Feminist Intervention in Customary Law

A Case Study of Adi Bane Ane Kebang of Adi Tribe, Arunachal Pradesh

Abstract

Traditionally and historically, it is not considered a custom for Adi women to participate in Kebang, the traditional council of the Adi tribe of Arunachal. Adhering to the patriarchal norms, public space and decision making is still considered the domain of the male. There was a long demand and struggle for representation of women in the apex body of Adi Bane Kebang (ABK), Traditional Council of the Adi Tribe in Arunachal Pradesh and against the unfair treatment of Women as ABK Women Wing (ABKWW) with hardly any agency in terms of independent decision making. As a result of the concertedm efforts of the women in the community, a bill to change the nomenclature of Adi Baane Kebang Women Wing to Adi Baane Ane Kebang (ABAK) was passed in the Yingkiong Conference of ABK in 2022. The bill proposed more sovereignty in decisions particularly concerning women. The creation of ABAK is also a consequence of the tremendous work done by the ABK women’s wing despite being a frontal wing in the documentation and reformation of customary laws, particularly the amendments made in 2022, which the paper seeks to highlight. The Adi Baane Kebang Women Wing worked extensively with the community, legal advisors and other stakeholders throughout the Adi inhabiting districts of the state and presented the Amendment Committee of Adi Kebang Ayon (Adi Customary Laws) with a representation of the laws that needed reformation. This paper focuses on the feminist intervention of the Adi Bane Kebang Women Wing now rechristened as ABAK in the laws related to Polygamy, Divorce, and Property Rights which were added as well as reformed in the Adi Kebang Ayon (Adi Customary Laws) in 2022.