Kāliyammāl
For women to play a leading role in public life is a herculean task, not merely in any particular state like Tamilnadu, but it is true of the whole of India, leaving alone for a moment what happens elsewhere in the world.
In all the wars and conflict zones of the past, it is women who were taken hostage. They were the sinners or commodities to be bought for money or taken as booties by the victors. They were the polluters of the societal purity, so they needed to undergo all the tortures.
After all the ordeals, if the women look for a legitimate place in the political arena who makes things difficult for them? Who created such a social structure? Even while they surrendered, who brought them to the battlefield? In the name of the proverbial Chanakya male strategy, they were not given space to prove their worth. Women desire to adorn the society like the sandalwood, but they are pushed to the periphery, if not thrown into a sewage. Did they not know the power of authority and so did not want to sit on the throne? It is a fact of life that nothing happens without women, but still they are a species in political life. There are several such questions that call for an answer.
There was a time when women cut off their breasts to gain freedom and jumped (or pushed) into the funeral pyre when their husbands died. These are not just isolated events of the distant past. Even today in the rural areas, under the weight of poverty, men dominate the life situations, where women remain subjugated.
There is no point in citing examples of a small percentage of city-bred women who choose their mode of life, decide what to wear and what to eat. But let us think of the women in the remote villages where they are still imprisoned unaware of the modern world. In spite of such restraints, they still struggle to reach the level of being elected as ward counselors.
How does this situation prevail?
Even in the lightened Europe the situation is no better. When Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany, there was a proposal to make another woman as president. But the spontaneous reaction was: “Two women at the helm of affairs is too much.” That is a sign of male chauvinism. Men are perhaps threatened by the presence of capable women as leaders.
It is also sad that women are still portrayed in the Tamil film world as sex objects or docile women who are the victims of fate. It would be good if the directors choose such themes for their films, where women shine as brilliant and intelligent agents of social change in life. This may have some impact on the youth.
We cannot afford to blame the past and remain resigned, as if nothing could be done. The reasons are many for this complex situation. One source that forms our mindset is our literature. Let us see what image of a woman our Tamil literature projects before us.
The Tamil epic heroines
Kannaki, Mātavi and Manimekalai are the three heroines of Tamil epics- Cilappatikāram and Manimekalai, authored by the poets Ilanko and Cāttanār. These three women are part of a common storyline. All the three are not successful heroines, but sadness is written large in their faces. They reflect in a way the socio-political situation of the then prevailing Tamil society.
All the three are the victims of the social conventions or structures. They struggled within their given status in society, but at the end they break such conventions and that is why they are heroines. The modest, chaste and loyal wife Kannaki breaks out of her subdued self and challenges the King of Madurai in defense of her husband Kovalan who was murdered without trial. She even burns the city of Madurai in anger.
Manimekalai refuses to follow the practice of her tradition and becomes a Buddhist Bhikkuni. She could not lead a normal family life because of her low status in society. Why they are so destined to suffer is not answered by the creators of these epics. The only standard answer they repeat is the so-called fate, Ūḻ, an unknown force in life. One need not accept this solution of the poets.
Manimekalai is presented as a woman of compassion concerned about the hungry people of the society and feeding them miraculously, following the path shown by Buddha. Perhaps that was an emergency situation created by natural calamities like draught, lack of monsoon, leading to the failure of the agricultural society.
She is also portrayed as a philosopher in the city of Kānchīpuram, which was the home of several great Buddhist scholars like Dinnāga, Dharmakīrti and others. Manimekalai visits the followers of the several philosophical schools, listens to them and finally decides to follow the Buddhist path.
This epic conveys the message of changes brought about in the life of women. Women get the right to enter into Buddhist Sangha as members. This Sangha accepts also the leadership of women. Here it is shown that women could lead an independent life without the support of men and engage in development of society. This epic also breaks the conventions of family and patriarchal systems. Above all, the education of women is emphasized.
We need documentations.
One must admit that things are changing gradually. There are at present several women speakers at the political platform in Tamilnadu. We need to publicize their activities. Fortunately, there are also initiatives to document the women who rose high in society as leaders in several fields. For example, Nivedita Louis has brought out two publications: “First Women” (Mutal Penkal, 2019) with some 45 women achievers, and “Path Finders” (Pātai Amaittavarkal, 2022) another 30 women who played great role in public life.
After independence, the book points out, that not merely the high caste women became the members of the Legislative Assembly or Parliament, but also women from other less-privileged communities like — Meenambal Shivaraj, Jepamani Masillāmani, Lourdu Ammal Simon, among others.
One among them stands out prominently in Tamilnadu political history — Satyavāni Muthu (1923–1999), the first Tamil woman from the discriminated community to become the minister in the DMK Government. Though at first she was friendly with Mr. Karunanidhi to propose his name to be the leader of the party, she did not hesitate to criticize him, when things went against the interests of the discriminated people (1974) and of course she was removed as minister. She became later the Rajya Sabha member in 1984. Her comment is worth remembering: “After their eyes were opened coming out of their slavish lives, though knowledge and critical thinking, if they are still denied equality and human dignity in public life, it is equal to letting them commit suicide.”
(Ms. P. Kaliammal is a social activist from Nagapattinam. Hailing from a fisherman family, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and a Master’s degree in Management. She is the star speaker of Nām Tamilar party. She is also a state’s woman Coordinator in Nām Tamilar party. In 2019 she stood as a candidate for north Chennai Lok Sabha constituency for Nām Tamilar party. Also in 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections, she contested as a candidate of Nām Tamilar Party from Poombukar Assembly Constituency.)
