive development which by its very nature is intrinsically linked with political empowerment.

Left Wing Extremism' (LWE), as the Government of India describes it, has swept across the state and while the impact has not been uniform, no district in Jharkhand is completely free from its larger impact. Women have been caught between armed state and non-state actors. Their plight, the conditions under which they can and do exercise agency in the midst of this conflict and tension that is often violent in nature, has not received systematic attention. This research study conducted by PRIA on the key issues and challenges women in conflict zones face was an attempt to plug this gap by breaking the silence around women, particularly tribal women.

Objectives

The participatory research facilitated a critical analysis of the multiple vulnerabilities tribal women face in Dumka and Jamtara districts. Using participatory research methods, the barriers in accessing education and health services, in particular the effect of the conflict, were analysed. Suggestions for ensuring more effective and equitable access to quality health and education services were made.

The study specifically focused on:

1. Impact of the unrest in Jharkhand particularly on tribal women in Dumka and Jamtara districts in terms of their lives, with special focus on health and education.
2. The nature of the interaction between women, both tribal and non-tribal, and the state machinery.
3. The real reach of the basic facilities of health and education for women in these areas.
4. The actual barriers on the ground that obstruct direct health and education service delivery to tribal women in the community and the steps that they think can be taken to improve access and utilization of these services.
5. The changes (if any) in gender relations, gender roles, gender ideologies and gendered institutions in the tribal communities in the midst of this unrest and how other (non-tribal) communities are affected.
6. Suggestions to improve utilization of health and education services by the women.
7. Identifying specific steps that can be taken to promote greater convergence between government departments associated with health and education services and institutions implementing the enabling provisions of the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act and the Forest Regulation Act (FRA).

Geographical spread

Ten sample villages covering both Dumka and Jamtara districts of Jharkhand state

Key areas/components

• Secondary literature review: Background information about the state, districts and the relevant service providers was collected.
• Pilot exploratory visit: An exploratory visit was undertaken during October 2012. This visit helped in the selection of the blocks and villages for the study.
• Inception report: On the basis of the pilot study an Inception Report was prepared and shared with the National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW) on November 1, 2012.
• Preparation of data collection tools: In keeping with the participatory (qualitative) nature of the study, Focussed Group Discussion (FGD) guides and semi-structured interview schedules were prepared and shared with the NMEW.
• Field visits for data collection: For the participatory data collection, two visits were made to each of the 10 intervening villages. The data collection visits were done in two phases. The first phase was in December 2012 and the second phase was in February 2013. In each phase, sample villages in both the districts were covered. During the first phase the focus was on assessing the access to health services (under NRHM), while in the second phase the focus was on assessing access to primary education (under SSA) and entitlements like ration card, BPL cards and Aadhar cards.
• Sharing of draft findings with the women: In keeping with the principles of participatory research, the draft findings were shared with the respondent groups at the village level during April 13 to 16 2013 in Dumka and Jamtara. This helped in triangulating the findings with the community, and also instilling a feeling of ownership in the community over the research process. Discussions on follow-up action at the village and panchayat levels were initiated through these visits.
• Preparations for state consultation: Meetings with the concerned officials of the social welfare, women and child development department as well as with CSOs working in Ranchi on tribal rights, health and education were undertaken as a preparatory step for the state consultation to be held in Ranchi.

Key outputs

1. An inception report setting out the backdrop and the research framework after preliminary exposure visits to the sites before the actual study was launched.
2. An interim report with preliminary findings that formed the basis of the sharing with the "research participants" in Jharkhand and other significant stakeholders within the state.
3. A final research study report (in English). A draft report has been submitted to the Ministry and awaits finalization based on their comments.

Learnings

This participatory research intervention in 10 tribal villages of Dumka and Jamtara districts has helped in collectively exploring the multiple vulnerabilities faced by tribal women. Their vulnerabilities are a result of their poor economic and education status, their tribal and gender identities, and living in a hostile geopolitical as well as socio-political environment. The study has shown how multiple vulnerabilities work in tandem with the systemic, capacity and context barriers of service providers to deny access of timely and quality development services to tribal women, thereby creating a viscous circle of vulnerability.

This research reinforces PRIA's learnings from its work in other areas that there is lack of interest in implementing the PESA Act, marginalization of the tribal community continues and women's marginalization affects their access to service delivery. The participatory research methodology used by PRIA is a powerful tool in helping to empower the vulnerable and marginalized.

The participatory nature of this research has facilitated both the tribal women and service providers to explore multiple, integrated solutions to address the multi-level barriers, and has helped them think of possible ways forward to break the vicious circle of vulnerability. The study findings reiterate the need for serious efforts and commitment by the government to effectively implement the different development schemes for tribal communities and tribal women. Greater gender and conflict sensitivity is required in planning and execution of all development projects in Jharkhand whether by the government or by civil society organizations. Greater understanding on part of the government and civil society organizations on how to work with women, traditional structures and local capacity models to facilitate greater political participation of women in PESA governed scheduled areas, including their roles in conflict resolution, is necessary. Better convergence between government departments in implementing the letter and spirit of PESA, especially the provisions that delineate community rights for women, is also required.

Year/Period : 2012-13

Client

Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India