DALIT WOMEN: DALITS AMONG DALITS
DALIT WOMEN: DALITS AMONG DALITS
John 4: 21- “Woman, believe me, the hour is
coming.”
Introduction
Being born as a woman is a curse in Indian society. More than that
to be born into the so-called untouchable community or caste as a Dalit woman is
the worst misfortune to a woman in India
In this paper I wish to
present the devastating effects of the caste system on the educational, social,
and economical status of Dalit women in modern India
1. The Status of Dalit Women in India
We see many examples of brave Dalit women who are
being quite aware of the horrifying truth and despite the heavy odds still
strive to put an end to their suffering. The plight of Dalit women is a
distinct social group and cannot be masked under the general categories of
“Women” or “Dalits.” The creation of a number of
Hindu religious laws and societal regulations led to a society in which
equality between men and women was far from existent. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, an
architect of the Indian constitution, also makes it very clear in his article titled
“The rise and fall of Hindu woman” that the root cause of suffering for women
in India are these so called Hindu religious laws. The Hindu Caste system is
very often compared to a pyramid in which the Brahmins and Kshatryas are placed
at the top of the society while the so called untouchables are at the bottom in
the name of religion.[1]
The caste system in India
Even the killing of a dalit woman is explicitly justified as a
minor offence for the Brahmins: equal to the killing of an animal. If the
killing of an untouchable was justified as a minor offence, one can imagine the
treatment they received throughout their lives. In a male dominated society,
Dalit women suffered unimaginable oppression, not only through caste, but
gender too, from which there was no escape.[2]
Even today, in modern times, we see the severe oppression and exploitation of
Dalit women. Though the term “Dalit” means to refer oppressed community at
present it is used as an expression of hope to rediscover their past identity
as human being.[3]
1.1 The Economical Status of the Marginalized Dalit Women
The
economical status of the marginalized dalit women in India is the most pathetic reality.
Dalit women are marginalized from their access to the resources of society
owning to her gender, caste and class.[4]
These three factors strongly establish the marginalization. Almost 63.14% of
total scheduled caste women are wage labour households. Eighty five percent of
dalit women work forces in rural areas are employed in the farm sector. Most of
the dalit women workers enter the labour market before the age of twenty among
them 31.6 percent of children work as child labourers.
They
have mostly no other choices than to do the most avoidable occupations as
agricultural labourers, scavengers, sweepers, and disposers of human wastes.
The daily wages of dalit woman is less than forty rupees per day. The dalit
women who deny working such dehumanized works for low wages face open violence,
humiliation, beatings, rape and jail. [5]
A
careful study at the economical status of dalit women reveals the truth that
though they are the most powerful work force in India they rarely own the land.
Even the worse thing is that dalit women who own lands by their names, Occupied
by the so-called upper community. Thus the rate of unemployment is becoming
higher everyday among dalit women community. To keep the family sustainability
dalit women are forced into prostitution by their own family, which is the most
horrifying situation in India .
In
her essay, Kathambi Kinoti, “Micro-credits pitfalls: the experience of dalit
women in India” states, “ Microfinance is often regarded as having most significant
potential to alleviate poverty. Despite some success stories, though,
micro-credit arrangements with unscrupulous lenders frequently contribute to
making bad situation worse by driving women deeper into poverty and
desperation.”[6] Thus
they become as prey into the mouth of microfinance when they want to establish
a firm economical status. In micro-finance they benefit very less and pay a lot
as interests.
1.2 The Culture and Identity of Dalit Women
It
is the culture that makes the difference between human beings and animals. Fr.
Louis Luzbetak states that human beings can not exist without culture, which is
both life giving and life negating. Culture belonging to dalit women is one of
the richest and greatest cultural values in the world. The community was ruled
and guided by women, peacefully. The culture of dalit women is basically an
inclusive and welcoming culture in which everyone even the outsider is welcomed
with great hospitality and respect. Any culture that does not fix boundaries
generally is known as inclusive culture.[7]
Another
significant fact in their culture is their attachment to cosmos, in other
words, their respect towards nature. Their life style, thinking, cultural
habits and everything is conditioned by the nature and cosmos in which they
make their life centered on nature. Since they are one with nature they never
have the habit of possessing earth culture because earth as mother provides
shelter, protection, space, and life to all. They also knew for their
resilience, which gives them inner power and motives to face any kind of
difficulties and violence in their life.
