The document summarizes the status of tribal women in India, noting that they face high rates of gender-based violence, domestic violence, early marriage, trafficking, forced prostitution, and exploitation. It also discusses the poor economic, health, education, and living conditions of tribal communities. While India has constitutional provisions and laws for the welfare of tribes, injustice and exploitation of tribal peoples persist. Strategies proposed for empowering tribes include increasing access to education, healthcare, employment opportunities, and legal rights awareness.

1. STATUS OF TRIBAL WOMEN:

2. • In India -635 Tribes (8.2%)
• Tribal women – most vulnerable group
• Gender based violence, domestic violence high
among Tribals, girl child
• Tribal more vulnerable to violence
• Dropout and illiteracy rates high.
• Early marriage, trafficking, forced prostitution,
exploitation high
• Women face violence- killing, torture, rape,
inhuman treatment
• By law enforcement personnel, opposition
groups, non-tribal group

3. NCRB :
• Reported 627 cases of rape in 2007
• Tribal children-victims of killings, sexual
violence, arbitrary arrest, illegal detention by
security forces.

4. ECONOMIC SCENARIO OF TRIBAL
SOCIETY
• Poverty levels of ST’S persistent
• Deprived of formal education
• Little occurs to capital
• Casual employment, agricultural labour,
plantation labour, industrial labour
• Poverty gap between ST’S and others widened
• More than half the tribals below poverty line
• Little change in poverty of tribals

5. ENVIRONMENT:
• Forest conservation laws not supporting
tribals
• Unnatural intruders in their when land.
• Tribal’s rights violated in the name of
development

6. HEALTH CARE FACILITIES:
• Mortality, mobility, malnutrition rates high.
• Remote villages-indifference of medical
personnel, limited manpower
• Lack of awareness of medical facilities
• Medical facilities hardly used by them
• Women nearing delivery date to travel 50 to
60 K.M to the hospital

7. TRIBAL DISPLACEMENT:
• 85.39 lakh tribals displaced since 1990 for
mega projects
• Illiteracy, malnourishment- 50 to 60 percent
• Consumption of food grains fallen by 10 to 15
percent
• Not much improvement in food and nutrition

8. VIOLATION OF FOREST LAWS:
• Corporate companies violating forest laws
destroying community rights
• Government decided to stop bauxite mining in
Niyamgiri hills, Aruku

9. LAND ALIENATION:
• Degradation of tribal life, alienation of tribal land ,
indebtedness, alcoholism are the problems
• Acquisition of land for public purpose affecting tribals
• Extremist violence in tribal districts impedes their
development
• Mining activities for raw materials
• Industrial units causing pollution- weather, water, air,
soil
• Besides reservation of ST’S
• To improve quality of life
• Create employment oppurtunities

10. • FEMALE SEX RATIO:
• ST’S sex ratio
• More towards females
• (972 per 2000 males), 2001 census
• FEMALE LITERACY RATE AMONG TRIBALS:
• It is far lower (34.76) as compared to overall
female literacy for the country (53.67%), 2001
census
• DEVELOPMENT POLICIES:
• Present policy is to bring tribals into mainstream.

11. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS:
• There are 20 articles and two schedules in
constitution concerning welfare of tribals
• Articles 15(4),16(4),46,243m,243 2c,
244,334,335,338A,339(1),in fifth and sixth
schedules

12. LEGAL PROVISIONS:
• Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955
• The SC’S, ST’S (prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989
• The provisions of the panchayats (extension to
schedule areas) Act 1996
• The shceduled tribes and other traditional forest
dwellers (Regulation of forest Rights) Act, 2006
• Inspite of constitutional provisions and laws,
injustice, exploitation of ST’S persist.

13. STRATEGIES FOR EMPOWERMENT:
• Formal education for socio-economic
development
• To encourage girl education
• To create awareness about rights and duties
• To discriminate legal provisions
• Rights awareness programmes
• Access to public health services
• To create awareness about constitutional
provisions

14. • To provide self employment oppurtunities
• To raise literacy levels of tribal women
• To raise literacy levels of tribal women
• To raise voices for rights to involve them in
decision – making process
• Civil society organisation can play crucial role
• Promoting civil society networks
• Adopting bottom – up approach for
strengthening their capacity
• Media can play powerful role to educate
tribals and the society

15. • To form pressure groups from the tribals.
• Radical social work intervention
• Social work intervention