Paper Details

In Indian society, women face significant social pressure to marry and single women are often stigmatised. Even when a woman does marry it is expected that her choice aligns with the social and ethnic expectations imposed by society. Women who marry outside their culture or religion frequently face criticism and exclusion, often from their own communities. In Arunachal Pradesh, where 68.79% of the population is tribal, concerns about alienation and loss of land persist. These concerns are frequently used to justify denying equal rights to women who marry non-APST men, rights that are more freely extended to APST men who marry non-APST women. This raises an important question: Are the prevailing concerns genuinely rooted in the protection of tribal land or do they stem from more deeply entrenched patriarchal structures within society? Furthermore, how do the lives and experiences of APST women who marry within the tribal community differ from those who marry outside it? In Arunachal Pradesh, while customary laws have fostered tribal unity and land preservation they have also reinforced patriarchal norms. Since the 1980s, increased female education and leadership have started to challenge these norms, though deep-rooted societal expectations persist especially for women who marry outside their tribe often leading to the loss of status, rights and support. This article explores the socio-legal status of women in Arunachal Pradesh who marry non-APST men. Drawing from articles and research papers, it analyses how such women face systemic exclusion and deprivation of rights despite their indigenous origins.

Women’s rights, APST (Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe), Arunachal Pradesh, Customary laws, Indigenous.