Abstract
Despite Kerala’s reputation as a model state for social development and digital literacy, the realities within its tribal settlements expose profound disparities in access and participation. This paper critically examines the digital divide among tribal women in Kerala, locating it within broader structures of social inequity, epistemic marginalization, and gendered exclusion. Through a postcolonial feminist framework, the research interrogates how state-led narratives of digital empowerment often overlook indigenous epistemologies and lived experiences. Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews conducted across select tribal hamlets in Wayanad and Idukki districts, the paper reveals how infrastructural absence, linguistic barriers, and socio-cultural hierarchies restrict women’s engagement with digital technologies. It further highlights how digital inaccessibility perpetuates forms of epistemic injustice, constraining the transmission of local knowledge systems and cultural agency. By centering the voices of tribal women, the paper argues for a decolonial rethinking of Kerala’s digital inclusion policies, that foregrounds indigenous participation, ethical access, and epistemic equity as integral to sustainable digital futures. Beyond the structural barriers, the paper also situates digital exclusion as a continuation of colonial and patriarchal legacies that have historically silenced tribal women’s voices in knowledge production. The absence of culturally responsive digital frameworks reflects a deeper epistemic erasure, where technological modernity privileges dominant languages, worldviews, and gendered hierarchies. By centering indigenous perspectives and women’s narratives, this study calls for a community-driven model of digital inclusion, one that reclaims agency, validates local epistemologies, and situates digital equity as an ethical imperative for Kerala’s sustainable and inclusive development.
Presenters
Jinan ThenuttykallingalPost Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of English, University of Calicut, Kerala, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
DIGITAL DIVIDE, KERALA TRIBAL COMMUNITIES, INDIGENOUS WOMEN, EPISTEMIC INJUSTICE
