Abstract :
Development projects involving displacement of populations transform the gender relations within the
communities. In some cases, the social impacts of projects might lead to more egalitarian gender
relations. For example, in a resettlement scheme in Zimbabwe, women tended to be less constrained by
past kinship patterns and had better relations with their husbands (Koenig 1995). However, in many
other cases, and in this particular study, gender relations have been devalued after displacement
resulting in the relegation of women to a lower status and creating gender inequalities. The Sardar
Sarovar HydroProject in India is one of the biggest multi-purpose river projects and has displaced more
than 45,000 families since the 1990s. The article is based on the responses and narratives of the men and
women respondents collected during the interviews at the resettlement sites. As a follow up to the focus
group discussions, in-depth interviews with a purposive sample were conducted to collect responses to
the tools of gender analysis framework and to understand the impact of resettlement on gender
relations. The article examines the effect of displacement and resettlement on the different activities
performed by men and women within the household and the community. It highlights the findings from
the analysis tools of a gender analysis framework and presents them in the light of theoretical positions
like Women in Development (WID) and Gender and Development (GAD). It also attempts to ascertain
that inequalities in gender relations have emerged spatially and temporally among the resettler
community in a post-displacement scenario.
Keyword :
Displacement Resettlement Inequalities Gender Relations WID GAD