Traditional Influences on the Role of Men and Women in the Community

TRADITIONAL INFLUENCES ON THE ROLE OF MEN AND WOMEN IN THE COMMUNITY

Jyotsna Chatterji

Studies on Indian women have suffered from a very serious disadvantage in that the vast majority of them, rural women in particular, have been left out of their scope. We have thus very little analytical material on the status of rural women and generally the poor among women. The Editor of a bibliography of studies on women has said that “all the general studies (of the status of women) whether of the ancient, medieval and modern periods have a very elitist slant. The masses have seldom been studied and their problems remain virtually unexplored.” This is a serious defect which hampers our proper understanding of woman-man relationship in contemporary India. It is however obvious that the middle class, educated Indian women who are seen in the intellectual, educational, bureaucratic and political circles do not represent the women in India. And yet, in our conferences and seminars this is the class of women, English speaking, elitist, which is given prominence. The reason is understandable.

Such national and international conferences are for those who have the appropriate background. Thus what emerges from these conferences and the elite circles are likely to be of little interest and relevance to the majority of women in our country.

This is the result of the socio-cultural and religious factors which continue to dominate society. In such a framework emancipation of women does not have much meaning because the real objective here is to gain power for the high caste and affluent women rather than the above emancipation of all women. The realisation of this objective by the above section of women will not make any difference to the existing situation as a whole.

The W.C.S.R.C.-C.I.S.R.S. Joint Women’s Programme is conducting two studies on women in Bangalore district. One of these studies is on the status of Rural Women. Although these are not complete yet, the impression gathered by the investigators, which the actual data collected will no doubt confirm, points to a situation which justifies the observations made above. In Bangalore City, the three professions investigated so far- legal, medical and teaching- are the preserves of the high caste and the middle class or the affluent, while the women lawyers come mostly from the non-Brahmins. In Bangalore rural district, where our field study has just been concluded, the indications are that those women who are employed outside their homes for farm or other types of manual work are from the lowest castes. Muslim women are mostly involved in Beedi-making (small cigarettes), embroidery and perfumery works. But caste women in this rural area are not employed in any of these works. Those high caste women who have the advantage of education are able to enter professions or take up employment with high status and income.

This study indicates that the majority of women are illiterates, Muslim and scheduled caste women show the least interest in education. It would seem, therefore, that the snail number of women who were literate belong to the high castes. Likewise, while most women are not aware of social organisations like the Manila Mandals, of those who know about their existence, only a small number belonging to the upper castes has shown interest in their participation. The relationship between women of different caste-class backgrounds is highly restricted.

A significant finding of this study is that women in the sample do not desire equality with men in all

respects but only such cases as equal wages for equal work, and equal rights for job opportunities. This may be interpreted by pointing to the force of tradition which makes women submissive and disinterested in gaining the right to make decisions in matters of marriage, family expenditure, politics, etc. But if women do insist on equal wages and opportunities for employment rather than other rights, then it would seem that women plagued with poverty, insecurity, disease, etc. consider the question of survival and economic prosperity for themselves and their families as of more immediate importance and the other rights necessary to change women and men relationship as secondary under the present circumstances.

All this is not to minimise the evil of sex-based oppression and exploitation. It is, however, necessary to see this relationship in the context of general oppression and exploitation. The social, cultural and religious factors which have either originated or strengthened the present woman-man relationship have also been similarly responsible for the general social and economic domination and exploitation in Indian society. The different manifestations of oppression are inter-related as their sources are similarly inter-related. We need to see this relationship as clearly as possible. I am inclined to think that the priority given to certain economic rights by women of the lowest social and economic rungs of our society points to this interdependence.

In this country, women belonging to the lowest castes have been less restricted economically, therefore the tribal and low caste groups have a higher percentage of working women than the upper castes. These groups have by and large been without private property and have been depending on their labour. Socially and culturally they have been less subjected to upper-caste restrictions, though they have been gradually adopting the higher caste social and cultural norms. The dictates of the system of private property shaping human organisation and its ideology are certainly important factors which need to be taken into consideration in any discussion of man-woman relationship. The role of religion in strengthening it is equally important. The social, legal and cultural norms and injunctions are also seen to be in close inter-relationship with the economic and the religious.

In the case of religion, as Max Weber pointed out, the disprivileged classes, in contrast to the cult

of the martial nobles, tend to have a religion “characterised by a tendency to allot equality to women”. There is a great diversity in the scope of the religious participation permitted to women, but the greater or lesser, active or passive participation or exclusion) of women from the religious cults is everywhere a function of the degree of the groups’ relative pacification or militarisation(past or present). To the extent that religious institutions, both as religious and social institutions, and the meanings, doctrines, etc. of religious institutions have tended to correspond to the dominant institutions and their ideologies in society, the religious participation of women has declined in spite of their earlier importance. Although the prophets and founders of these religions have maintained unconstrained woman-man relationships in religious participation, the later development of these religions n the process of routinisation have invariably reacted against the participatory relationship. This can be seen clearly in Christianity at a very early stage of its development as reflected in St. Paul’s writings. Religious rejection of women’s equal participation has thus a close association with religious alignments with the ruling classes. In their legitimising role in all spheres of society, religions have tended to sanction and strengthen the social relationships and arrangements required by systems of power. The woman and man relationship’s one such area where religions have played a major role in determining the position of women in society and within the family. It is not surprising Therefore, that the report of the National Committee on the Status of Women found “no radical difference in the position attributed to women by any f the religions. The reform movements of the 19th and 20th century in India,” according to this report, realised the difficulty of separating social from religious reform, but their aim to reform all religions together could not be realised as both the ruling power and religious orthodoxy in all communities resisted such attempts. Consequently, the cope of these movements was generally restricted n two ways: 1) they developed within the folds of ach religion rather than as a unified movement for transformation of the whole society; and 2) their objective was to change the position of women within the domestic framework only and to ensure for them a position of dignity and respect within the family. heir impact has, however, been most pronounced on he urban middle class and the goals of the reform movements have become part of the general cultural heritage of this section of Indian society. Being more concerned with the disabilities of women in the

higher classes, the reformers did not challenge the universal suppression of all women perpetuated by their subordinate position in society and did not consider the need and problems of their participation in the wider social processes. It was left to Mahatma Gandhi and the Freedom Movement to place women’s emancipation in its proper perspective, as part of the larger movement for the removal of inequalities that oppressed all the weaker sections.”

