Unveiling barriers and prioritizing strategies for empowerment of Oraon tribal women through multi-criteria decision analysis.

INTRODUCTION

Tribal women play a vital role in their communities, often managing both economic and domestic responsibilities. Despite the growing feminization of agriculture in India, women continue to face multifaceted challenges in accessing and controlling resources, exercising agency, and technological advancements, which collectively impede their empowerment and the achievement of SDG 5. These constraints are more pronounced among Oraon tribal women, who experience compounded disadvantages due to historical marginalization.

OBJECTIVE

This study identifies key challenges and formulates strategic interventions for empowering Oraon tribal women in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, India.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The cross-sectional study was carried out to assess challenges to women's empowerment. A total of 400 women of reproductive age were selected to prioritize challenges, and 40 officials were randomly selected to formulate the strategies using the Analytic Hierarchy Process for empowerment.

RESULTS

The Oraon tribal women revealed five critical barriers: socio-cultural (domestic violence, unequal household burdens), economic (wage disparities, limited employment), educational (poverty-driven dropout rates), technical (lack of agricultural knowledge), and psychological (low self-efficacy). Economic and educational challenges emerged as the most significant, with 72.89% and 63.12% severity scores, respectively. AHP-based prioritization highlighted top strategies including economic inclusion through financial services (weight: 0.326) and land access (weight: 0.249), educational investments in infrastructure (weight: 0.332) and quality schooling (weight: 0.227) mass awareness campaigns against domestic violence (weight: 0.298); residential agricultural training (weight: 0.336) and gender sensitization programs (weight: 0.272).

CONCLUSION

The study underscores the need for integrated policies addressing economic participation, education access, and community engagement to dismantle systemic barriers. Findings align with global SDG5 targets, advocating for women-centered extensions and government initiatives to enhance decision-making autonomy. This research provides a scalable framework for tribal women's empowerment, emphasizing multi-criteria decision-making in development planning.