Abeinuo Jasmine Ashao, SDO (Civil) Kohima speaking on “The Indigenous Woman: A Perspective” on November 13.
Morung Express News
Kohima | November 14
Despite Naga women earning and playing the role of a bread-winner in today's context, Abeinuo Jasmine Ashao, SDO (Civil) Kohima asserted that they are never relieved from traditional roles.
Speaking on the topic, “The Indigenous Woman Voice: A Perspective” during the inaugural of the 4th Edition of Nagaland Literature Festival held at the Capital Cultural Hall Complex Kohima on November 13, she remarked that, “any woman falling short in these traditional roles is often judged and fettered by social stigmatization.” “The Naga woman is still chained by many traditional dos and don’ts”, she stated while pointing out that, “the Naga woman is expected to be humble, submissive and perform the roles of a mother, child bearer, care-giver, household manager, all of which are unpaid for.”
Further delving on the theme, “Amplifying our Indigenous Voices”, she also maintained that it was fair to discuss the voice of the fairer sex, which, she pointed out is the voice of half of our population.
While the Naga society takes pride that Naga women share the same rights as men and enjoy a comparatively better position than women in other communities, she opined that “gender discrimination is systematically practiced and greatly legalised by tradition and customary practices.”
Towards this end, she also cited the electoral rolls that have enrolled more female electors than male but the first female representatives being elected to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly only 60 years after statehood in the year 2023.
On the other hand, she said, “we have a visionary and landmark statute in the form of the VDB model Rules, 1980 whereby, atleast one-fourth of the members in the VDB Management Committee are to be women.” However, she lamented that, “it is unfortunate to say that 44 years since that rule has been implemented, most female members still serve tea and snacks to the menfolk during their meetings and are rarely privy to the affairs of the committee.”
Further pointing to the enrolment of female students in Government Schools that is often higher than that of the male students, she stated that, “this can be attributed to families placing a higher value, economically and socially, on providing a better education in private institutions to the boy child as compared to a girl child.”
Emphasising that “the biggest fallacy we live with today is believing that our Naga Women are not oppressed”, she underscored that, “Domestic violence, sexual harassment and violence against women are no longer alien to our society.”
In this regard, she went on to say that the reason why “institutions under the Mission Shakti, particularly the One Stop Centres often have very low number of cases is because most of the victims are forced to discreetly compromise and not register a case against her perpetrators.” “A woman who tries to rise against such regressive mindset is often chided and socially ostracised”, she articulated.
Stating that the only position a woman can hold with no discrimination and no distinction is that which she earns by sheer hard work and merit, she underlined that, “Indigenous Naga women have hardly voiced opinions at the household level, made decisions at the village level and in many communities, women still have no or very little inheritance rights.”
The saddest reality of Naga women, she further pointed out “is the curtailment and sanction they still face in the realm of creativity” while art and literature are often a medium used by even the oppressed to express opinions.
“Ethnographic materials and documentations in the past are biased against women as the scholars and authors are often men”, she added.
However, pointing to the Naga literary scene today, she emphasized that “women dominate the literary field both in terms of publications and social media.” “It is time to change the narrative, to dare and make the voice of the Naga indigenous woman heard and help break the social shackles that had long made the Naga women forget her strength”, she urged.
