Forest Workers
Womens’ Forest Rights Action Committee formed in Jharkhand
Ranchi, 18 March 2011: Action Committee on Women Forest Rights was formed in Dumka, Jharkhand after a two day vibrant consultation on women and Forest Rights Act held on 16-17 March in Dumka, Jharkhand involving women leaders of 7 states. This initiative has come on the wake of Women’s day celebration going on in entire month in various areas. These states are Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh , Uttarakhand and Arunachal . Women leaders participated from various organization such as, Adivasi Mahila Mahasangh, Chattisgarh, Kaimur Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Sangarsh Samiti, Sonbhadra, UP, Tharu adivasi mahila kisan manch, Lakhimpur khiri, UP, Kaimur Mukti Morcha, Bihar, Adivas Kalyan Parishad, Dumka, Jharkhand, Ekta Parishad, Deoghar, Jharkhand, Torang Trust, Women in Network, Ranchi, Van Gram Bhoo Adhikar Manch, Uttarakhand, and National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers, Kaimur, Uttarakhand, UP and Bihar, Jharkhand State Commission for Women.
Around 100 participants who were there, strongly felt that a strong women action committee should be formed in order to accelerate the process of implementation of FRA particularly on women’s control and management over community forest rights and MFP. The leaders from all these states equated the new legislation FRA as legislation of recognizing the women rights on community forest resource as well the individual forest rights. Hence it was felt that it is very important, that women should come in the forefront and take the lead in implementing the community rights across the country. The leaders discussed in detail why the State is not interested in implementing this Act and what action were needed to ensure the rights of women and the forest people on the forest. The role of Forest Department was also analyzed critically and there was a strong voice from the consultation that the FD should be replaced by the Community forest governance led by women across the 7.5 million hectare forest land.
The women community leaders strongly voiced that “forest” means “women”, it is primarily the women only who are more close to nature and they are the primary producers and protectors of the forest. In the forest areas it is women who spend 90% of time in forest in collection of NTFP and fuel wood. It is for the first time that Forest Rights Act 2006 has recognized women role in forest after independence and granted equal ownership rights of women in the community and the individual forest rights. So women leaders took an unanimous decision that women will start action on filing the community claims which is fundamental to women forest rights and it is only women who can fight and take the control over these community rights with their collective strength. The action committee also took decision that it will initiate a process of formation of “women producers cooperative” on NTFP, this experiment will start from Jharkhand.
The Action Committee on women forest rights is in a preliminary form that will be widened by organizing yet another national level meeting very soon by inviting various women leaders from other people’s organization.
Some of the important decisions which were taken are: making women aware of the FRA provisions, filing of community claims collectively by women in various places where people’s organization is strong. Forming women cooperatives to manage and control the minor forest produce and oust the Forest Department from forest.
The consultation was organized in the memory of Bharati Roy Chowdhury, woman activist who hailed from UP and struggled hard for inclusion of women rights in the FRA during its formation and passed away recently on January 18, 2011.
The consultation was convened by Vasavi Kiro, Munni Hasda, Roma and Mamta Kujur.