Geographical Indications and Women's Economic Empowerment for Sustainable Development: A Comparative Study of Madhubani Paintings, Channapatna Toys, Pochampally Ikat, and Kashmir Pashmina Shawls
PorchelvanOct 18, 202610.5281/zenodo.23456804pp. 650–66011 pages
Although the "Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999" does not specifically address women, who perform a significant portion of the labour in the crafts it protects, GIs are advocated in India as a tool for rural artisans engaged in manufacture of traditional artcrafts. In order to determine if registration has resulted in economic empowerment for women and advancement toward Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8, and 12, this research examines Madhubani Paintings, Channapatna Toys, Pochampally Ikat, and Kashmir Pashmina Shawls through lens of women worker participation, their contribution to the overall product, their economic benefit, if any received by women artisans directly attributable to the GI and the economic effect of honouring women exceling in their area of GI goods production by awards. It compares official data and open access studies with the Act, the Rules, TRIPS, the Geneva Act, and the European Union's 2023 proposed GI rule using a doctrinal and comparative approach. The four GIs are held or administered by state bodies or cooperatives. With authorised user registration remaining scarce and the evident concentration of women in low-margin stages of production the article attempts to throw light into the economic realities of women engaged in handicraft production due to non-recognition of their contribution and inaccessibility to the markets an area dominated by their male counterparts. Furthermore, the article provides suggestions to overcome the gender gap within the GI goods landscape.