Paper short abstract:

The paper uses the concept of 'social reproduction to understand the role of Uttarakhandi women (women from ‘Uttarakhand’, India) in the decision-making process to fulfil their forest-dependent lifestyle as well as conserve the ecosystem through 'Mahila Mangal Dal' in Uttarakhand, India

Paper long abstract:

Ecofeminist literature written in the Indian context has ample examples of Uttarakhandi women, ranging from their role in the Chipko Movement, fighting for their customary forest rights to their daily forest-dependent lifestyle. Their daily chores take up to 16 to 17 hours of their day which includes fuelwood gathering, fetching water on their back, cattle-rearing, agriculture, etc. These daily activities are quintessential for the social reproduction of labour and labourers. This paper tries to explore the story of women of one such village which was dealing with problems of alcoholism, illegal acquisition of land by neighbouring villages, exploitation of women by the men (mental, physical and sexual), etc. Tired of this exploitation and zero recognition of their contribution in the domestic, social and economic spheres, a group of women named ‘Mahila Mangal Dal’ (literally translating to Women’s Welfare Committee) was formed in a small Indian Himalayan Village called Bhurmuni in the year 2006. These women transitioned from docile housewives to gaining political agency, which in turn led to the transition of some ‘concrete labour’ to ‘abstract labour’. They have redefined their role as natural resource managers by claiming their customary rights in forests and public spheres.

This paper aims to look at their story through two objectives: one, to understand historically the transition of women’s role in both the sphere of production and the sphere of reproduction with the changing socio-economic setup around them; and second, the transition of different types of work from ‘concrete labour’ to ‘abstract labour’.