India’s Indigenous Women Assert their Land Rights

By Stella PaulReprint | |

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On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, IPS correspondent Stella Paul speaks to Kumaribai Jamkatan, 51, one of the leaders who have been fighting for women’s land rights and Indigenous People's land rights since 1987.

Korchi a village of 3,256 people, most of whom are small and marginal farmers belonging to Gondi and Kawar indigenous communities, lies about 750 kilometres east of Mumbai, India. Here, women like Jam Bai, a 53-year-old indigenous farmer, have been leading a ground movement for years to own land.

On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, IPS correspondent Stella Paul speaks to Kumaribai Jamkatan about what it means for Indigenous women to own their land. Paul joins Bai and several of women relatives and friends who have joined together to help Bai sow the saplings for her rice field.