*Ilayum Mullum — Suicides in 'God's Own** **Country' ** *
In 1982, four young girls who worked as weavers went to a toddy shop in Kerala and drank a glass of toddy each. Their purpose was not to get drunk. The purpose was simple: 'If men can do it, why can't we?' The concept of women drinking at home is not an alien notion, at least in some homes in Kerala. However, the sight of women drinking openly in a toddy shop can, even today, generate severe repercussions. If the consumption of alcohol is considered a part of the entertainment culture, the share of women in this form of culture is negligible. So is the presence of women in restaurants and cinema halls. The village these girls belonged to was in a toddy tapping area. And women drank at home. The provocation, however, was the use of a public space for such an action. "All that men can do cannot be done by women," snapped the villagers. The events that followed were a systematic attempt to ostracise the young girls. Verbal harassment became very severe on streets. Work became hell. The girls came back home and complained to their parents. The response they got was, "It is all because of your actions, and now you have to face the music." Another consequence was the bitterness they faced at home for 'hurting the family pride'. After facing a few days of isolation, when the harassment became unbearable, the girls decided to commit suicide. Two of them died. The next day, a leading newspaper mistakenly stated in their report that three girls had died instead of two. The name and photograph of one of the girls who did not commit suicide was also published. The day when the report was published, the third girl committed suicide along with her entire family. Shocked by the incident, questions were raised on the issue of discrimination. The response was even more shocking. Even some of the 'progressive' sections condemned the girls and the harassment was seen as a natural outcome of the process of preservation of social morality. Those of us who questioned the social morality from the perspective of women's rights belonged to an insignificant minority. Eleven years later, with this incident as inspiration, a feature film *Ilayum Mullum* (Leaves and Thorns) was made. The incident was modified in order to generate more social focus. More incidents of similar nature, which took place at that time, were added to the central story. The film derived its name from a Malayalam proverb that states wryly, 'Regardless of whether the leaf falls on the thorn or the thorn falls on the leaf, the leaf will have to suffer'. The proverb is still used to tame women who transgress social expectations. *Ilayum Mullum* moved many people and was used widely by social activists. Of all the comments, many of them positive, one stands out: 'The film is good, but the women should not have committed suicide." Such a statement springs from an unwillingness or unpreparedness to get deeply disturbed by an issue as also from a lack of understanding of the relationship between rural women and family pride. What does it mean for rural women to get ostracised in a system where everything is determined by community and family? In a system in which the 'individual' is completely tied down by family and community, ostracisation can reduce the individuality of a person, leading to suicide*.* It may be difficult for an urban mindset to relate to this, since there is a greater space for men and women in cities to pursue their life as 'individuals'. However, even among the urban poor, the pressure of patriarchal oppression at the workplace and at home can lead to the extreme act of suicide — the recent suicide of Ammu, a garment worker in Bangalore, is a case in point. There is something interesting about Kerala in the period when the weaver girls committed suicide. There was a boom of what is known as the 'Little magazines'. Most of them were alternative literary magazines and some of them questioned the social and political establishment directly. '* Kaviyarangu*', a poetic tradition in which poets reached out to the masses, was at its peak of popularity. Radical poets were like film stars then. Almost all radicalism and dissent were shaped by values of patriarchy. There was no autonomous women's movement at that time. The initial feminist groups such as Prachodana and Manushi in Pattambi and Chetana in Thrissur emerged after the mid-eighties only. Hence, contact with the ideas generated by feminists in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad was minimal. When some of the women representatives of the Left forces were contacted, their understanding was that the women's movement would split the working class movement. Such a debate had taken place in cities such as Delhi during the mid-seventies. However, after the emergence of autonomous women's groups in Kerala and the subsequent media attention on the issue, some leaders who had questioned the women's movement went on to become the leaders of the 'women's movement' of political parties. At that time, there were issues other than the immediate issue of the harassment of the weaver girls. At a time when women were being burnt to death for dowry in cities such as Delhi and Bangalore, women were also committing suicide on the same issue. When patriarchal values generated physical violence, such violence could easily be condemned. But when the same values and psychological violence forced women to commit suicide, people found it difficult to identify the problem and condemn it. Kerala, at the time, was a model for development, for the Left forces, the World Bank and other mainstream institutions. High literacy and education rates, the low