An analysis of profile characteristics of tribal women in farm and home management in Kanniyakumari district

Tribal women constitute an integral part of India’s agrarian and socio-cultural fabric, particularly in rural and forest-based regions where agriculture and allied activities remain the primary livelihood. Despite their substantial contribution to farm and home management, tribal women often remain socially and economically marginalized due to limited access to education, resources, extension services and decision-making platforms. The present study was undertaken to examine the profile characteristics of tribal women in farm and home management, with special reference to the Kani tribal community of Kanniyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. An ex-post-facto research design was adopted for the study. Kanniyakumari district was purposively selected owing to the predominance of the Kani tribe and Thiruvattar block was chosen as it recorded the highest concentration of tribal women. A total sample of 120 tribal women respondents was selected from six villages using proportionate random sampling. Data were collected through a well-structured and pre-tested interview schedule. The findings revealed that half of the respondents belonged to the middle-aged group, the majority lived in nuclear families with medium family size and most had education up to middle school level. Agriculture was the primary occupation for a large proportion of respondents, with small farm holdings and low annual income. Most women had medium farming experience, moderate social participation, low extension agency contact and medium levels of livestock possession and cosmopoliteness. Fatalism was found to be relatively high among the respondents. Tribal women devoted substantial time to household, farm and off-farm activities, while participation in social activities was minimal. Decision-making was largely undertaken jointly with spouses in both farm and home management. The study concludes that enhancing education, farming experience, decision-making capacity and access to productive resources can substantially strengthen the role of tribal women in farm and home management, thereby contributing to their empowerment and sustainable rural development.