Journal of South Asia Women Studies

The women of Garhwal Himalaya, although they act as the backbone of the economy, possess immense tolerance, intellect, high level of coordination but the gender disparity does not allow them to use their full potential. The fabric of the society in which the women are considered subordinate to men in every respect, lack of literacy, migration of the male population, tough topography and the environmental degradation has intensified their problems. Actually the gender bias causes to overlook the basic requirements and needs of women particularly in the hills and the legacy of ages of discrimination cannot be overcome without educational awareness and literacy in human rights amongst the women. But interestingly, the gender disparity and deprivation since ages has induced a very different character in the women of Garhwal Himalayas and that is of a Socio-Political Activist. The deprivation and subordination has on the one hand provided them with the capacity of stress tolerance and on the other capability to fight back the socio-political problems. It can be gauged from the fact that the women of Garhwal have always been in the forefront of the movements largely associated with the well being of the society like Chipko movement-for the protection of environment, anti-liquor agitation-for the well being of the male population, Uttarakhand movement-for the political identity. The present paper therefore, attempts to analyse the causes of the transition of the women from socio-political disparity to eco-political activism