A case study of Ao Nagas of Nagaland on the issues toward gender justice

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the various cultural practices and social relations, which mediates and position men and women among the Ao Nagas of Nagaland and highlight the various barriers and challenges faced by the Ao Naga women by examining the traditional practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The various data used in this paper incorporate both primary and secondary data. The information gathered through secondary data includes books and journals and reports. On the other hand, the primary data include unstructured interview, case studies and oral history on the basis of field experiences.

Findings

Findings suggest that, Ao Naga women's subordinate position to men can be traced back not only to the prevailing customary laws and tradition but also include a number of factors in their societal affairs which include village formation, where men played a prominent role and thereby, the traditional political seat in the village is denied to women till today. Further, women were kept out of the institution of morung known as Ariju in Ao dialect, where men acquired leadership skills. The strong prevalence of inheritance rules, clanship, succession is held very much intact which seems to affect women's lives to a great extent, along with strong ideologies whereby Naga men are given more honor due to the contributions in safeguarding of village during head hunting days. This high status is enjoyed till today and widely accepted among the people. A deep unequal power sharing among man and woman thus seems to exist in the Ao Naga society.

Originality/value

This research article gives a detailed insight of the Ao Naga women bounded in the domains of customary laws and traditional beliefs.

Citation

Longkumer, P. and Bokth, H. (2021), "A case study of Ao Nagas of Nagaland on the issues toward gender justice", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 41 No. 11/12, pp. 1244-1256. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-10-2020-0478