The
Hindu hierarchal societal order separated dalit women from the society in which
they were denied of human rights and dignity. Dumont says that untouchability
became the institutionalized social order, a Hindu cultural code in India .
Dalit women were considered as polluted and unclean due to this imposed
exploitative cultural habit on them.[8]
These
oppressions against dalit women gathered them to search for their own identity.
The quest for regaining their lost identity emerged from the social structure
and system in India .
“The quest for identity is the basic problem for the oppressed peoples
throughout the world because the dominant classes have denied their existence.”[9]
The term ‘Dalit’ that is considered as broken and oppressed people, now becomes
the cultural word of identity through which one can break the barriers and find
themselves in the space of brahmanical cultural world in the form of
literature.
Their
quest for cultural identity gives space to realize their struggles of people in
their given physical environment and their efforts to give meaning to the life
process in their encounter with nature and society. Thus their quest for
Identity teaches us that human beings should be identified with human values
not with caste system.
1.3 The Violence against Dalit Women Bodies
Human
rights are not given rather it everyone’s freedom to have it. “Violence on
human beings in any form results in violation of human rights. Human rights of
dalits and women in general are normally violated by high castes and powerful
communities to practice and exhibit patriarchy and castetism.”[10]
The true reality of dalit women exhibits the continuous exploitation and
discrimination in the forms of violence against dalit women bodies. Violence
against them presents clear evidence of widespread of exploitation in terms of
power relation and caste based system.
“The
former chief Justice of India, P.N. Bhawati, observed, “Rape and molestation
are the new dimension of caste war used as weapons of reprisal and to crush the
morale of a section of the people.”[11]
Economic oppression is one of the main causes for violation against women in
the unorganized working sectors. In the name of religions and God, dalit girls
are directed into trafficking and temple prostitution like Devadasis and
Jogins.[12]
According to the SC/ ST commission report, the eighty percent of these Jogins
belong to the scheduled caste community.
There
are 12 major forms of violence that take place against dalt women according to
the report of dalit human rights. Violence takes place both in the community as
well as in the family. They are the such as: physical assault, verbal abuse,
sexual harassment and assault, rape, sexual exploitation, forced prostitution,
kidnapping and abduction, forced incarceration and medical negligence in the
community; and female feticide and infanticide, child sexual abuse and domestic
violence from natal and marital family members in the family.[13]
1.4 The Impact of Caste System on Dalit Women
The
caste-based system in Indian society highly affected the dalit women enjoying
the rights of their human dignity. The caste-based rules enforced on dalit
women destroyed their life in the form of violence. Breaking the customary laws
many a time resulted in severe physical and psychological punishments. They are
being revenged and retaliated whenever they stand for their civil rights. Thus
they are denied of their freedom of expression, right to education. A report
published by Ministry of welfare department, showed the vast difference in the literacy
rate of dalit women (38.76%) in comparing to others.[14] The women who opt for higher education mostly
discontinue their studies thanks to the castetism in their educational
institution.
Dalit
women find it difficult to own the natural resources, agricultural lands
because even their owned lands were occupied by dominant classes. The caste
based system forced dalit women to trafficking and temple prostitution like
devadasi and Jogins customs as well as in the flesh trade by dominant people.
Dalit women are generally given only the traditional occupations such as
cleaning, sweeping etc. The impact of caste based system in India highlights the great
sufferings, agonies, and turmoils of dalit women who face this violence every
day from various aspects.
2. The Samaritan Woman, a Prototype of the Liberation Dalit Women
Reading
the Bible from hermeneutical perspective will always help readers to understand
the text vividly. The story of the Samaritan woman shows us the struggles and
sufferings, and how she had been socially outcasted by both society and her own
people. This reding gives a new space to look at the realities. Reding and
interpreting the story of Samaritan woman from Indian perspectives will help us
see the life struggles of dalit women in India . Only the context and
territorial boundaries differ from Samaritan woman to dalit women in India ,
but the struggles, pains, sufferings and exploitations are same. The core message of bible is the liberation
to non-people, outsided by the society.[15]
This
text is an invitation to everyone, to work for the liberation of dalit women in
India .
