Bridging Global and Local Frameworks: An Empirical-Doctrinal Study of Laws Protecting Indigenous Women’s Rights in International and Indian Contexts, with Special Reference to Tripura
Author : Dr. Khumtiya Debbarma
Abstract :
Indigenous women occupy a position of layered vulnerability, standing at the intersection of gender-based and ethnicity-based marginalisation. Although an extensive body of international and Indian law formally recognises and protects their rights, a persistent gap continues to separate legal entitlement from lived access to justice. This article undertakes a doctrinal and field-based examination of the normative architecture protecting indigenous women (IW), tracing its development from international human rights instruments, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), to the constitutional and statutory framework of India. It further draws on qualitative field data gathered from indigenous villages, the State Women’s Commission, and the Agartala Women’s Police Station in Tripura to identify the practical barriers that keep indigenous women from approaching the formal justice system. The findings show that while the legal text is comprehensive, indigenous women in Tripura are disproportionately excluded from formal remedies because of language barriers, limited legal awareness, the cost of litigation, cultural insensitivity within the judiciary, geographic isolation, and the erosion of customary dispute-resolution institutions. The article concludes that legal protection without institutional translation into accessible, culturally responsive mechanisms yields only a symbolic form of justice, and proposes targeted measures to close this implementation gap.
Keywords :
Indigenous women, human rights, access to justice, vulnerability, Tripura, customary law, gender equality.
