The Role of Tribal Farm Women in Agricultural and Allied Activities of Manipur State

Abstract

Tribes have a distinct culture and unique way of life. This uniqueness gives them a separate identity. This aboriginal population in India has their own culture, religious and societal norms. While some of the Indian tribal societies have merged with the mainstream, most of the tribes are rooted to their native culture even today. Tribal farm women have played an important role in agriculture, undertaking a wide range of activities relating to food production, processing and marketing. In agriculturally backward areas, tribal farm women are forbidden to touch a plough and cannot dig the ground but in all other agricultural operations, women participate actively and traditionally these are a female's job. The present work, study the gender participation in agricultural and allied activities among the tribal farm women of Manipur state. Data were collected and analyzed by using appropriate statistical technique. Tribal farm women were actively participating in a wide range of farm activities such as from land preparation till the crops were harvested.