Inter-Community Variation in Income, Occupation and Educational Attainment of Women in Imphal Valley of Manipur, India

Abstract

Women in Manipur have many facets. At market, she is a trader; at field a laborer; at home a homemaker; in the society a torchbearer and above all a mother to everyone. Women in Manipur are more empowered compared to those in other parts of the country. However, it would be naïve to paint every Manipuri women in a single stroke of brush. In fact, several ethnic groups differ significantly from one another in terms of language, culture, religion, race, ethnicity, etc. inhabit the fertile Imphal valley. The valley is inhabited mainly by the Meiteis, the Pangals who professed Islam and several tribal communities of which the majority are of the Kabui Nagas who settled the valley from time immemorial. The purpose of the paper is to examine and analyse the inter-ethnic disparity or variations in the level of income, occupation and educational attainment among women of the three communities in Imphal valley. The paper is based on primary data collected through a survey in the valley during 2017 and 2018 using a well-designed household survey schedule-cum- questionnaire. The study finds the Meitei women to be most empowered and advanced in respect of indicators like education, employment and decision making in comparison to the other communities. However, across all the communities strong elements of patriarchy persists with undue reliance on male members of the society.