This issue which deals mostly on
WOMEN comes quite appropriately at a time when the United Nations sponsored Decade
of the Women (1975-1985) is at mid-point. We remember the big hoopla and
propaganda/media barrage which ushered the Year of the Women in 1975.
Most organizations, governments, even churches got taken up by that celebration
all in the desire to help in the escalation of the emancipation of women in a
largely male-dominated world in which we all live.
In July last, there were. two conferences which were held in
This last assertion is the main
theme of this issue. Although we do not have here an exhaustive treatment of
the issue, there are nonetheless glimpses of the real condition of women in
Two articles - Dr. Abu Mahmud's article on the political economy of
2
by Kumari jayawardena
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Today women in many countries
are taking part in various types of movements of protest, some of which are serious
struggles for economic and social emancipation . One
of the important tasks of the politically conscious women's movements has been
the writing of the history of the struggles of women for economic and political
rights. There have been a spate of new books, in Europe and the
In the history of Sri Lanka, there
have been numerous examples of outstanding women, who as mothers, wives and
daughters of great kings have made their own contribution to the religious and
political events of their times. For example,
From around 1880 onwards, the
Ceylonese bourgeoisie began to make demands for democratic rights, for equality
of opportunity and for political reforms. In the 19th century, they expressed
their demands through religious and cultural movements, and in the early years
of the 20th century, through political movements for reforms. The working class
too, from 1890 onwards, began to strike, to form trade unions and to agitate
for economic demands and the right to unionise. While
these religious, nationalist and working class movements were led by men from
the Ceylonese bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie, there were always a few women
who supported and joined these protest movements. However it must be stressed
that women's participation in the political and social life of the country was
and has remained, marginal. Relics of feudalism such as arranged marriages and
the dowry system still exist, and even today in
3
In order to describe the various
forms of struggle in which women in Sri Lanka were involved over the past 100
years, it is necessary to distinguish between two classes of women, first, the
working women in the estate, urban and rural sector who were part of the
working-class struggles for economic & political rights and second the
middle-class women, some of whom campaigned for equal status with middle-class
men, and others who fought for the radical changes in existing society.
THE WORKING-CLASS AND PEASANT WOMEN
Capitalists have always treated
women and children as a good source of cheap labor and Sri Lanka has been no
exception. In the 19th century the most exploited group of workers in
In the towns, the worst paid workers
were women employed in unskilled work, in factories and other menial
occupations. In 1908, the rates of pay of women and girls employed by the
Public Works Department to break stones, was between 12 and 36 cents a day.
There was also a large group of servants, 67,000 in 1911, mainly women, who
worked as semi-slaves for board and lodging and a pittance of a few rupees a
month; in this case too, women servants receiving less than men servants.
Another group of women toilers were
the peasant women who were subject to feudal forms of oppression and
exploitation in the countryside. Not only had they to work and give a part of
the crop to the landlords, but according to feudal custom, they did domestic
work in the landowners' houses. Today a significant
proportion of peasant women work as wage labour
and sharecroppers and receive lower wages then the men.
THE MIDDLE-CLASS WOMEN
The Ceylonese bourgeoisie composed
of land-owners, contractors, arrack renters and professionals arose in the late
19th century, but in spite of their education and wealth, this class had no
political rights. The struggle for democratic rights began with the Buddhist
revival of the 1880's, the temperance movement and the early nationalist
agitation. In these campaigns against foreign rule and foreign cultural
domination, many middle-class women came to the forefront. When, in the
twenties & thirties, more radical political parties and trade unions were
formed, there were women activists in these bodies.
In discussing the women who came
forward to assert their economic and political rights, we can distinguish 3
types of struggle.
1. THE
CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS REVIVAL
The revival of Buddhism and Hinduism
in the 1880's, the temperance campaigns of 1904 and 1912, and the Buddhist
education movement were the first manifestations of anti-imperialism that
emerged in
Apart from Helena Blavatsky, there were several other remarkable foreign
women who influenced the Buddhist revival and education movement. Among these
were Annie Besant, fearless critic of
Christianity, champion of the London Match girls strike and founder of the
Fabian Society. As a Theosophist she visited
Several Tamil women were prominent
in the cultural field, among them Hangalanayayam
Thambiah, who in 1914 wrote a very popular novel criticising the system of arranged marriages, and Mrs.
S. Sellammal ,who wrote novels in the early
twenties on social reform and the problems facing women. Another Tamil woman
who was prominent in the twenties was Sellachi
Amma who invaded a hitherto male preserve - the
vocation of mystic saint and "guru". She was radical in outlook and
advocated freedom for women.
2. THE
STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL RIGHTS
Professional middle-class women,
especially teachers and doctors, began to become politically conscious in the
first decades of the 20th century and a few of them joined nationalist
organizations. Associated with the earliest radical nationalist organization,
the Young Lanka League formed in 1915, was Nancy Wijekoon,
a school teacher, who was well known for her stirring nationalist poetry.
