A conference of women’s movements from Sept.9 to 12, 2006 held at Calcutta brought out new questions, issues and perspectives.
The first such conference of autonomous women’s groups was held in Bombay in 1980 — to share opinions, build friendship, to support each other’s struggles, to formulate future ‘plans and strategies for strengthening the movement. At the fifth conference held at Tirupati, issues of “lower caste” women came into the agenda. Similarly, issues of lesbian women humanized the politics of sexuality.
DALITS TO LEAD DALIT
The Calcutta conference was attended by several new, hitherto not seen, women’s groups mobilized along their professions and work — thus making new sessions necessary. Sessions were held along the following lines — caste, gender, marginalized sexualities, women of religious minorities, women under state violence, sex workers, migrant women, problems of agricultural labour, violence against women in the family and outside, disabled women etc.
It was good to see the large-scale mobilization of Dalit women’s groups. One can imagine the size of this group by the space allotted to them — that is the plenary space. Among the people who attended the session were: sanitary workers, fourth class municipality workers, domestic workers, joginis, maatammas, sex workers, devadasis, agricultural labour, bar- dancers, construction workers, migrant workers. These women, who were in large numbers, are engaged in labour which is forced on them and looked down upon by the society.
Till now, one only saw Dalit women being organized by upper caste women. Now, with for the rise of Dalit women leaders, such a situation seems to be on the decline. In such a context, it has become necessary to search new questions, new discussions and new meanings.
In the session on Dalit women, many spoke about the relations between the Dalit movements, caste and gender movements and caste relations in the women’s groups were discussed. More importantly, the questions raised by sex workers, devadasis and bar dancers led to new discussions and a different perspective.
SEX WORKERS DEMAND
The sex workers demanded recognition to their profession as a work.
“We are selling only the sexual service but not our bodies, our rights should figure in the realm of human rights as we live and work in violent conditions, we should be given all the rights that the other workers have, even if society as a whole may take its time to recognize us, women’s movements should at least recognize these rights”.
They asserted that they have established their organization to resist and oppose the violence, harassment of the police and the other goons in society. They noted that their struggle is not easy but complex. These were some of the issues placed before the conference.
The session on caste and gender was attended by over 50 devadasis. The leader of the devadasi sangham spoke in defence of their profession:
“We are able to eat three meals a day, wear good clothes because of this profession, we don’t think that this profession is demeaning. We are happy. Some people want to destroy this profession thinking that it is a social evil. If we found this profession difficult and intolerable, we would have begun the struggle to destroy it”.
This led to a long discussion.
BAR-DANCERS PLEA
The bar-dancers attended the conference under the banner of Bar Dal. There are 75,000 bar dancers in Maharashtra alone. ‘Speaking about their problems, they said their profession is looked down upon, treated with disrespect in society. The government has also banned their work. They worn: the case against the government bans in the Bombay High Court with the support of the bar owners and that the government has now appealed to the Supreme Court.
During the evening cultural programmes, the bar dancers gave a performance. Some of the women went up the stage to give money to the performing bar- dancers. Dalit women raised an objection to this performance questioning the culture that was being reinforced on the stage. Their objections were;
Why Dalit women alone should sacrifice their lives to this culture of pleasing others? This profession of bar-dancers, aimed at pleasing people flush with money is an instrument of the new global market, and this work is insecure and demeaning which will obstruct the progress of Dalit women.
In fact, almost all the women in the Bar-Dal were Dalits. To this argument the bar-dancers retorted:
Are we not human beings? Can’t we choose the profession that we like? Who are you to call this profession demeaning and disrespectful? Don’t we have individual freedom?
With this, even the issues of sex workers and devadasis also exploded.
POLITICS OF CASTE
The opinion of the bar-dancers may appear democratic. But before they became bar-dancers, they were Dalit women. Why did the Dalits alone choose this profession? One should understand the politics of caste involved here. Every issue in our society is built on the foundations of caste. Whereas the practices of Jjogins and devadasis are built on the rural caste practices, in the cities it is influenced by values of global consumerism and markets.
Here, Dalit women are being used as instruments of pleasure and entertainment. One should question how only women of lower caste enter this profession.
While all the privileges of respect, security and opportunity in society are reseved for the upper castes, Dalits and Dalit women get pushed into the dangerous, insecure and disrespectful areas of work. Adding insult to injury, these professions are glamourised to keep the Dalits from coming out.
How can we defend the politics that glamourises these areas of work in the name of individual freedom? Such glamour and glamourisation prevents the Dalits from recognizing their own identity.
Some upper caste feminists support the “Bar Dal” issues. Such a support is surprising considering that they also pressed for rehabilitation packages for sex workers in the past, arguing that such a work is demeaning for women. Do these women’s groups now think that their earlier stand was a mistake?
HINDU FEMINIST DEMAND
Dalit women do recognize the importance of individual freedom. But we argue that political awareness should be developed about those “freedoms” that hinder our progress and self-respect. We are demanding creation of secure conditions of work for Dalit women even while questioning the conditions that are pushing Dalit women into such insecure and dangerous areas of work.
But the upper caste fashionable is defending/ encouraging this work of Dalit women without taking cognisance of their background. This is not a correct perspective. One should be able to see behind this veneer of truth.
CHOICE OF PROFESSION
If the Devadasis and bar-dancers articulated their freedom to choose their work while enjoying all other rights in the society, Dalit women would not have any objections to such a position. But Dalit women are oppressed, we remain hungry despite our hard labour, we are pushed into practices of jogini, maatamma and Devadasi against our will, subjected to atrocities and exploitation.
If Dalit women chose bar-dancing as a profession in the context of equal opportunities to employment, absence of caste and gender oppressions and where everyone enjoyed all the rights, then one can accept the choice of bar- dancing as a democratic right.
Instead, if one simply stressed on the “choice of profession” and ‘individual freedom” keeping aside the issues that deprive Dalits and Dalit women of their rights, it would amount to encouraging Dalit women join these insecure and demeaning professions. It would also amount to supporting bar owners, global markets and their attendant cultures.
CULTURE & CASTE
We-are not unaware of how global culture and even Hindu culture feeds on the blood and flesh of Dalit women. The very fact that the bar owners appealed to the court in support of bar dancing establishes this connection. One should understand the stand of bar dancers by locating them in the context of how the global culture, modernity, market values create insecurity and lack of opportunities among Dalits.
ROLE OF DALIT WOMEN’’S MOVEMENT
If the bar-dancers had been aware of their own identity, they would not have taken such a stand. If only one understood concept in their specific, regional caste contexts as opposed to the stereotypical arguments spouted by the upper caste feminists, such confusion about this issue would not have risen. Women’s movements should foreground the demand of the sex workers’ union that sex work should also be recognized as labour thereby raising discussions about the accepted definitions and meanings of labour and build a large-scale movement on this issue. We should recognize that the freedoms given to the Dalit women are oppressive if they impede their progress and self-respect. The women’s movements, especially Dalit women’s movements have the responsibility to raise the consciousness of women especially Dalit women, who are living in the shadow of layered illusions.
