SOCIETY

A village that houses hundreds of unwed mothers

     Tirunelli (Kerala): A remote village in Kerala houses hundreds of unwed tribal women. It speaks aloud of the injustice meted out to women, even in the "age of liberalisation". Tirunelli village in Wayanad district portrays a grim picture as several tribal women, though not tied in nuptial knots, carry along multiple number of children. These women, some of them as young as 13-year-old, are prey to infidel men who sexually exploit them with false promises of marriage. Tribal women who work as labourers in tea and coffee estates are allegedly made to do favours to their fellow workers and masters. Dhara, a tribal woman, said that the man in her life deserted her, leaving three children to look after. "I had a relation with a man. Earlier he used to look after me and my three children, but now he does not. He has started living with another woman," she said. Jose Sebastian, a social activist, said the problem is inherent to certain communities who abandon the girl child. "What happens is that the Adiaya and Paniya communities where there are unwed mothers, the community itself excludes them. They become orphans and then in most cases they have to go other places to survive themselves and their children," he said. The women are also allegedly harassed by the cops who ravage the hamlet raping the women folk. Tirunelli has a population of 24,000, largely consisting of tribal people from 120 settlements. Though official figures put the number of the unwed mothers low, unofficial surveys conducted by NGOs and social workers estimate a high number of unwed mothers. .
-Jan 2, 2005

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