During the 1915 Riots she came under suspicion and was followed by the police.
Reports by the Inspector General of Police, H. Dowbiggin,
mention her "seditious" poetry, which reminded Ceylonese of their
past glory and urged them to rise up against the foreigner.
When the Ceylon National Congress
was formed in 1919, here were several women delegates at the first sessions.
They were Dr. Nalamma
Burugesan (who later married the estate trade
union leader, Satyawagiswara Aiyar),
Miss I. Ganguli a Theosophist teacher from
Sarojini Naido who visited
4
When the Donoughmore
Commission on the reform of the Constitution came to
After adult franchise was won in
1931, middleclass women formed several organizations including the Lanka Mahila Samiti and the Women's
Political Union both inspired by Dr. Mary Rutnam, a doctor
of Canadian origin who was at the forefront of many social service
organizations. She also started the Tamil Women's Union in
The first woman elected to
legislative was Naysum Sazavanamuttu
in 1931, and since then there have been several women in parliament and women
Ministers and Deputy Ministers. Middle-class women, through various organizations
such as the Ceylon Women's Conference led by Ezlynn
Bsraniyagala, continued to press for certain
rights such as jury service for women and the right of women to join the Ceylon
administrative service and the diplomatic service, (which have been
subsequently granted ) and general questions concerning the status of women.
3. STRUGGLES
OF WORKING WOMEN
Women have also been active in the
trade union movement and in radical and Marxist political parties. In spite of
the high rate of exploitation on plantations there were on trade unions on
estates until 1931 - a hundred years after the opening of the first coffee
plantation in
The early strikes among the urban
wage workers were in trades that were purely male occupations - printers,
carters, laundry men, and railway & harbour
workers. But during the general strike of 1923, led by A.E. Goonesinha
and the
By the early thirties, sections of
the middleclass women had become more ideologically and politically
class-conscious, and were therefore willing to join the urban and plantation
workers in their struggles. In the plantation sector, the first trade union was
formed by K. Matesa Aiyar
and Satyawagiswara Aiyar in
1931. Mrs.Satyawagiswara Aiyar who was a doctor,devoted her time to work on the plantations and Mrs.
Natesa Aiyar made a
sensation by appearing at public meetings and thrilling the crowds with her
songs describing the sufferings of the estate workers. In the period after
1945, many Tamil women from estates became active in the trade union movement
that grew in strength. Among them Kokilam subbiah is best known for the novels she wrote on the
degraded position of men and women on plantations.
In the urban sector, many women
became active in the labour movement after the
formation by A.E. Goonesinha of the Ceylon Labour Party in 1928 , and Agnes
de Silva contested, but lost the Galagedera
seat as a Labour Party candidate. The other women who
were on the Executive Committee of the Labour Party
included Dr. Satyawagiswara Aiyar,
Mrs. A . B . Pres ton , the English Theosophist, Mrs. A.E.(Caroline) Goonesinha. Mrs. Richard de Silva, Mrs. Cyril {Madlin) Jayawardena and Eva and
Jennie Ferdinando. Madlin
Jayawardena who was a nurse by profession, was one of
the most active women in the Labour Party, and was a
member of the Dehiwela - Mt. Lavinia
Urban Council during the 2nd World War.
In the early thirties, the Youth
Leagues of radical nationalists and Socialists had been formed all over
In a pamphlet on the importance of
the Suriya Mal Movement, Eileen Wirasekera and Helen de Alwis
wrote:
"Wear the Suriya
flower on November 11th and demonstrate ... Your self-respect and independence.... Register
your refusal to encourage participation in Imperialist War. Every Suriya Mala is a blow against
Imperialism, Fascism and War. Wear the Suriya mala for Freedom and Peace."
5
Many of these women teachers and
their students made the yellow Suriya mal emblems and
sold them on the streets in the face of opposition from the police and colonial
authorities.
During the malaria epidemic of 1934
(when around 100,000 people died) all the Suriya Mal
Organizers and other politically minded women like Selina
Piens (Mrs. N.M. Perera),
worked in the Kegalle and Ruanwella
areas where the epidemic was at its worst. When in 1935, the island's first
Socialist party, the Lanka Sama Samaja
Party (L.S.S.P.)was formed, the party consisted of
many women militants including Susan de Silva, Doreen Wickremasinghe
and Selina Perera.
In 1931 and in 1937, one of
In the late thirties and early forties, a few young women graduates
of the
During the war years (1939-1945), Hedi Keuneman, an
Austrian by birth, became very popular among the
In the post war years, the women
activists in the C.P. included Pieter Keuneman's wife
Maud ( nee Robertson ) who had worked closely with R. Palrne Dutt in the British
Communist Party. Maud Enema, until her death in 1971, was the editor of
the Communist Party English journal "Forward".
THE POSITION TODAY
There are women in almost all
middle-class professions and several women are among the country's leading
specialists in certain branches of medicine. There are also a few women
Professors at the Universities, and women have distinguished themselves in law,
architecture, literature, journalism and in many other professions. All these
women receive equal pay and there is no discrimination against women at this
level.
