Schemes in Arunachal Pradesh for women and girl child:

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana provides subsidy on LPG connections to the Below Poverty Line as a measure of relief
for women who toil for firewood every day.

Beti Bachao, Beti padhao is a campaign that aims to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare
services intended for girls in education and health sector.

Under the CM Vidya Scheme, Rs. 10000 will be deposited in the girl student’s account that passes Class V.

The Girl Hygiene scheme provides sanitary napkins to adolescent girl students.

Under Dulari Kanya Yojana, a fixed deposit of Rs. 20,000 for each institutional delivery of a girl child, which will be
used to fund her higher studies on attaining the age of 18 yearsThe role of women in development is closely related
to the socio-economic and political development of any given society. Any society, which neglects the need for
enhancing the role of women as a dynamic factor and a valuable asset, for the overall process of development would
be left trailing behind. Women play a very strategic role in the development of society in particular and development
of economy in general. Since empowerment is considered a multi-dimensional concept, it is determined by many
socio-economic factors and cultural norms. The importance of women’s political participation and mobilization for a
viable Democratic Polity is being increasingly realized in nook and corners of the world. Women constitute about half
of any given society’s population that is not being utilized in the development process due to their low skill, less
education and less empowerment in the realm of politics. Any democratic structure cannot work properly with just
half of the population and other half is marginalized. In Arunachal Pradesh, the role of tribal women in the socio-
economic and political development of a society is under-estimated and underscored. Political participation is a
major component of empowerment.

BARRIERS FACED BY TRIBAL WOMEN IN ENTERING

POLITICS

The primary area of subordination is the family where the patriarchal values are enforced and where the control
over women’s person-hood is really questioned. Women in the family are viewed as liabilities because of which
gender; based discrimination in all dimensions of their lives prevails. This is reflected in alarming proportion of
violence against women within the family in the form of female feticide, infanticide, malnourishment, dropouts,
neglects and deprivation through limited access to resources. Milbrath and Goel (1977) observed that it is a tradition
in almost all societies that politics is mainly as affair of men and that women should fall in line with them politically.
Support from other family members to play a dominant role in the public domain is not forthcoming and the only
time they do so is when they have complete control over the women. This control takes the form of families only
supporting women to get elected in order to keep the position in the family but they refuse to help her participate in
the daily task of political processes. Women having young children in the family do not get the support to participate
in activities outside the home. Young and unmarried women have more restrictions placed on their participation
because of the control exercise on their sexuality. At the personal level, due to the socialization process, reinforcing
her subordinate position, private and public dichotomy results is lack of self-esteem and confidence in women and
the internalization of these value systems. This is one of the biggest hurdles to their development and participation
in public life and activities

Literacy

Literacy on the one hand is linked to women’s socio-economic status and on the other hand, her status as a woman
has an independent and equally strong implication for her access to this realm. Illiteracy can also act as a barrier
towards getting elected. Very often literate women are typically from the more privileged backgrounds. These
results in the poor women not being able to represent their communities and not even being able to relate easily to
the more privileged women who are in power. Illiteracy therefore is one of the key elements, which impedes
women’s empowerment and more especially her political empowerment. Unless importance is given to the
education of the girl child and adult literacy, women will not to be able to access the opportunities created for them.
Lack of literacy skills affects herself confidence and impedes her effective participation in politics. Such women
would not be able to enjoy their rights as elected representatives and demands for resources and participation
in decision making.

Back lash to Entry into Politics

Women who have entered the political process are faced with a lot of resistance. There are many instances where
they have been subjected to physical violence, threats and intimidation. This has especially occurred when elected
women representatives aspired to be articulate, assertive and effective in discharging their responsibilities.

Character Assassination

Patriarchal values relegate women to the home. By the very nature of this value system, any woman bold enough to
come out in the open and into politics is viewed with suspicion. It is natural that she is particularly targeted for
slander and character assassination. It is always her sexuality that is first questioned. Furthermore, when a woman in
power becomes a political threat her being a woman is used against her in the entering politics or being visible in
politics.

Lack of Interaction

Women have entered the political arena in large numbers at the level of local self-governance through the
enactment of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments. Sharing of experience and struggles of elected women
is lacking between themselves and among those at the different tiers. This is due to division on party lines and on
caste/ class identities. The bonding and solidarity building is almost non-existent. There is lack of interaction
between women at the State and National level politics and those holding positions at the lower levels of
governance. The absence of elected women’s interaction both horizontally and vertically reduces their unity in
representing the women’s agendas. Reservation 33% reservation has been provided to women in local self
government. However, this reservation quota is misinterpreted to imply that women can contest only 33% seats and
not against the general seats. This interpretation by the vested interest groups has limited women from exercising
their right to contest beyond the reserved quota. The policy of rotation reservation of the constituencies for women
and other reserved categories in local self-governance has proved to be detrimental to the enjoyment of their right
to political participation. The tribal families in Arunachal Pradesh are patriarchal. Polygamy is common practice while
Monogamy is generally prevalent. The male members are the head of the family and he enjoys the highest status
and other members of the family have to follow his advice. Tribal’s of Arunachal Pradesh have different religion e.g.,
Monpas. Khamptis, Singhos and Membas are Buddhist. They believe in transmigration of the soul and reincarnation.
Some tribes profess Christianity and follow indigenous faith.

