admin By Ashwini Shelke
They are concerned about the freedom of those women,
those who have been controlled and oppressed,
those who had been protected and sheltered.
Our work for our survival,
has been our freedom.
while we worked in the fields,
or in sewers carrying shit,
we were free they say,
while we were raped, molested or abused,
we were free they say.
While their sexuality was sacred and valued,
ours was looted at their whims and fancies,
but we were free they say.
twice oppressed, thrice oppressed, what’s the difference,
let the man have his way…
we are but invisible to our men,
them hankering for the freedom of those oppressed women,
while we of course are free.
Aswhini Shelke is a research student at JNU. This poem was penned as a response to the hypocrisy exhibited by some male colleagues in the Ambedkarite movement.
you have said so much in such few words, ashwini. thank you. this is an old and bitter struggle that many of us have kept silent about. while dalit men and women’s choice of partners is a personal thing, we are talking about consistent patterns of behavior that men in our communities indulge in. there is an expectation of us to be oblivious to the fact that this behavior is part and parcel of internalized brahmanical values and that it comes with loads of humiliation and exclusion. especially so when they claim they are working to annhilate caste. :). wonderful poem!
it is helpful to liberate dalit and tribal women who are working against all odd of life to secure their freedom. what happend in betul district of m.p. is example of tribal women.
I agree to what you have conveyed here i am sending you the link of one article please go through it
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/for-some-adolescent-girls-in-india-a-struggle-to-stay-in-school-192264?pfrom=home-otherstories
Excellent !!!!!!!!!
I discovered this website not too long ago. It is difficult to describe my feelings as I read these extraordinary writings by Dalit feminists. I am awed, exhilarated, shamed, challenged, humbled, enraged and educated by your words…..this is a site I keep coming back to. Thank you for “speaking truth to power”.
KALYANI