ECOFEMINISM AND THE FOREST CONNECTION
A lady working in her agricultural field, Sirmour, HP Women have always been an intricate part of traditional forest conservation practices in India. Apart from the feminine deities and Goddesses venerated in relation to nature and sacred groves dedicated to Goddesses, women have always lead the path of conservation. The ever-respected Amrita Devi led the villagers to save khejri trees from axe in a village of Rajasthan about three centuries ago. The Chipko movement in Western Himalayas saw momentum only with the participation of women in large numbers. There are numerous occasions when women exemplified the theory that forests are better protected by them. The feminine gender is always associated with compassion, care, love and benevolence. It is this very character of women that prompted communities to attribute feminine values to earth as Mother Earth and nature as Mother Nature. The definite connection between forests and women though conspicuous, is still less understood. Fetc