Discrimination and social stigmas Sample Clauses

Discrimination and social stigmas. Decision-making authority is concentrated in the hands of certain groups (e.g. Havik Brahmin men in Uttara Kannada), making other groups feel uncomfortable speaking in public. In Mandla, there is a hierarchy of participation among marginalized groups in JFMC meetings. According to a male Pancha farmer, “The Pancha and Aheer talk more here. The Gondh and Baiga: they are the most illiterate, so they don’t know very much. The Hindus [lower caste] and the Adivasis [Gondh and Baiga] speak less.” There is a latent insinuation that “they” (the ST and SC communities or specific STs) are to blame for cutting down the forest and that “they” lack education and awareness to meaningfully participate in JFM. In Uttara Kannada, the Havik Brahmin women interviewed state that the Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx “have money problems so they cut the trees and are not taking that much care of the forests.” In Mandla, the Baiga are blamed by other ethnic groups, who cite their lack of formal education and poverty as reasons why they cut down the forest. Gender Meets Ethnicity Gender and ethnicity do not operate independently of each other to influence participation in JFM, however. On the contrary, participation is shaped at the intersection of gender and ethnicity, such that women and men from different ethnic groups have distinct experiences with JFM. Participation in JFM also varies according to other facets of women’s identity, such as age and stage in the life cycle (e.g. number of young dependents versus adult children), education, and socio-economic status, all of which condition workloads and livelihood strategies. The experience of better off Havik Brahmin women who generally do not spend much time in the forest contrasts with that of women from other socio- economic and ethnic groups who are more involved in forest-related activities and in JFM. In the case of ST and SC communities in Uttara Kannada, women are particularly strong and active in JFM. One male Xxxxx Xxxxxxx VFC president observes: “it is even the women from the backward castes that are very active and participating.” In fact, ST women occupy some of the seats reserved for their communities even though it is not specified that these should be filled by women. Yet, Xxxxx Xxxxxxx women, who show less interest in JFM, are the ones occupying seats reserved for women. By homogenizing ‘women’, the system of reservations thus reproduces prevailing power relations and privileges. Differences in participation across ST and SC co...