The autonomy of Sami women, tradition and forms of violence

In indigenous communities worldwide, patriarchal ways of thinking and laws have changed traditional gender roles in many ways. Patriarchal thinking has often first made inroads to indigenous communities by means of Christianity. This article considers some of these changes in relation to Sami women in the context of individual and collective autonomy. More specifically, the article critically examines the notion of tradition, especially the ways in which it is employed to the roles and expectations of indigenous women to sometimes consciously limit women’s societal and political participation. As an example, the article discusses Sami women’s political participation in some contemporary Sami bodies such as the…