Excruciating Tale of Women and Nature: An Ecofeminist Study of Gopinath Mohanty’s Paraja and Pratibha Ray’s The Primal Land in Translation

Abstract

Ecofeminism posits that environmental degradation and patriarchal oppression are deeply interconnected, this philosophy emphasises the ways both nature and women are treated by patriarchal society. Ecofeminists examine the effect of gender categories in order to demonstrate the ways in which social norms exert unjust dominance over women and nature. Through a critical examination of Gopinath Mohanty’s Paraja; which details extensive deforestation and Pratibha Ray’s The Primal Land, which brings forth the exploitation of women and nature in the mountainous region. This paper explores how external ecological intrusion exacerbates the systemic marginalisation of tribal women. The study analyses and demonstrates how the destruction of natural habitats directly intensifies the socio-economic subjugation of indigenous women. It foregrounds how corporate and residential encroachment on forest lands mirrors the systemic exploitation of indigenous women, who bear the primary burden of tribal labour. The study explores the intertwining of the accelerating destruction of natural ecosystems and how it directly compounds the marginalisation and suffering of vulnerable female population.