Status of Women Among the Lepchas

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Review of Existing Literature. 3. Overview of the People and the Region. 4. Study Area : A Brief Profile. 5. Religion and the Status of Women as Mun. 6. Bride Price and the Status of Women. 7. Moo and the Status of Women in the Lepcha society. 8. Economic Status of Women Among the Lepchas. 9. Political status of Women in the Lepcha society. 10. Conclusion. Appendices. Index.

“Since the UN declaration of 1975 as the International Women Year, the status of women became the prime of focus of research worldwide and a good number of literature on different aspects of women has started available both in India and abroad. But very negligible work in this field has been carried on for the tribes. In India 698 Scheduled Tribes comprised 8.20 per cent of the total 1,002 million population in 2001. Women among the tribes in general are enjoying comparatively advantageous position in their society. The present work has attempted to explore the status of women among the Lepchas, the autochthonous tribe of Sikkim and Darjeeling district of West Bengal.

British explored the Lepchas as the original inhabitants of Eastern Himalayas during first half of nineteenth century and literature on the Lepchas started to appear since then. But none of the existing literature covers the status of women among the Lepchas. Traditionally the Lepcha women placed highly compared to their male counterpart in domestic, social, economic and political spheres. Even today, women are respected and honoured on a number of issues. The present study identifies bride-price, priestess and mother’s clan as the three main items which placed the women highly in their society. An inter-temporal comparative study from social, political and economic angles has been made to see the present status of women in Lepcha society." (Jacket)