Women’s Work and Child Nutrition among Scheduled Tribe and Non- Scheduled Tribe in Selected States of India

The paper seeks to examine the linkage between women’s work and child nutritional status among scheduled tribe (ST) and non ST population in selected states with large size of tribal population. Using information from National Family Health Survey, round 3 (2005-06), most commonly used internationally recognised indicators for measuring nutrition i.e. stunting, underweight and wasted have been generated. Further, children suffering from all three types and Composite Index of Anthropocentric Failure (CIAF) which is any undernourished children (wasted/ or stunted/ or underweight) have been used. Women’s productive role is seen as conflicting with child care with the assumption that time disposition for child care reduces with increase in economic participation of the mother. The analysis reveals that the wealth index plays an important role in determining the nutritional status of both ST and non-ST children. In case of ST children, mother’s economic participation failed to ensure good nutrition status to their child as most of them work in a subsistence economy. Unlike ST children, nutritional status of non ST children holds a significant relation with both wealth index and mother’s work. Participation in work by women improves the material wellbeing of the non-ST population, but fails to do so for the tribal population.