The Samaritan becomes a prototype of liberation of dalit women because of her
encounter with Jesus Christ in her life. This chapter zeros in on how Samaritan
woman with the help of Jesus crossed the barriers made by society. And how both
Samarian woman and dalit women due to oppression are disfigured their images as
human beings. It is a call to all who strive for the liberation dalit women to
reestablish their personhood in them.[16]
2.1 Breaking the Barriers of Untouchability
Jews
always looked down upon Samaritans as the mixed blood of Assyrians and Israel
in Northern part. The term Samaritan is a direct translation of Greek word “samaritai”
and Hebrew term “hassomronim” which literally means inhabitants of Samaria .[17]
Samaritans were considered as impure, unclean and adulrated from their birth to
death by Jews. Walking in the streets of Samaria
was seen as sin and polluted act for Jews.
Rabbi
Elizer expresses the enmity saying that eating the bread of Samaritans is
equivalent to eating the flesh of swine. They were abandoned from worshiping
the God Yahweh in Jerusalem
Temple Israel . Discriminatory and inhuman practices were
inflicted on Samaritans.[18]
They were almost like untouchable Dalits in India , in the eyes of Jews as Dalits
of Palestine. In such a pathetic condition, I would like to present the status
of Dalit Samaritan women.
Samaritan
women faced marginalization such as gender, outcaste and sinful women. The role
of woman was to bear her husband’s off-spring, and act as a machine of sexual
release for her husband. Jewish literature characterised women as unclean,
sexual temptresses. Talmud describes a woman as “a pitcher full of filth with
its mouth full of blood, yet all after her.”[19]
They were the cause of male’s temptation so they were barred from public life.
Studying Torah, was highest priority for Jewish men, was forbidden for women.
Thus they did not encourage the intellectual ability of women. It would be
better to burn the words of law than to teach them to women. A man speaking to his wife in public is not
allowed. Man contacting a woman especially a Samaritan woman during her
menstrual cycle became unholy and unclean. Their witness and testimony became
invalid.
Knowing
these man-made unethical and uncultured laws, Jesus with divine intervention
willed to cross and break the so called socio-religious limited boundaries in
order to establish a platform to everyone especially for Samaritans to enter
the Kingdom of God
The
rabbinic tradition considered women as inferior to men. A man who speaks to a
woman in public brings evil upon himself that forbids him the study of law. To
create a counter culture of liberation and equality Jesus breaks through the
unjust and imposed obligation by requesting water for a drink from Samaritan
woman. This act signifies breaking the barriers of untouchability. It also
reminds us that Jesus went beyond the three social barriers of talking to woman. The
societal barriers in the time of Jesus are the following:
Jesus talked to a strange woman in
common place that is entirely forbidden for a man in his society. Being a Jew,
Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman. It reveals the act of breaking the customs of
Jews who never share anything with Samaritans. Being a rabbi, Jesus broke the
barrier that would dehumanize his dignity of being a rabbi.[21]
Thus Jesus transcended all those
barriers to bring God’s children together as well as encouraged the Samaritan
woman to have a great dialogue with him. This dialogue not only enlightened her
but also her community. Here Jesus calls every one to break the barriers of
untouchability that we created in the name of socio-cultural and religious
practices against Dalit, in order to establish a just society through gathering
dalit women, the children of God.
2.2 Samaritan Woman, a Sign of New Revelation of God
The whole dialogue starts with Jesus
asking Samaritan woman for water. The conversation reveals many things to us.
The story is an invitation to look at her positively. “She has been portrayed
as demoralized, sinful woman in search of men for sexual pleasure; a threat to
women in her community; a malicious female of bad conduct, and so on.”[22] The question arises in everybody that
is she really immoral or marginalized woman. Her irregular marital and
scandalous sexual life reveals human person’s profligacy and unbridled passion
for a long lime says Theodor Zahn.
S.D.
Moore comments on the victimization of Samaritan as “intellectual inferiority.”[23] The five husbands of the Samaritan
woman describe that the five gods, which were brought by the Assyrian settlers
in Samaria to
worship them. Others claim that the five husbands represent the succession of
empires who dominated their region. Her current husband symbolizes Roman-Herodian
rule and the imperial worship.
