Gender, Mobility, and Citizenship Rights among Tribals of Khurda and Sundargarh, Odisha (India)

Abstract

This article makes an attempt to understand gender and citizenship rights in the context of mobile livelihoods among tribal communities in the districts of Khurda and Sundargarh in the state of Odisha, in the eastern part of India. Despite the provision of equal constitutional rights for all citizens of India, many groups experience exclusion and marginalization on an everyday basis. The concept of “differentiated citizenship” is applied to understand the situation of tribal communities in Odisha, with a focus on women. Studies from Khurda and Sundargarh districts present two extremes. In one case, tribal women are being empowered due to rural–rural mobility, and have become “active citizens” who assert their rights in the form of better wages and treatment by non-tribals at the village level. Such assertiveness has also helped them create a political space that has the potential to help them claim their rights as citizens. In the other case, tribal women have become disempowered in the city (rural–urban mobility), where their sociocultural rights have been diluted, and they remain “passive citizens,” vulnerable to exploitation in the informal sector of the economy.

Key Words:

• Citizenship rights
• gender
• social exclusion
• mobility
• livelihoods