Promoting Gender Equality in the Context of Agriculture and Natural Resource Management: Opportunities, Challenges, and Management Policies in Indian Mid-Himalayas

Abstract

Women in hill regions are gradually becoming the de facto household heads and the main working force due to out-migration of male counterparts in search of livelihood. At such times when the climate is changing at a rapid pace and a few working hands are in the families, the workload of women increases manifolds as manager of natural resources besides fulfilling their ascribed caregiving tasks. There are certain gamut of issues that women suffer as a result of demographic and environmental changes in the hill ecosystem which necessitates a pro-women strategies to sustain agriculture in these regions. Findings from the study reiterate the significant contribution of women in food security throughout the developing world, but this role has some adverse consequences to their health. The major consequences include occupational health risks owing particularly to women's exposure to hazards like farm-related accidents or physical injuries, ergonomic problems resulting from women's use of tools or technology that are better suited to men, and nutritional deficiencies that are compounded by poverty and overwork. The chapter calls upon the emergent need to address strategic and practical needs of hill farmwomen to reduce their vulnerabilities and adopt a right-based integrated approach.