This narration clearly reflects the
dominant role of men in her time. Her exploitation exposes the woman’s
socio-sexual dependence on the manipulation of men. However, Jesus treated this
victimized woman with human dignity. The narration by John is an example of
God’s revelation to the society that how the nameless woman exemplifies her
marginalization in the world: the ancient society denounced her gender, Judaism
spurned her religion by naming her adulterated woman, and the village scorned
her personhood in her. The conversation between Jesus and her reveals how Jesus
treated her as unique and valuable individual. He never denounced the image of
woman. His approach is a revolutionary act of defying cultural prohibition when
it came to relating to women.[24]
To understand that Samaritan woman
as a sign of God’s revelation, we need to analyze her life comparing to the
life of Nicodemus. Both believed and responded to Jesus. Water, spirit and
witness become common themes in their live. Nicodemus did not deepen his belief
during his conversation with Jesus because of his Jewish religiosity. He met
Jesus in the night that signifies his ignorance and misunderstanding. Whereas
the Samaritan woman met Jesus at day time reveals her enlightenment and
positive response.[25]
One could find the gifts of God.
They are the gifts of living water and identity of the giver. The words living
water occurs thrice in the gospel of John, twice in this text and one in John
7/38. According to Judaism, there are four references to living water: a) life
or salvation (Is 12/3), b) cleansing or purification (Lev 14/5-6), c) the
spirit (Is 44/3) and d) divine wisdom or teaching (Pro 13/14).[26] The spirit empowered dialogue of wisdom and
teachings of Jesus not only cleanses and purifies her past life but also renews
he divine spirit in her to attain salvation. This salvation liberates her from
the clutches of slavery.
The realization of the importance of
living water helps her come out from oppression, slavery, ignorance, and other
bonded things. The living water brings her eternal freedom in her life. At
first her ignorance closed her eyes to recognize the living water, Jesus. Then
Jesus began to focus on his identity so that she would recognize him as the
living water. Identifying Jesus as the true living water, she called Jesus from
sir to prophet and from prophet to messiah and finally from messiah to savior.[27]
Here one could see a gradual progress of her identifying Jesus as savior.
Through Jesus she identified “the hour had come to redeem her” from slaver.
The Johannine Jesus saw this
Samaritan woman’s capacity of making important decisions and commitments while
having dialogue with Jesus. Jesus viewed her in terms of her relationship to
God but others of her sex and marital status. In private conversation with her
“Jesus implies that it is men’s responsibility to discipline their thoughts
rather than denying women access to public life, instead of blaming women for
male lust.”[28] Her
comprehending the teachings and revelation of Jesus, her enthusiastic openness,
truthfulness, unreserved trust, and response to Jesus makes her transcend her
culturally defined roles. Her understanding of God’s revelation makes her
become a new witness as well as a new sign of God’s revelation to her community
when she goes to proclaim the good news of Jesus to her people.
2.3 A New Evangelist of God’s Liberation to Dalits
God always encounters or intervenes
people when they are in their existential problems.[29] Like a companion, friend, mother,
father, brother, or sister God helps them to come out of their troubles. This
story reveals us how the Samaritan woman became an evangelist to the oppressed
community. Both Jesus and Samaritan woman quenched their thirsts. It is the
water given by Samaritan woman, energizes Jesus to move on with his second
need. The need is to offer his living water and thereby to reach out the
oppressed community in order to save them from their oppression through her.
Her dialogue with Jesus turns from
her marital status to her profound proclamation of Jesus as the prophet. She
professes Jesus as the prophet. Usually Samaritans never believe in any prophet
except Moses, the most important figure for both Jews and Samaritans. For them
Moses was the only honoured and true prophet. Her profession of faith and
acceptance of Jesus as messiah reveals that Jesus is greater than Moses.[30]
Her faith gets deepened when the expected messiah Jesus responded to her that
it is he and gives her great confidence towards Jesus.
The experiences, she received from
Jesus helped her come out of alienation, discrimination and exploitation. She
became a new woman as independent and brave. Her talk with Jesus overcame the
unconventional trays and cultural habit of her community. The influence of
Jesus changed her life. The good news of Jesus not only liberated her but made
her also as his disciple. The discipleship in her urges her to announce the
good news of liberation given by Jesus, to her community.[31]
She goes with enthusiasm to preach that Jesus as messiah, prophet, liberator,
life giver and redeemer. She becomes a witness to her community, the world that
they are not the oppressed people rather they are the people of God who have
the courage and strength to break the barriers of the oppression.
