Situating Tribal Women in Gender Discourse: A Study of the Socio-economic Roots of Gender Violence in Odisha

Abstract

Violence against the vulnerable sections of the society arising due to multitude factors in the era of globalisation is a serious matter of social and academic discourse. The growing incidence of violence perpetrated against women in contemporary times is a testimony to the fast-eroding idea of human security in a globalised world, which originates from the patriarchal power structure existing in the society.

Women at large are proving to be the most vulnerable section of the society, who bear the brunt of the ongoing process of social and economic transformations in the 21st century. Globalisation has presented new challenges for the realisation of the goal of women’s equality and justice, the gender impact of which has not been systematically evaluated fully. Benefits of the growing global economy are unevenly distributed leading to wide economic disparities, the feminisation of poverty, increased gender inequality through deteriorating working conditions and an unsafe working environment, especially in the rural areas. Violence against tribal women as a legitimate human rights issue is examined within four broad parameters of globalisation, development, displacement and migration.