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Dalit Female Education and Empowerment by M. Seenarine (Published in Dalit International Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1, February 1997. Waterford, CT.) Introduction One and a half centuries ago, my dalit foreparents left south asian shores as indentured laborers bound for caribbean plantations. Now, 150 years later, I was returning as an american graduate student on a year's scholarship provided by the University of California, Berkeley, to conduct field research for a doctoral degree in international education development at Teachers College, Columbia University. Even though Indian society is very oppressive to dalits, I eagerly looked forward to finding out more about dalit culture and roots in south asia. Growing up as a child in Guyana, South America, I was aware of casteism among the hindus against dalit groups such as chamars, bhangis, and christian dalits. After emigrating with my family to the USA as a teen, I once again encountered hindu casteism in New York, where ironically, south asian emigrants treat most all caribbean indian emigrants as `untouchables.' These experiences developed in me a keen awareness into understanding how caste operates in all its permutations. As a lower caste/class male, my access and control over social and economic resources is very limited. Over time, this critical perspective has led to being more sensitive to my advantages as a male in relation to lower caste/class females. Poor women of color are the dalits of the dalits. These various insights culminated in a research interest in understanding the experiences of rural dalit females who are triply oppressed by caste, class and gender. Researchers have indicated that close to ninety percent of dalit females live in rural communities, and in abject poverty; most work as coolies, or day-to-day manual laborers, at less wages than men. Only ten percent of dalit females are literate. Poverty compels most rural dalit parents to send their children to work rather than school; many view education for girls as a luxury. During a year of field research (1994-5), I had the priviledge of interviewing 25 dalit women and girls from various villages who were part of a women's education program in Bidar district, Karnataka. This opportunity was rewarding at a personal and professional level. I will briefly discuss one female, Rachel, in order to explore some relevant issues of dalit girls' education. Rachel Rachel is 15 years, a christian dalit, and the eldest of three children. As her parents are migrant laborers in a distant city, she lives with a maternal uncle. Before that, she lived with paternal grandparents who took her out of primary school after three years. Regarding life as a drop-out, Rachel describes her existance as follows:
As Rachel explains, the life of a rural dalit female is restricted in many ways. Her life and choices are circumscribed by cultural and patriarchal ideologies which govern her access to education, social and other resources, mobility within the village, and so on. These oppressive ideologies take a toll on the psyche of girls (and women) who become very depressed, powerless and hopeless. From a feminist perspective, literacy has had a positive influence in Rachel's life. When asked how her life has changed as a result of literacy, Rachel states,
A careful reading of this statement will reveal that Rachel is empowered by literacy as is now questioning the construction of gender roles. In the boredom within `the four walls of the home,' the mere ability to read is itself a form of personal empowerment. Further, as she explains, in a culture in which wearing a sari is a form of purdah and part of female seclusion, Rachel is symbolically and overtly rejecting traditional female roles ascribed to her, in choosing to wear a longer blouse. Although she may not like the schooling environment very much, Rachel nevertheless values education and realizes its importance at the village level. In describing the social and economic context of dalits in her village, Rachel explains,
At some level of political awareness, one observes a critical view of power relations in the village from Rachel's statements. Rachel understands that power relations comprise of caste, class and educational factors. She names the main oppressors of dalits in her village, as gowdes from the OBC vokkaliga community; and, in her mind, caste and economic exploitation are clearly connected to educational disadvantage. Rachel explains that OBC landowners have used the landless dalit laborers "because they are illiterate." As a result of her analysis, Rachel views literacy as a tool of resistance for both personal and economic empowerment. For example, now that she can count, she makes sure that the gowdes "pay me correctly." She further explains,
Concerning her interests in further learning, Rachel commented,
As can be discerned from this statement, an important issue for Rachel is land rights. She understands the importance of learning `mainstream tools' such as legal literacy, in order to deal with mainstream society, "the courts, the police, etc." on these issues. Finally, this researcher was able to comprehend another form of empowerment occuring in Rachel, and among rural dalits in general, in the form of Ambedkarism, increased self respect, new social options, and so on. However, this cultural empowerment is not part of the formal avenues of learning, such as literacy programs or schools. In contrast, it is the result of continuing oral practices, folk traditions, village skits, plays, songs, and so on. Ambedkar placed great importance on education for dalits. Knowledge of his life and achievements has led to increasing interest in education, and cultural empowerment, among Rachel and the rural dalit girls interviewed. Such learning has also led to increased empowerment of this dalit researcher. Home
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