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In 2003 VICALP initiated the process of organizing the indigenous Dalit and Tribal women in south Orissa starting with community based women’s organisations in 120 villages and building it up through a network named as “Indigenous Women’s Federation”(IWF). It is a non-registered formal federation functioning as an autonomous unit within VICALP. The women among the indigenous communities have been facing the pressure and burnt of industrialization and modern development all around with emerging and pressing issues like domestic labour, trafficking, sexual abuse at work place, HIV/AIDS besides the societal problems of deprivation, social exclusion, denial of equal access to education, health and amenities, denial of equal access over land and forest resources, life of servitude in patriarchal structures and domestic violence. Due to these the women in indigenous communities are the poorest, most oppressed, excluded and deprived lot. To ensure their equal status, rights, protection and dignity first in the indigenous communities and in the society at large, there is a urgent need to organize them not only at the community level but also at district level as a strong platform. |
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