The project aims at building a network of scholars from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Greenland and Russia in order to collect, and gather, existing knowledge concerning the structures that cause inequality between the Sámi women and men in the reindeer herding communities. The plan is to organize three knowledge-building workshops in Finland, Sweden and Norway, and invite experts, Sámi stakeholders, policy makers to the events.

– We want to understand what kind structures are causing gender-specific inequality amongst Sámi reindeer herder communities, in particular of the Sámi inhabitant in Finland, Sweden and Norway, and what kind of gender-specific effects “structural inequality” may have on reindeer herding industry for example to the equal access of women to herding as livelihood practice. In this context, it is also important to explore, how such practices provide implications for the enjoyment of human rights of the Sámi, tells Kamrul Hossain from the Arctic Centre.

The project is titled “Deconstructing Structural Inequality: Gender Equality in Reindeer Herding Sámi Communities” and the project duration is 2018 - 2020. The NIKK has granted 450,000.00 DKK (around 65, 000 €) funding for the project. The project is hosted by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law (NIEM) of the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland and it led by the Research Professor and Director of NIEM Kamrul Hossain. The other team member of the host institution is Project Coordinator Assi Harkoma.

More information:

Dr. Kamrul Hossain
Research Professor / Director
Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
+358 40 484 4281, kamrul.hossain (at) ulapland.fi

Assi Harkoma
Project Coordinator
Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
+358 40 484 4159, assi.harkoma (at) ulapland.fi

LaY/AK/AH&JW