DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN SANTHAL SOCIETY



In this article, Kusum Hansda, a member of the Santhal community in Bihar, speaks to her lived experiences with the discrimination that women often face in Santhal society.





Kusum Hansda







Division of Work



It is believed that men and women are given the same status in Santhal society. But there are many things in which girls are discriminated against in Santhal society. My name is Kusum Hansda and I belong to the Santhal community in Bihar. A girl has to face many problems to move ahead in life. Many Santhals believe that boys have more value in society and girls have less value.


In the month of Sawan(June-July), the work of ploughing the fields is done by only men. It is believed that if girls plough the field the world will have a drought, there will be no rain, and crops will be ruined. That is why only men must do the ploughing. The surprising thing is that the women carry the plough on their heads and arrive at the field. But only by ploughing there will be a drought in the village. The girls in villages can also plough but in society, the boy is given more importance. Women do various work. They keep on working for twelve months, get up in the morning at 4 o'clock, make the food, broom, throw the cow dung and go to the field to feed the men breakfast. Women also sort seeds and plant paddies in the field. Yet women’s work is given less importance in society.



Difference in Cultural Practices





All the villages in Santhal society have a leader known as Manjhi Handam. Whenever there is a quarrel between two people in the village, they go to the Manjhi Handam to resolve their quarrel. The Manjhi Handam will inform everyone about the quarrel and call a ‘baithak’. Members of the Baithak will hear both parties and decide who is at fault. Women are not invited to participate in Baithak. They are called either as witnesses or when they are involved in the fight. Women are not allowed to participate in the decision making process.


Santhals live in harmony with nature and are very close to nature.They worship the earth, they worship various crops, they worship different animals by celebrating different festivals including Sohrai, Veda Abke, Sukri Abke, Baha Bonga and more. All these worships are conducted only by men. The meat from the ritual sacrifice of a hen, pig or goat is cooked and consumed by men. But a day before the Puja, women have to do the work related to festival such as cleaning the house.





Discrimination in Education



Women also face discrimination in educational opportunities given to them. Earlier women were not encouraged to educate themselves. Growing up, I have heard the people around me say that they will not teach their daughters, they will only teach their sons. The daughter will go to someone else's house and run their house. If you educate your son, he will stay at home and take care of his parents in their old age. If someone wants to educate both their sons and daughters, the son is sent to a private school while the daughter is sent to a government school. Many government schools in rural Bihar are in poor condition. Teachers do not come regularly, they do not care about students and the infrastructure including classrooms, benches etc are in bad shape. After coming back from school, the boy is not asked to help with any household work. But the daughter is not allowed to get a single rest. The mother will ask her to clean the utensils, pick up cow dung, cook food and more. When I used to sit to study, I was often asked “How much will you study? it is also important for women to learn household work.”



My Struggle



Growing up, I have faced many problems and I still face many. In my village, there are around 150 houses. Back in 2002 and 03, When I was studying in primary school, there were only 5 girls in the government school in my village along with me. By the time I reached class 5, four of them got married. After that, I used to go to school alone. Slowly, I also felt like I did not want to continue studying. I started spending my time collecting firewood in the forest and doing other chores. I helped with housework in an attempt to not get scolded by my parents for skipping school.


It was during the board examination time for class 8th students, that my perspective changed. In my village’s school, some children from another village had come to give exams. All of them were boys, and only one was a girl. Looking at her inspired me and I started attending school regularly again. And I started studying more diligently.


After I passed inter (class 12th) people of the village used to ask me “When will you get married?” I used to tell them I do not want to marry. “Girls who say they will not marry are the first to elope with boys” was the reply I always got. I felt sad when I heard such things and I thought to myself that things can only change by getting educated and getting a job.





In 2018, I joined the Lahanti club which is a youth collective in Chakai. I used to teach children in my village and try to do some extra work for NGOs. I started working on the Chirag project in 2019 in which I made movies on Adivasi food and did some writing work for the project. The people of my village saw the films I made and listened to the audio I recorded. My Father, mother and grandmother were very happy with my work. My grandmother told me about Adivasi food practices and gave me knowledge about it. My grandmother and mother helped me make the film. When my grandmother saw the film, she was very happy. She said to me “What time has come? Earlier, all the villagers used to collect money and rent a Television. Villagers used to gather under a tree and watch the television there. But today my granddaughter is making films herself.”


With the money I earned, I bought a scooty for myself. I was the first girl in my village to drive a scooty. Buying a scooty gave me the freedom to move easily and reach timely to meetings and work. The little girls in my village used to look at me and say “We will also study like Kusum didi and buy a scooty in future”. I am trying to become independent and move ahead in life but people try to create hurdles for me just because I am a girl. People say that I have many boyfriends and say that when girls get many boyfriends they can get jobs easily. I get disheartened after listening to such things. A girl has to face many problems. I was inspired to continue my studies after looking at a girl. I hope I can also inspire other girls in my village. Only when girls progress the whole society can progress.