Mainu Goswami

Work Participation of Tribal Women: a Geographical Study in Dhemaji District of Assam Mainu Goswami

Study of women issues assumed great importance in global context. Geographical research on female work participation in agriculture, especially in remote North Eastern areas of India is still very limited,despite the fact that rural tribal women's contribution is significant toward the economic development of the family and the society. Beyond the conventional market-oriented narrower definition of ?productive workers', almost all women in rural India today can be considered as ?farmers' who works as agricultural labours, unpaid workers in the family farm enterprise, or a combination of the two. The whole issue of female work participation in the present context is based on a geographic approach and relates it to the agro-ecological parameters. It also intends to examine the impact of ethnic factor in differentiating female involvement in work taking three ethnic groups viz. the Mishings, the Deoris and the Sonowal Kachari women as indicators residing in the same agroecological unit of Dhemaji district of Assam, India. The work is thought to throw some light into the gender issues of tribal societies living in the remote areas of North East India.