During the pre-independence period in India, the approaches of tribal development were somewhat a different kind.
The tribal’s were most neglected and the tribal areas were the last to come under British regime, because of the
difficult terrain and inaccessibility. In consonance with their general policy, isolation being characterized by non-
intervention or limited intervention was their direct encouragement to the Christian Missionary activities in the
tribal areas. It is an undeniable fact that the Christian Missionaries had done something for the well-being of the
tribes like the establishment of schools, hospitals, etc. in tribal areas. But, by way of serving the suffering humanity
as their duty, the Christian Missionaries tried to convert them to Christianity and as a result of which large-scale
conversion of many tribal groups took place.

Arunachal Pradesh, particularly during NEFA did not inherit any system of its own. Rather, the system of women
education which was in vague in the other parts of the country was transplanted in the then NEFA. India spread the
British traditional and bequeathal women education throughout the country and Arunachal is not an exception to it.
Neither the ancient nor medieval women education had marked any influence here prior to independence. Since,
the land was hidden to the people of India during the ancient and medieval period, the system of formal women
education in particular had been conspicuously absent in the part of Arunachal Pradesh whereas, in the
neighbouring states like Mizoram and Assam, many schools were already opened by 1931. It is revealed that, in the
North Western portion of the Kameng district, the mythological women education used to be imparted through
Buddhist Monasteries, otherwise, the formal system of women education was introduced by the Adis during the
British period.

The first ventured school was opened by the local people at Pasighat in 1918. The Adis of Dibang Valley also opened
a similar school at Dambuk in 1922. The medium of teaching in both the schools were Assamese. After passing out
Class-Ill standard, the students of these schools had go to Sadiya Middle English School established by American
Baptist Mission for further studies. In the month of September 1947, the department of education was constituted
under the charge of an Education Officer with headquarters at Sadiya, which was at that time headquarters of the
Sadiya Frontier Tract. Mrs. Indira Miri was appointed as the first Education Officer and it was she, who started the
pioneering work in the field of women education. The supervision as well as administration of the women
educational activities was carried on from Sadiya, where teachers training institute was also established in the
month of December 1947, after training of teachers from this institution, were sent for opening of new schools. The
great flood of 1952 caused serious damages to the town of Sadiya. With the result that the education department
and the teachers training institute were shifted to Margharita in Assam in 1952 and the later was finally shifted to
Changlang in the Tirap District 1957.

The very important lapse in the school women education is that there was no curriculum cell or school women
education board of its own. As the schools are affiliated to the CBSE, New Delhi, students are to study in English or
Hindi. The tribal children who are enrolled in the school understand neither English nor Hindi properly. It was very
difficult for the teacher as well as for the learners to communicate without local language or dialect. Until 1965, the
policy following by the NEFA administration was to prepare special textbooks for the primary schools in the tribal
dialect of the area. A large number of books were prepared and printed in Devanagri script.

The medium of instruction at the different stages of school women education was a complex question. The state is
inhabited by diverse tribal groups speaking in different dialects. None of them has a script of their own, but they are
familiar with some form of Assamese language. Assamese was, therefore, initially adopted as the medium in the
Primary, Middle and High School standards. Hindi was also introduced as a compulsory subject in the schools and
also as a medium in the border area schools. Science and mathematics were taught in English from class VII to class
X. Later English was also taken up as the medium in the Higher Secondary Schools for classes VIII to XII.

Thus, there were three mediums of instructions in the schools:

Assamese in all stages of school women education. Hindi in the border area schools, and English at the Secondary
stage.

In 1972, the medium of women education of Arunachal Pradesh became English instead of Assamese, and school
women education came under CBSE, course, New Delhi. It was under Assam Education Board till 1972. The real
development in women education was accelerated in Arunachal Pradesh when it was made a Union Territory in
1972. The creation of separate Union Territory gave tribal’s a sense of their own identity and progress in women
education, health services, the supply of commodities began to flow (Deori Ommem). Col. K.A.A. Raja had the
boldness in shifting the capital of Arunachal Pradesh from Shillong to ltanagar and it paid well. He laid the foundation
of higher women education in Arunachal Pradesh encouraging setting up higher secondary schools and colleges.
Women education became a movement under his guidance providing an opportunity to everyone. People
responded enthusiastically to the model of democratic process initiated by him. Arunachal has seen a tremendous
expansion of school educational facilities since 1947. The State is not lagging much behind in comparison to other
North-Eastern States where school education started long before the independence.