Tribes Odisha: The women in the tribal community constitute half of the tribal population. The status of women in the tribal societies is relatively better than that of the women in general society.
Socio-Economic Status
- She enjoys the right to decide about her marriage. A tribal woman can divorce and remarry easily. She earns therefore she is economically independent.
- In some tribal community, women have the right to marry more than one husband.
- When one man marries more than one wife, it is called polygyny. When one woman marries more than one husband, it is called polyandry.
- The practice of bride price during marriages is quite common among them. Surprisingly, in some tribal society, when the groom is not able to pay the bride price, he has to render physical labour and service at the wife’s house.
- Though the Socio-economic status of tribal women is much better, their health and education status is poor in comparison to the national average.
Health Status of Tribal Women
- Infant mortality rate is very high among tribals. Low nutritional status, and higher fertility rate in tribal women leads to low health status.
- A woman in tribal belt is considered to be healthy if she can give birth to four or five children and also works in the fields.
Educational Status
- The low educational status of tribal women is reflected in their higher dropouts, lower literacy rate and lower enrollment rate in the schools.
