Accepted Panels

Kerala has one of the largest inland waterways systems with 41 west-flowing rivers integrated into backwaters and many riverine islands. Although State’s inland navigation system passes through highly populated regions that are mainly engaged in artisanal fisheries, most of the media attention, academic works, and development policies only focus on large-scale fisheries. When it comes to artisanal inland fisherfolk, the gender roles emergent from the cultural context are very stark and varied as they revolve around the notions of masculinity and feminity. The work explains the anthropological inquiry into the Valan community to comprehensively scrutinise all the socio-cultural aspects to recognize how gender roles work in the social organization. The study investigates the involvement of welfare and developmental schemes in raising the status of women both socially and economically facilitating empowerment through financial inclusion and capacity building. The paper also strives to understand the oral traditions and myths that are prevalent in the community, which give a deep understanding of its transformation from matrilineal to one that of being patrilineal and how gradually the gendered expectations have fueled various socio-cultural barriers that decelerate the process of development in the community. This idea is further internalized through more instrumental religious and domestic traditions or social practices linked to livelihood patterns. Observation, Case studies and Life histories were used to point out micro-historical and macro-historical transitions in lifestyle.  Furthermore, Focus Group Discussions were held for different sections of the population to gather details about working conditions and challenges faced by members. The household surveys played a significant role in determining the socio-demographic parameters at play in the community. Thus the present study explores how they are inadequately represented and underestimated for their contributions to family and culture, causing inequality-induced conflicts that interfere with the smooth developmental paths to progress.