Mothers of the Mountains: Women, Ecology, and Voices from the Western Himalayas

In Himachal Pradesh, women are central to sustaining households, managing natural resources, and maintaining cultural practices, yet their voices are frequently underrepresented in environmental and social decision-making. They carry out essential labor in agriculture, water collection, forest use, and household management, while also preserving knowledge of local ecology and contributing to social cohesion. This paper uses an ecofeminist lens to examine how women navigate the intersections of ecological stewardship, daily labor, and community leadership, revealing both their vital contributions and the constraints they face in rural Himalayan societies.

Drawing on field interviews, oral histories, and participatory observation across multiple villages in Himachal Pradesh, the study foregrounds women’s experiences in environmental management, resource use, and local governance. It explores how traditional knowledge, gendered labor, and care work shape community resilience and social organization, while also demonstrating the ways women negotiate influence in decision-making despite systemic inequalities.

The findings suggest that achieving inclusive and sustainable practices requires more than formal policies; it necessitates recognizing and integrating women’s labor, knowledge, and agency into governance structures. By centering women’s experiences, this paper highlights pathways for equitable and context-sensitive environmental management. It contributes to broader debates on ecofeminism, rural women’s agency, and participatory governance, offering insights for designing policies that value and amplify the often-overlooked voices of women in mountainous communities.