Trapped in deprivation as constitution silent

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Poly, a Khiyang minority youth, takes up a “halong”, a big basket to carry water, on her back a little before daybreak to fetch drinking water from a fountain. Her brows look knitted in a permanent frown as she leaves home with other women just like every other day. It will take at least three hours for them to bring water.

As Poly moves ahead, she plans her day out. She also has to go to the weekly market at Thanchi and the journey from home at Sherkopara up in the hill of Tajindong in Bandarban will take another eight hours.

In a sudden state of consciousness Poly wonders how long she will survive like this treading the uneven roads up and down the hills, carrying essentials from the market or fetching water, she told The Daily Star while describing some of their routine household chores in the hills.

Poly and other indigenous women living in the hills do not have access to education, medical facility or any other development issues to find hopes of escaping the perpetual trap of deprivation and discrimination imposed by a patriarchal society, a roundtable meeting at the Jatiya Press Club observed yesterday.

It takes at least two hours to fetch drinking water for other deprived minority communities living in the hills like Lusai, Pangpua, Tripura, Chak and Khumi. And a study shows over 70 percent indigenous women spend at least two hours a day to just bring water while 90 percent are involved in jhum cultivation.

The indigenous women are caught in the perpetual traps of deprivation, once for being women and then for being members of indigenous communities, said economist Prof Abul Barakat at the roundtable titled “National Woman Development Policy and rights of indigenous women”.

“Our constitution does not recognise indigenous communities with their distinguished cultures, languages and identities. Our political ideology is also not friendly to the indigenous community,” he said.

“It is a matter of political will and commitment. When indigenous people are not recognised with their distinguished cultural identities even in the constitution then ensuring the rights of indigenous women seems like wandering in the wild,” Barakat said.

Indigenous leader Sanjib Drong said, “In a greater sense the word ‘woman’ can cover the indigenous women, but in reality it does not. Life is different in the hills, the language is different and lifestyle is different. So special provision is to be made in the national development policy to ensure rights to indigenous women.”

The speakers also observed that the Women Development Policy 2008 does not incorporate any provision to ensure indigenous women’s rights considering their geographical positioning and socio-economic condition.

The policy ignores the issue of the underprivileged and deprived women of indigenous communities, they said, recommending amendment to the constitution in this regard and inclusion of indigenous women in the mainstream women movement.

The speakers also expressed uncertainty over the fate and credibility of the women development policy in the wake of protest by religious fanatics.

“The policy has made scopes for the religious fanatics to do politics,” said Dr Dipomoni, women affairs secretary of Awami League. “Our political system is patriarchal as is our society. But the issue of minority communities must be included in the manifesto of political parties.”

Human rights activist Meghna Guhathakurta said, “There is nothing called indigenous act in our constitution. And the existing law does not apply to the culture and lifestyle of minority communities living in both the hills and plain land.

“The inhabitants of plain land and the Bangalees must appreciate or be aware of their deprivation to understand the life of indigenous people who have been exploited over the years,” she added.

The speakers recommended introducing primary education for the children of minority communities in their mother tongues, long term work plan to develop the life of indigenous people, stopping military harassment in the hills, permanent land commission, separate provisions in the national women development policy for indigenous women, reserved seats for them in national parliament and local administration, special employment and stopping harassment to indigenous women immediately.

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