A strong network between various social institutions is required to be created to control the tribal women migration process. The problem of migration cannot be eradicated, it can be better controlled.
TALE OF DOMESTIC TRIBAL WOMEN
A.Kachhap
New Delhi)
The tribal population of the country as per the Census 2001, is 8.43 ccrore, constituting 8.2 % of the total population, tribal population had grown at the rate of 24.45% during 1991-2001. It a matter of concern that the Human Development Indices (HDI) of tribal population continue to be much lower than the rest of the population in terms of all parameters such as education, health, income etc. these deprived sections of the society also suffer from geographical & cultural exclusion, which is a deprivation not reflected in the HDIs. Tribal areas have low density of population and lack road communication, health care, education, drinking water etc. Sizeable percentage of tribal population living below the poverty line. Large number of the tribal in state of Chhatisgarh & Jharkhand live with minimum basic amenities like inadequate food, insufficient clothes & temporary shelter. This picture clearly visible in the tribal areas, clearly attributes to low standard of living which gradually leads to reflect high incidents of infant mortality, high death and birth rate, malnutrition, various diseases, low life expectancy and communicable inability despite of the constitutional protection and assurances and even after five decades of development efforts tribal women status is found to be lower not only that of women in general population & Scheduled Castes but is also lower than the status of tribal men. Tribal women are characterized by over work, invasion of sexual exploitation by market forces, large number of people are poor and more specific the tribal of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh. Their incomes are low and their asset base is small, conditions that frequently undermine their health, well-being and potential achievements. Poverty have also affected tribal communities and hinders their ability to arrange fundamental and basic services, basic developmental infrastructure and economic opportunities. Families and communities have important assets and capabilities, strong family ties, vibrant cultures, resilient local organizations and institutions, and the talent and commitment to find solutions to the most persistent problems of poverty and injustice.
Under the liberalization regime, tribal have been hit hard due to curtailment of the public distribution system and cuts in social sector spending. Reports of starvation deaths and malnutrition have reported from Orissa and Maharashtra.. Both foreign and Indian monopolies are penetrating the mineral-rich tribal areas following the dismantling of public sector, leading to large-scale displacements of the tribal. Efforts to rehabilitate them, if any, are more of symbolic than of real value.
Today, except in north-eastern states, the tribal women have the highest percentage of illiterates, as successive governments did not do much to improve their education. According to the data provided by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on literacy rates in different social groups, the rate among tribal women is the lowest. There is a serious lack of even primary level educational facilities in tribal areas; the dropout rates are very high here. The seats reserved for them in higher education are never fulfilled.
Present day in our country, the most serious crisis faced by the tribal is that of unemployment, and particularly women are the worst sufferers. For their livelihood, a majority of them work as agricultural labourers, in forestry-allied activities, mining and quarrying, etc. Large-scale dismantling of public sector has further aggravated the situation. Due to various reasons tribals women for the last more than 15 years have started migrating in search of any gainful employment to various town and cities and are being exploited physically and sexually. Sexual harassment is the greatest problem faced by these women. They are alone and their problems confined within the four walls, their woes are rarely being heard by the outside world. Tribals are facing the most ruthless oppression by landlords, mafias, moneylenders, contractors, corrupt police and other officials, and ruling class politicians. Due to this, large number of tribal migrate, with entire families, to other areas to eke out a meager livelihood. Women work hard and contribute to earning. But the dominant society’s bourgeois or semi-feudal values are degrading these women. They are subjected to sexual harassment at workplaces by landlords, mafias, contractors and forest guards. These forces compelled these women to move out from their habitat.
