Women and Common Property Resources: A Case Study of Rural Awadh Tarai

Abstract

Rural women and men share different tasks and responsibilities which results in different
needs, priorities and concerns. Although these responsibilities vary across regions and cultures,
but rural women often follow similar gender division of labour. In most of the cases, rural
women have the responsibility for the collection of fuel-wood, food and fodder for animals
for which they are heavily dependent on common property resources. Men seldom have
responsibility for collecting and using natural resources for household use. Based on primary
data generated through fieldwork, the present paper delves into role played by CPRs in the
lives of rural tribal women of Awadh Tarai.