Dehusking of Paddy - a Myth of Hill Women

Hilly tribal women of Meghalaya are very far from technological advancement. They have to perform tedious, time and labour intensive work for their livelihood resulting in drudgery. The study was conducted to determine the physical exertion and musculo-skeletal problems perceived by hilly Garo tribal women of Meghalaya involved in dehusking activity to cater their family members. The sample included forty tribal women of West Garo Hill of Meghalaya within the age group of 21 - 50 yrs. having the average BMI of 20.12 which is in normal range. Rating of feeling of physical exertion and musculo-skeletal problems were studied by using Rating scales, and Weighted mean score was used to analyze the collected data. The study revealed that the perceived workload of the activity by the tribal women was very heavy and also they felt "severe to very severe" pain in upper and lower back, arms, finger, wrist etc. which are the high risk factor for musculo-skeletal problem in their later life.