She not only preaches to her
community but to dalit women too. She invites them to break or unchain the
so-called superiority of male, gender and sexuality discrimination. She calls
us along with Dalit women to engage in the activities and works of liberating Dalit
women through crossing and transcending the boundaries of the oppressive world.
She reminds both the oppressed and the oppressors for the responsibility of
taking initiative in the transformation of the society.
Jesus’ breaking boundary of borders,
barriers is the core move for liberation of the oppressed. The role of Jesus is
crucial and effective for the liberation of Samaritan woman and her community.
In the same way it is the duty of every one to work for the liberty of Dalit
women who undergo various struggles in our society. We need to realize the call
of Jesus in our life. His call is an invitation to work for them and we need to
go beyond the man made boundaries created in the name of religion, culture, and
caste, so that we can play an effective role for the liberation of the Dalit
women. In name of God let us become the messenger of good news to the oppressed
Dalit women.
3. The Empowerment of Dalit Women
The years 1970s and 1980s gave birth
to revolutionary movements and autonomous organizations that worked for the
emancipation and empowerment of Dalit women in India . Through the awareness
programme, education and trainings Dalit women began to see the realities as
well as strived for their emancipation. The education they received made them
realize that they were under oppression, poverty and exploitation. The various
organizations with the help of social activists work for their freedom. They
began to bloom in many fields. Their quest for their identity challenged and
questioned their existence the socio-political and cultural construction of
power structures in the society. Thus, the emergence of Dalit women’s
emancipation created a counter culture, which would transcend the social
boundaries.
3.1. Dalit Woman as the Image of God
Dalit women have the power to
overcome as well as to change the dehumanizing and marginalized facts in India
through their “collective consciousness of being Dalit women.”[32]
This Dalit women consciousness surely will help them to protest against
oppression and violation. The term ‘Dalit’ itself is an invitation for a radical change and
revolution.
The emergence of Dalit Feminist
movements in India
created a new space “to construct a new world of justice, equality and love.”[33] The
dalit consciousness created a powerful militant personhood in Utrapradesh where
Mayawati emerged as a powerful political leader in India .
The Dalit consciousness is nothing
but the image and reflection of God which constantly reminds her that she is not
an object but a subject or agent of the society to express her liberty, freedom
and equality. Dalit women always identify themselves as community, which is the
fundamental base for the concept of liberation. This sense of community as a
tool saved them from their oppression. Whoever works together as community for
their freedom and emancipation are the children of God. They represent the
image of God In them. Their life values bring out the image of God in them. The
image of God in Dalit women not only uproots the marginal status in economic
sphere but also similar marginal statuses in cultural, political, religious and
other domains.
3.2 Dalit Women the Future of Indian Society
Dalit women are going to be the
future of Indian society. Overcoming the marginal status in economic,
educational, cultural, political, religious, and other domains will help Dalit
women to become the ruler and administrators of Indian society. Uniting them as
one is the urgent need to convert their numerical strength into political and
economic power. To establish their strong identity, they need to be trained in
order to demythologize the stories and imposed cultural customs.
It is the duty of Dalit movements and organizations to establish a
equal status of Dalit women with others through proper education and awareness
programme. Preparing them to enter into political sphere is the immediate need of
Indian society. At present, Dalit women begin “to join and raise their voices
with all the other women folk of this land beyond caste, language, religion and
economic strata to speak clearly of what women want for their people, their
society, and their environment.”[34]
Only through the emergence of collectively as one people there is a possibility
becoming the future of Indian society.
3.3 Dalit Women, the Symbols of Breaking Taboos
In this 21st century, Dalit
women emerged as the symbols of breaking taboos created by the society, thanks
to the vast awareness by various Dalit movements and organizations. This
awareness made them that they are not objects to be used and overthrown rather
they are the subjects of the world or the society to rule, administrate and
govern. They have the ability to break the barriers of society, family in which
they are considered as part of men’s property. The women who are considered as
polluted, impure in the society created an atmosphere that they are the purest
people in the world, who are one with nature and the world.
