Abstract

This article will focus on the forum shopping strategies adopted by Adivasi women in India, as a way to engage both state institutions and customary forums of justice. I will argue that the possibilities created by hybrid legal spaces can enhance women’s agency and contribute to reshaping women’s legal subjectivities vis-à-vis customary and state norms. I will analyze the Naga Mothers’ Association case and the very recent Kamala Neti judgement to underline how women mobilize the courts and state legal tools to resist against discriminatory practices, stake a claim and gain greater bargaining power at the local level.