[Reader-list] fourth posting: caste and gender in the urban space of Keralam

[jenny chithra]

Dear friends,

Like we mentioned in our last posting, during our field trip, we came
across many other cases that were very similar to that of Chithra
Lekha's. Below we give some of the details.

1. Whenever we mentioned Chithra Lekha's case to anyone, they always
told us about another Dalit Christian woman, Elizabeth, living in a
nearby town called Pazhayangadi. She was also harassed by her fellow
auto rickshaw drivers (again from backward caste communities and
belonging to the trade unions of the Left) branded as a loose woman
and was forced to leave the field. We could not talk to her as we were
told that the situation was still tense and it would be best to keep
away at that point.

2. Chithra Lekha told us about a Dalit woman, Shyamala who was at
present driving an auto rickshaw in another small-town in Kannur. Her
auto rickshaw was burned 8 years ago and though people had inquired
about this when Chithra Lekha's problems had become an issue, the
woman had refused to speak out. We also came to know that at present
she had close familial connections with people who were office bearers
of the Marxist party.

3.We met a Muslim woman, Jazeera, again in a small town in Kannur, who
was fighting against her fellow drivers from the Left trade union and
belonging to the Muslim community. She was also being accused of being
a "loose woman" and was beaten up by her fellow drivers. She had
registered a police complaint but as a result her employer had refused
to let rent out his auto rickshaw. He was afraid that it would be
burned like Chithra Lekha's and he would suffer loss. At the time when
we met her, she was planning to meet the Chief Minister to register a
complaint against the harassment she was facing.

4. In another town (close to Jazeera's place) we heard that a Thiyya
woman had committed suicide following some allegations made about her
involvement with a fellow driver from the same community.

In all the four cases above, the reaction of other auto drivers and
people of the region were the same. They all blamed the women for
being loose, for exceeding their limits, etc. These women were always
spoken about without any respect or consideration.

As we mentioned in our last post, there were also women who expressed
satisfaction with the leftist trade unions. It is interesting to note
that fellow auto drivers, spoke without much regard for these women
too. When we went looking for them, we were old that they hardly come
for work and could be found at home. However, we found at least two of
the women with their autos. These  women also belittled their trade
and talked about doing other "side-business", like selling night
gowns, for making ends meet. On the other hand, Elizabeth,
Chithralekha and Jazeera were all efficient workers, who were able to
earn more than their fellow, male, auto drivers.

Christy, Jenny

-- 
(All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave)