Named for the white bird that perches on water buffalo in rice paddies, she is a a woman, my age, working as a maid for my landlords. Her sister previously worked here, but being only 16, she became too homesick to work and returned back to tea country to send Kokila in her place. Both young women share huge smiles, yet deep sadness in their eyes. Kokila collects newspaper clippings of Tamil Bollywood stars and keeps them in a scrap book, and she tracks all the soap operas on telly. She can explain (using chef and body language to interpret) all the gossip in Bollywood and that one actor, Veejay, is visiting Colombo in June. But she cannot cook well and has no interest in doing housework. Nason, the chef, resents incompetence and other workers for their 'bad' manners, most likely because he's the only one who works 18 hrs a day with little rest. He has been trying to get rid of Kokila for some time and I came to realise it is because she sells sex to one of my beastly neighbours.
The landlords found out that one of the gardners pimps her out, so now they try to keep their eyes on her. However, they are lawyers and are often not around. I tried to reason with the chef that she could need the money for her young child, who is being taken care of by her family. Or that she could care less about the domestic work when she is given gifts, clothes, jewelry, money for her other informal services. Or that she seeks to be with men because she had abusive, alcoholic father (common case particularly in rural communities, like the tea village where she grew up). But Nason insists that she is a bad person and should be thrown out on the streets. Meanwhile, the men, like the gardner pimp, the obese beast, the employer who doesn;t intervene, and the critical gaze of the cook, are off the hook in this scenario. Hardly is their complicity questioned. Whatever Kokila's reasons for turning tricks on the side, why is it acceptable for these men to continue this behavior with no consequences? It will be Kokila who loses her job, and potentially stable income for her family and kid.
What I cannot endorse is the easiest thing that is done here, which is to ignore, put problems aside, look the other way. These class divisions and notions of superiority are most visible within the organisation where I work. It makes me nauseous to learn that none of the national staff have permanent contracts and that fast-track health care for them is only being negotiated now (health care is free for Sri Lankans, but some form of private insurance has more perks/quality). One amazing, overqualified colleague has degrees in micro-biology and human resource management. She was demoted to asst HR mngr without notice, while they hired another woman to take her position. It makes absolutely no sense; meanwhile we pretend that everything is fine, equitable, and that we are building alternatives. At least the private sector is more blatent about screwing people over for profit, rather than pretending it's working to achieve MDGs and improve the human condition. I'm quite bitter that some people in this field will trample on every human being for their own personal glory. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy most people I work with; just that management needs to improve significantly. Perhaps managers could be trained in human rights or something before working in human development?
Just a few threads to highlight the continuous hardships that many women must endure, on all levels.
But for some good news, in Rio de Janeiro women prostitutes are lobbying to legitimise prostitution by creating their own clothing line. Retired hookers design and sew the clothing, but I wonder if it's fair trade? As well, in a strategic essentialist way, women are banding together and organising to call for an end to the occupation in Iraq. Look out for these peaceniks in a town near you. So yeah, can we get on with it please?
3 comments:
A very interesting entry, Bryn. I can see how Kokila's fate does not look good and the hypocrisy of the men involved. From this comment, I take it that village life is very harsh, particularly for women. Would women be married quite young? Would Kokila be sent away because she has a child and is not married? Just wondering about the village social structure a little.
Thanks for staying abreast with my goingson. Indeed, living in the villages surrounding tea plantations seem immensely more difficult for women than men. Life span is drastically short, with most women not living past 50. I haven't scrutinised the MDG indicators for Sri Lanka but school attendance is less for children in rural areas.
Depending on the religion (Hindu or Muslim among Tamil tea pickers) there are several mores adhered to regarding marriage. Many young women will marry young, around 16-17 to their sweetheart, if accepted by the family. The suitor must have some stability, job, good family, respectability. Castes are not as prominent, but still found in some northeastern and Kandyian areas. I believe dowries are shared between families; bridegroom paying for wedding and providing thereafter and bride's family paying for homecoming reception. If young women are married off (there is a complicated mix of arranged and love marriages) for economic security, they still face the possibility of having to leave their villages in search of work. Many women are married but work in domestic services (in Colombo or sent to Middle East). Tons of studies now are coming out to show the increasing rates of human trafficking, sexual harassment, & abuse of Sri Lankan women sent abroad.
Remittances from children (including young women domestic workers)claim nearly 1/3-1/2 of many rural families' incomes, so the emphasis for Kokila to come to Colombo had more to do with getting extra income for the family. She is not married so part of her income (salary and from sex work) goes to her family. I am not sure if married women send income to their partners' families, to their birth parents or to both families?
I would say that women in tea villages experience harsher lives for multifarious reasons, which are not possible to detail here. But in general, women working on the plantations work at least 10 hour days, then have their domestic responsibilities. When I visited a couple tea plantation, I noticed that men generally work in the value-adding tea processing factories, while women collect leaves, firewood, water, administer healthcare,etc. Most tea plantations have maternity wards, but it seems there is a loss of income for the family if women are on maternity leave. You sometimes see women more than 6 mos pregnant working in the fields. I think pregnancies are welcomed, and eventually accepted if out of wedlock. Kokila faces immense hardships because very few Sri Lankan men want to marry someone who already has a child, who is not considered pure.
Meanwhile, men who get the factory jobs have more lesiure time, spent in the town centres or collecting household items. There's a high rate of alcoholism, domestic, sexual and child abuse in tea communities. There are still social taboos about women drinking so it is often the men who squander day's earnings on arrack.
I regret I cannot go into more detail about conditions in tea plantations. Language is a barrier between Kokila and me; what I learn from her is very basic. I can amend these comments as I spend more time in Sri Lanka. As well, the Country Office in Sri Lanka have a few poverty reduction papers and projects concerning the tea communities.
Hope you are well. bryn.
Your website has a useful information for beginners like me.
»
Post a Comment