The Empowerment of Women: The Role of Indigenous Women in Forestry Development
The Empowerment of Women: The Role of Indigenous Women in Forestry Development was a three-year project, in which Dr. Kassam was co-principal investigator with Dr. R. Indira, University of Mysore, India.
This project examined the traditional role of indigenous women in India and Canada in forest communities, and related these to current participation of women in economic activities.
The project explored how gender issues are represented in policies and programmes, and assessed the role of women in the use and control of forest resources. The aim of the research project is to derive concrete outputs that will have practical application in policy and practice for women’s participation in forestry activities in Canada and India.
A total of 4 community researchers were trained in both communities. 12 graduate and undergraduate students participated in research activities involving this project.
A publication entitled So That Our Voices May Be Heard containing the views of the women participants was published in December 2001. This project was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Shastri-Indo-Canadian Institute.