Tribal Feminism: Safekeeping Family and the Bodo Community During the Bodoland Movement in India

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Keywords:

Bodo women, Bodo movement, tribal feminism, Assam, feminism

Abstract

This article narrates the experiences of my mother, my family, and the Bodo community during the Bodoland Movement (1960–2003). My and my mother’s journeys are that of a Bodo woman struggling to protect life, family, and the integrity of the Bodo community. Thousands were killed, tortured, and raped. Bodo men were persecuted as “rebels” by the state and were therefore nowhere to be seen in everyday society. Women became human shields, peace negotiators, safekeepers of family and community, and agents of social transformation in the face of violence. I reflect on my and my mother’s experiences as a departure from mainstream feminism by tracing oppression and violence beyond the domain of men-women relationships, detailing how tribal feminism traces oppressive structures to ethnic biases/prejudices against a tribal community by dominant groups, and highlighting the agency of tribal feminism for survival, safekeeping of life and liberty, and rights of a community.

Author Biography

Bibharani Swargiary, Assam Don Bosco University

Bibharani Swargiary, PhD is Head and Assistant Professor (Senior), Department of Social Work, Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati, Assam, India (beebibha.swargiary@gmail.com).

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Published

2025-12-28

How to Cite

Swargiary, B. (2025). Tribal Feminism: Safekeeping Family and the Bodo Community During the Bodoland Movement in India. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 31(4), 11–19. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/2132

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