During the past one and half-decade, tribal women have emerged as a small but significant social category in the metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai, who are in the service of the rich and middle class here. But it is their woes and miseries within the four walls, which is not being taken note of by any in society. This migration is neither social nor as a result of natural inclination of the women victims. It is being abetted to live the victims without any supportive and special roots, migration of tribal girls/women from poor families is facilitated. In India, men or families migrate, primarily for economic reasons but it is hardly heard of women alone, especially un-married girls, migrating to distance places leaving behind their parents and siblings. Kerala had been having women/girls migrating to different States but for socially respectable and technically much wanted professions such as para-medics, teachers and in other technical and modern trades. On the other hand, tribal women land in new places as less educated/un-skilled and work mainly as Domestic Servant.
In fact, seasonal labour migration is an increasingly important aspect of rural livelihoods in tribal areas of Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand States. Such migration can no longer be viewed merely as an adjunct to an essentially agrarian way of life, but has to be seen as integral to the coping, survival and livelihood strategies of tribal poor families. Rural to Urban migration is often viewed as a consequence of environmental crisis in which migrants as ‘ecological refugees’ are forcibly displaced by processes of deforestation, soil erosion, water scarcity, land fragmentation, declining agricultural productivity, economic and sexual exploitation and population explosion. While increasing pressure on a fragile resource base has indeed contributed to widespread failure to meet subsistence needs among tribal households, these forces leading to migration are as much to do with the social relations of dependency and indebtedness which subsistence failure entails, as with ecological decline. The problem is not so much one of declining production, as of systems of money lending, labour contracting and exploitation. The social exploitation consequences of migration and are far from uniform, but shaped by class and gender. For a major community of Oraon, Munda, Santhal, Khariya and Gond households migration offers positive opportunities for saving, investment and meeting contingencies. For the poorer minority such as Munda, Khadia, Kanwar, Cherwa and Korwas in Chhatisgarh, migration is a defensive coping strategy covering existing debts and extreme economic vulnerability. In combining unequal and individualized income accrual with the need for joint livelihood strategies, migration has a major impact on intra-household relations in the tribal community.
There are registered and unregistered Placement Agencies in the metro cities of Delhi & Mumbai, even individual are found operating this lucrative business and channelizing these women in different obnoxious activities to earn good money. These women are being channelized in the pretext of social services. At the local level in tribal areas such individuals agencies have agents alluring young tribal girls to prepare them agree for menial jobs in cities. Channelizing these women have very lucrative and comfortable vocation for many people. There individuals/agencies have their network in metropolitan cities and other urban setting they are putting the tribal women in to a path of hardship, self-condemnation and guilt. Not only this, these agents or middlemen are de-linking these girls from their families of orientation and social ties, flying job seekers ( tribal women) sharply losing control over her body, bargaining power, physical & emotional security.
As per an estimates made by non-governmental organization, there are more than 2.5 lakh tribal workers, a majority being from Orissa, Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand. In Delhi alone their number is around 60 thousand comprises both registered and unregistered. It means every sq. km. of Delhi 40-41 tribal women are working as maid servant. Similarly, in Mumbai their number is approximately 30 thousand. Tribal girls/women have migrated from tribal areas to various cities/towns in search of any gainful employment and they are being physically & sexually exploited. Neither Government nor NGOs have done any effective efforts to stop the migration problems. No doubt few NGOs for the last few years have started registration for these women for better placement. Now migration of tribal women from these two states has jumped manifold. “The increase in migration of the tribal women is directly proportional to increasing luxurious lifestyle of the middle-class here,”. Though the workers in the informal sector are exploited, but it is the women who suffer more because of the gender bias.
The large-scale demand of domestic help in the Capital during the past couple of years has led to emergence of commercial agencies supplying tribal women from these states to middle class homes. It is here that their exploitation begins. Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh states were formed to protect the interests of tribals and other sections of society who subsist below the poverty line. Yet since the 1980s, every year between 2,500 and 3,000 tribal girls across the state continue to migrate to cities in search of a livelihood, according to a survey conducted by the People’s Awakening for Traditional Revival and Advancement (PATRA). So far, around 60,000 to 70,000 girls have moved to different place to seek job from central India.
Girls from Ranchi, Singhbhum, Gumla, Simedega, Chaibasa and Santhal Parganas (Jharkhand) and Jaspur, Surguja and Raigarh districts of Chhatisgarh are migrating to the metros on a large scale. One of the surveys conducted by the Organization “Youth Forum for Social Action” has found that most of the girls work as Domestic Servant in Metros, 90 per cent of the migrated women families live below the poverty line and their daughters are compelled to migrate to help make ends meet. For a majority of these families, their land has been taken over by the market force for commercial use, leaving them with no other sources of income. Apart from domestic help, there are about 40,000 tribal girls in Delhi, of whom 20,000 are registered with placement agencies and others have been sent to various places and different legal and illegal vocations and the locations/ reasons not known. Those already working in the metros are tutored by brokers to lure others to migrate with the promise of lucrative employment. Every day, thousands of girls wait for job brokers at the Ranchi, Rourkela, Sahebganj and Jamshedpur and Raigarh railway stations. More than 80 organizations have been set up ostensibly for the welfare and security of these women. Instead, they supply girls for domestic work in Delhi/New Delhi. These organizations easily make between Rs. 1.5 lakh Rs. 2 lakh each month, working as brokers on commission. Most of the tribal girls have been physically, sexually and mentally harassed. Several have been sold at various prices and sent abroad.
The working environment where these women are working is not conducive. They do not have any working hours. Their day beings early and concludes after midnight. They do all kind of work and get less than the minimum wages fixed by the Government. As per an estimate, their average monthly salary is between Rs.1,000 and Rs.1,500. of this, nearly one-third is taken by the commercial agencies. They never get a weekly off or some of those who get weekly off spend their time unproductive way. In case, they go on leave they may be permanently replaced.
Absence of any legislation is a major reason for this pathetic condition of these women workers. Domestic workers Bill came into existence in 1959, but so far the Bill has not become an Act, even though the women are struggling to cope with the adverse situation. There is no provision for minimum wages nor is there any provision for holiday and compensation to these women.” They remain unorganized, deprived of minimum wages and unprotected by labour laws and other measures. Their problems are persisting.
Due to faulty government policies, the government till date has done nothing for the tribals after displacing them from their lands to set up major industries. The government’s emphases on tourism and industrialization have deprived the tribals of a decent living in Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh. Also, due to deforestation, tribal women have been unable to sell forest produce, forcing them to move out of their homes to support their families. As a result, they are forced to migrate to the cities. Lack of employment opportunities at home is another reason for migration. Tribal women are poor, their income is low and asset based is small, resulting thereby to migrate. Poverty also affects them & hinders their ability to acquire basic amenities. Due to acute unemployment, exploitation, less opportunities and allurement tribal women force to migrate to different places in India. Though they have strong family ties, vibrant culture, resilient local organizations and institutions, talent to find solutions to the most persistent problems. Despite they migrates, they also migrate for employment, by marriage, by mistake, by allurement, and just for fun & family problems also.
Conclusion
Government has failed to organize an orientation programme for counseling the unemployed. A strong network between various social institutions is required to control the migration process. The problems of tribal women are very big problems for the tribal identity. It is not so simple to eradicate this problems but we have to think and to persuade both the central and State Government, different church institutes, social organizations, local panchayat and all officials and individuals to better control this problems. In fact, during the time of Ninth Five Year Plan formulation Government of India had taken this issue and included in the chapter of tribal affairs Working Group Report but nothing had happened after that. However, the issue of tribal women migration has been incorporated in the Draft National Tribal Policy which is at present kept in public domain for comments. We the tribal people should sensitize the issue with all levels of authorities to better control this problems. “A strong network between various social institutions is required to be created to control the migration process. The problem of migration cannot be eradicated, it can be better controlled We should also ensure that these issues finds place in the Government of India’s plan and policy.
The views express is the personal thinking and exposure of problems of the author of this article.