Through their literary works Bama,
Meena Kandasamy,Malathi Mythri and others ouestioned the existence of caste
based cultural practices and atrocities. Through their writings they become
trend setters of establishing equal and just society. They reinvented the image
of Kali, Kanaki who would refuse to collude with patriarchy as well as to fit
in the roles of obedient wife or damsel in stress.
To break the taboos of society Dalit
women writings should emerge from radical perspective so that along with them
we too can break the shackles of stories into which they have been set. Meena Kandasmy
in her works ‘Touch and Ms. Militancy’ says that stripping can be an empowering
act to break taboos and bring justice. She quotes this statement with reference
to Manipuri tribal women who paraded themselves naked in order to shame the
Indian army and protested the Armed Force Special Power Act. Though they break
the taboos they are still under the dark areas of oppression in India .
3.4 Proposals to the Empowerment of Dalit Women
Protection of Dalit women and their
emancipation depends on the help of others who really care for their growth and
empowerment. The extended help of church and Indian government will be a great
service to the rise of Dalit women in India . Here I have come with some proposals
to both the church and the government.
Unless the church turns to the Dalit
it will not be called as church of the poor. If the church neglects the
resources from Dalit it will became a poor church says Fr. Felix Wilfred in his
article, “What can upper caste Christian learn from Dalit Christian.” The
church must extend its supports to help and engage in the liberative struggles
of Dalit women who who undergo various crucial atrocities. Church should train
them to develop their critical thinking, their natural talents and capacities
in order to enter a process of gaining control over the circumstances of their
lives.
The church should provide
opportunities to take part in the decision making centers in the church for Dalit
women. Their involvement in decision making is an active call of participation
in the parish and pastoral councils. This active participation of Dalit women
will really make a tremendous change in the history of church. Church must pay
heed to the demands of Dalit women such as equality, justice and freedom in the
church. It has to encourage the liberative movements of Dalit Christians and
other liberative organizations to abolish blatant caste injustice and violence.
To create a better future church
needs to invest in the education of Dalit women. The choices of the church
regarding to education, health, nutrition, housing, employment, political
participation and social relation are very narrow and limited. In order to
enlarge these choice and opportunities, Dalit women need to improve and develop
their capabilities. So it is the duty of the church to empower them. Church
must come forward to provide the considerable resources for the enhancement of
Dalit women.
Indian government has the means to
fulfill its obligations to empower the life of Dalit women. The government must
enact powerful laws to abolish violence against Dalit women and punish the
criminals who involve in the crimes. It should bring an end to the Devadasi,
Jogins systems, which traffics Dalit girls and women into prostitution.
In all the educational and
professional institutions of the Indian government, they should get prior
attention in their educational formation. Dalit women should be given enough
chances in the reservation of women’s participation both in politics and
education. The government should make proper schemes to foster economic
empowerment of Dalit women. It has to start special entrepreneur centers which
would help the marginalized to pick up some business so that they can stand on
their own feet.
Conclusion
To conclude my paper on “Dalit
Women: Dalits among Dalits”, Dalit woman is an existence of being broken and
shattered under the curse of caste, untouchability, poverty, illiteracy,
violence, etc. Like a Samaritan woman, Dalit woman in India experiences all kinds of
barriers in her life both from family and society. John Sobrino used to say
that poor are the crucified people in the world, Dalit women, being poor, neglected,
marginalized, humiliated are being crucified everyday on the cross such as
caste, poverty, violence and illiteracy.
As
we know that Bible is the message of liberation, which describes how God and
Jesus the Son of God stood for the redemption, emancipation and liberation of
poor, it is our duty to work for the liberation and emancipation of Dalit women
because we are called by God to save humanity. Without the emancipation of
Dalit women there is no development and progress both in India and the Church. Our
preferential option for the liberty of Dalit women will put an end to the
everyday crucifixion of Dalit women. In the resurrection of Dalit Women from
their oppressions, taboos, barriers and violation we will see the risen Christ
and God’s love in the form of justice, love and equality. So let us respond to
the call of God to liberate them.
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Contents
[1]. A. Metti, “Kali
Is Her Name: Dalit; Her Experience”, Vaharai 5/3-4 (2000), 67.
[3]. James Massey, Down Trodden: The Struggle of India
[4]. Monica Jyostna Melanchthon, “Dalit Readers of
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