Traditionally, various structure dimensions, including community, governance, and patriarchy, have always played a vital role in women's lives. Globally, women have been raising their voices for their rights, which are on the one hand granted in countries like India through their constitution. Things have improved with efforts like changes in legislation and policies and the creation of structures within the institutions to implement such guidelines. Interestingly, at the community level, it’s the structure that governs women’s agency and their ability to exercise such rights. Women have been the caretakers of commons in their communities as nurturers and bearers of traditional knowledge down the generations and share the responsibilities equally with men. But exercising their rights to make decisions related to the conservation, preservation, and protection of commons, they often lack of ability to assert. Rights to make decisions related to commons are often taken collectively by the community, but the structure itself functions under the criteria of exclusion. The structure provides land and resource rights which exclude based on gender, caste, tribe, and social status, resulting in disempowering the vulnerable. In tribal communities, in Odisha, it is important to understand the contribution of women to the conservation of commons. This paper discusses significant insight gathered through an exploratory study on Land Rights and Empowerment of Tribal Women in Odisha. The findings are based on the primary data gathered from 250 Indigenous women who possess land titles in Kandhamal and Mayurbhanj districts of Odisha, and secondary field data from other implementing agencies in the state, providing insight into mechanisms for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of traditional biological resources and knowledge. Drawing from existing literature, the paper also discusses the State’s duties to respect, protect, and accomplish this right, especially concerning the freedom of women as end-users.