mortality rate and other factors in Kerala led to it becoming a model of development for the outside world. The historical background of the matrilineal system in Kerala was seen as liberating women, though it was actually men in their role as uncles who controlled property in such a system. And yet, when Kerala has the highest rates of suicide, alcoholism, mental health problems and violence against women in India, how can such a society be seen as a model of development? The very criteria of development needs to be questioned. Among all the debated and un-debated criteria of development, the issue of suicide in a society has to be viewed in its social and political light. The rate of suicide in Kerala is three times higher than the national average and has been growing steadily. In the early eighties, when the weaver girls committed suicide, the rate of suicide in Kerala was 13 per 1,00,000. It rose to 31 per 1,00,000 in 1999. Suicide attempts are also on the increase, making it a major problem in Kerala. A section of people here do not wish to continue their existence in 'God's own country'. What makes them feel so in this beautiful model state for development? One of the main reasons for 'family suicides', in which allmembers of a nuclear family commit suicide together, is said to be the 'debt trap'. When Kerala already has a debt of Rs. 50,000 crores, and is aggressively pursuing further loans from the ADB and the World Bank, more and more citizens of this state are committing suicide due to indebtedness. Family suicides are not the only types of suicide. Women's participation in employment is said to be an important criterion for Kerala's development. However, many women who commit suicide are working women. The weaver girls we discussed in the beginning of this article were also working women. While men commit suicide due to the pressures of the modern economy, women commit suicide because of brutal expressions of patriarchy. The stress of working women is more as they have to balance the expectations of employers with the pressures of working at home. Non-familial suicides also include farmer's suicides, the suicides of lesbians and gays, suicides due to dowry, failed romances and the pressures of examinations and competition. The last category has to be examined in a little more detail. While education is seen as the most important aspect of Kerala's development, a growing number of students are committing suicide due to the stress associated with examinations and examination results. The debate initiated by feminists in Delhi during the seventies on the working class movement and the women's movement is gaining newer and wider dimensions today. Issues related to the suicides of lesbians, gays and farmers in different parts of Kerala are throwing up many questions on the relationship between the working classes and other marginalised sections. The need for expressions of solidarity between those in the working class movement and those struggling with the issues of Adivasis, women, sexual minorities, dalits, communalism and the environment has never been greater. After all, the suicidal impulse, generated by the pressures of the present-day development model, can only be corrected by the forceful and united action of these marginalised sections. Globalisation has brought in an urgent need for solidarity. The opportunities for common struggles have multiplied. If common platforms for action with a common vision do not emerge at this stage, the arena will be open for a brutal invasion of global capital all over the country. Let no one mistake the implications of this suicidal economy. While the agenda is set in motion by global capital to determine the nature of work, the question is how do we visualise work itself in the coming future? Can there be workers, involved in a sustainable production process based on human need, who lead a life free of the oppressive baggage of caste, gender, sexuality and communalism? If we conceive of such a working class, what is the path we have to take today for its formation in the future? How else can we change the concept of development in a modern globalised economy when the working class plays a direct role in the destructive production processes? *Ilayum Mullum* does not raise these questions directly. However, the issue of suicide has become much more severe today. Perhaps, we did not realise at the time that thousands of farmers would commit suicide years later. The gravity of the situation today, in which a large section of society is on the brink of suicide, was not conceivable at that time. Moreover, those who do not commit suicide are often brutally butchered. The road to death is clearly laid down in any case. Somebody out there is deciding who has to live and who has to die. Those who refuse to die are engaged in resistance in different parts of the country. A war is on. The role of the intelligentsia as spectators is over. Every bit of our present action and thought will determine the future of our survival. The choice for many is the leaf, with or without the fear of damage. · *K.P. Sasi, a Award winning film maker based at Bangalore , his feature film Ilayum Mullum has selected Indian panorama and selected more than 30 International film Festivals , he is popularly known as an activist film-maker. Directing a number of documentaries on people's campaigns for livelihood and rights, he has quite effectively and powerfully put forth his ideological pro-people stand. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> * * * *The article published in Labourfile Bi-monthly September 2007 * -- mustafdesam --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