Thus the tendency of all religions to reject equality of men and women in practice was to a small extent mitigated by the reform movements. But their impact was limited to a small section. Modernisation among the elite and the ruling classes and castes served to strengthen and widen the existing inequalities.

Has the woman and man relationship changed radically in those sections which have benefitted from education, opening up of employment, of professional opportunities, and generally of modernisation? Generally speaking, according to the report mentioned above, the role of differentiation still exists. “In the middle class… the spheres of men and women are more sharply demarcated. There is a clear distinction between work done for one’s household and that done for others. Women are supposed to do only the former.” In the urban areas, however, the additional income brought in by women is valued and this is one of the factors changing the attitude towards work by women in the urban middle class or the lower middle class. But the traditionally feminine roles in the middle and affluent classes remain intact. Home-making, child-rearing, etc. are still the primary roles for women even in educated and affluent homes. In spite of modernisation the inheritance laws still discriminate between sons and daughters.

The inter-dependence between the economic, social and cultural factors in this area is seen clearly in the question, among others, of women’s participation in work and in their status. Does participation of women in the economy lead to greater equality between women and men? From what we have seen above, it is clear that no straightforward relationship can exist between the two. There are various social, religious, cultural and other factors which may intervene. This question, therefore, must be seen in terms of women’s control over their own products and how their participation is valued socially. The first has to do with the question of men and women’s relationship with property and the religious and social factors influencing it. The second

is bound up also with the economic and social factors. It has been pointed out that in case of a patrilineal corporate group like the joint family, property “becomes a vehicle or medium which expresses the continuity of the group. The group is seen as projecting both in the past and in the future, including within it, the dead ancestors and the >t unborn children.” It is the group’s moral obligation to preserve the property belonging to it and to hand it over to the next generation. Thus the Dharmashastras of the Hindus recognise the right property as being linked with certain obligations to ancestors. It is obvious that in such a system where the line of descent is not through women, their right to inherit property will be restricted if not denied. We have seen how in the face of this social-economic institution, legislation becomes ineffective. It follows that in this system the surplus product of labour by women is appropriated by men which becomes a part of the property over which women have no control.

It would seem that for a small section of women certain cultural, social, political and legal factors re still acting as obstacles to the emergence of true community of women and men. But in a hierarchical society characterised by very great economic, 3cial and cultural disparities this problem of a nail section of women has little relevance. In other words, the gain of social power by women of the elite and the ruling class is not a guarantee that the vast majority of women will attain power. 3r the latter objectives and the major problems are likely to be different from those of the former. The relationships within different sections of the people are bound to a context. It is of course true that to some extent the changes in the social and legal factors benefitting the upper class women will be of immediate importance to the rest. But it is difficult to see how a redistribution of power among the powerful groups is going to benefit those who are powerless, both men and women.

Even specific exploitation of women as women in the vast powerless section has little relevance to the upper caste and upper class women. Apart from wage discrimination in agriculture or industry and other arms of exploitation that women suffer, their low social and economic status in a hierarchal society makes them vulnerable to sexual exploitations by men of high status- landlords, money lenders, middlemen, contractors, etc. In rural areas this happens because of tradition as well as economic factors.

Under these circumstances, women’s struggle for equality of status must be integrally related to, and form a part of, the common struggle of women and men for social justice and transformation of society. Women’s participation in this common struggle is the only way in which they can assert themselves in both family and society. After independence, women’s participation and leadership in movements for social justice have not been significant. Although the National Committee’s investigation showed that women were “more concerned with problems that affect their day to day life” and that “they have shown themselves ready to protest against rising prices, adulteration of food, unemployment and poverty” this characteristic is still an urban phenomenon. The great potential for women’s struggle primarily in rural areas by women belonging to the lower castes and tribes is unfortunately not often realised. These groups of women are not only the most oppressed but also are relatively free from the inhibitions and constraints characteristic of the high caste and class. Organisations of women of this section in local areas are therefore of primary importance.

The experiences of a social action group in a cluster of villages in South Kanara District of Karnataka are revealing. This group of young people began to organise landless labourers and tenants and also to organise women and youth. Here it was the women who launched one of the first struggles in the area for the implementation of the minimum wage law for women and established a women’s cooperative society. In subsequent struggles and victimisation of the action group the women stood firm and the men followed them in their common action. Similarly in a large slum in Bangalore where women, mostly belonging to the Harijan castes, have taken the initiative to form the first registered organisation, it is this group of women who are conscientising the people of the area by their systematic work. Significantly the men of this slum who had shown no initiative in any kind of organising work are now keenly following the women’s activities and participating in them.

Recently I was pleasantly surprised to see the enthusiastic response of rural Christian women in West Bengal whose backgrounds are not very different from those mentioned above. The participation of women of the poor rural congregations in decision-making or in conferences and discussions has been non-existent. In other Christian organisations dealing with society, women’s participation has been limited to the relatively affluent and older women.