Mothers and activists in the hills of Assam

The paper examines how women in a conflict-affected district of Assam utilize the concept of 'motherhood' to enter the political sphere and engage in peacebuilding. It challenges security expert assumptions that these women lack independent agency, finding instead that while they are often linked to tribal identities and militant factions, they use these alliances to build political power. The author notes a tension between 'motherhood' as a tool for tribal mobilization and as a potential basis for a common female identity for peace. The study also highlights the barriers to formal political participation, such as male-dominated party structures and a lack of seat reservations in tribal areas.

• Security analysts often underestimate the independent agency of women's organizations in Northeast India, viewing them as fragmented or merely extensions of militant groups.
• In the studied district of Assam, the 'mother's association' uses the appeal of motherhood to justify political activism, focusing on protecting sons from joining militants and assisting families when youths are detained by police.
• The 'mothers' association' does not maintain a neutral position above local politics but instead aligns with specific tribal and militant factions to gain influence and recognition.
• Women in tribal areas of Assam face significant barriers to formal political power because the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, which reserves seats for women in local governance, does not apply to these regions.
• There is a discrepancy between the leadership of women's organizations, who claim tribal women are already empowered, and the rank-and-file members, who report being confined to households and dependent on husbands' permission.
• Women's organizations in the district are largely divided along tribal lines, which limits their capacity to facilitate peacebuilding across different ethnic communities.

APA

Kolås, Å. (n.d.). Mothers and activists in the hills of Assam. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/1905bb4e-9612-4265-a59c-c4ee31427505/Mothers and Activists in the Hills of Assam_Accepted Manuscript.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Kolås, Åshild. Mothers and activists in the hills of Assam. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/1905bb4e-9612-4265-a59c-c4ee31427505/Mothers and Activists in the Hills of Assam_Accepted Manuscript.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kolås |first1=Åshild |title=Mothers and activists in the hills of Assam |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/1905bb4e-9612-4265-a59c-c4ee31427505/Mothers and Activists in the Hills of Assam_Accepted Manuscript.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kolsndmothers, author = {Kolås, Åshild}, title = {{Mothers and activists in the hills of Assam}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/1905bb4e-9612-4265-a59c-c4ee31427505/Mothers and Activists in the Hills of Assam_Accepted Manuscript.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }