Title: Nepali Women Using Community Forestry as a Platform for Social Change
Abstract: Successful implementation of decentralized programs such as community forestry depends on participation of local users. Although women in Nepal have been recognized as the primary users of forests, they are widely reported as marginalized in decision-making processes. Previous studies mostly take a static view, focusing on exclusionary structures to explain how and why women are marginalized. A focus on social change processes would allow better understanding of whether and how women use interactions with the executive committee or during general assemblies to renegotiate their social role and rights. Based on a survey, interviews, and group discussions in two community forest user groups, we argue that women are engaged in an ongoing contestation of current structures to widen their participation in decision making and become increasingly active agents in community forestry. We point out the need to understand participation as an ongoing and open-ended process of social change rather than as a predefined outcome.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-11-02
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 68
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