However, the exploitation of women
is today one of the crucial problems to be tackled. Of the workforce around 38
to 40% are women workers. In the tea and rubber plantations, the majority of
workers (nearly 300,000) are women. In industries such as spinning and weaving,
finishing of textiles , garment manufacturing and the
manufacture of beedies over 50% of the work force
consists of women workers. Women are employed in almost all categories of
unskilled work and are a source of cheap labour. In
agriculture there are several lakhs of women employed
in paddy cultivation, a large proportion of them working as daily paid
wage-labor.
All these working women, whether in
industry or agriculture receive lower wages than men for similar work.
The disparities between wages of
working men and women vary. For example in the tea industry the daily minimum
wage for a man is Rs. 3.38 ( about
U.S. 75 cents), but for a woman it is Rs.2.93( US 40 cents). In rubber, the
figures are Ks.3.93 and Rs.3.08, and in coconut Rs.3.93 and 2.98 as between men
and women. The tea and rubber industries which account for 74% of the country's
exports and are the major foreign exchange earners are based on the cheap labour of women workers, who account for over 50% of the labour force on these plantations. The question of equal
pay is one of the main issues which women in
Today among both men and women - in
political parties, trade unions and other organizations - there is a new
interest in the struggle for full equality between men and women. While it is
true that the emancipation of women in Sri Lanka cannot be achieved under
conditions of capitalism, based as it is on the exploitation of the working people , nevertheless, the awakening that is taking place
among women about the nature of their exploitation, is a necessary condition of
their participation in the general struggle of men and women for liberation.
_____________
From LOGOS, vol. 13, No.2
6
by Khur Shid Jalal
The women of
_____________
From "WOMEN
FOR WOMEN", University Press Ltd.,
7
The entry of these women into active
politics shows two definite patterns. For the older group who took part in the
first election in 1954 it was a chance of entry. They were in no way connected
with active politics before contesting the election. They did seek the
nomination of different parties but not because of strong affiliations for that
party. Almost all those interviewed became members of the political parties
just prior to their filling in the nomination paper. When asked why they did
not join the other parties some of the UF women candidates said they had no
particular option as the women's seats were distributed among the constituent
parties of the United Front according to a certain formula. They played the
game keeping in mind that entry into a certain party would give the best
chances of winning the UF ticket -— the surest entry to the legislature.
Political conviction was of secondary importance — the arithmetic of winning
the party ticket was the dominating criterion coupled with family connection,
and the persuasion of friends. Social work was their only interest outside
their family except for a few who were teachers.
The younger group came into active
politics quite early. They were in student politics during their school/college
days and continued their interest up to university level. This gave them the
chance to establish themselves as student leaders and therefore to become
automatically acceptable to the elder politicians. From student politics they
graduated to their respective parent parties. These women displayed a firmer
faith in their party policies compared to the older group. They were more
categorical and firm in their political convictions. At least one of them, as a
major functionary of the organization, used to wield great power in party
matters.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Our women political leaders, old or
young, all belong to the middle or upper middle class. They came from a
privileged background. Although many came from purdah-observing Muslim families they were fortunate enough to have
education up to graduation level or
above.
It is interesting to note that all
my interviewees were married and had children. These housewive-politicians
spoke of the help and cooperation received from their husbands. In the life of
a woman political leader family encouragement and support is essential. This
can be seen clearly if one looks at the women winners of the 1954 election,
which included a grand-daughter, a daughter and finally a daughter-in-law of a
political figure.
POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS
That women politicians are
relatively new in politics compared with their male counterparts, was
adequately reflected in the occupation of party positions by the women leaders.
Only one of them acquired a party position in competition with men. All others
held positions specifically reserved for women. They figured in the central
body of the party by virtue of being the President/Secretary of the Women's
Branch which is usually treated as a sub-committee of the party. Their
exclusion from the main body did not significantly disturb the women members,
nor did they feel left out.
Did this reflect an unfavourable male attitude? The interviewees
general reply was negative. They felt the fault lay with the women political
workers themselves and not with their male colleagues. On one occasion after
the senior colleagues had been gaoled the Secretary
of the women's branch was made the party Secretary. Her leadership was accepted
by all without protest. 'This shows a woman's acceptability to male
politicians.
When questioned
about the greater
participation of women in politics most respondents said they were
gratified by the increasing number of women now in the political field. In 1974
after partition this degree of political awareness was not present. Women's
participation in the elections was not at all competitive. They took part in
the election without much opposition. And before women could participate in
real politics, martial law suspended all political activities for several
years. From 1969, after the mass upsurge politics were revived and political
developments moved rapidly. Women's participation would have been more apparent,
women leaders believe, if they could have contested elections directly rather
than receive the protection of reserved seats. They also complained that the
lack of incentives and proper guidance for party work disheartened the new
entrants. Only a few very enthusiastic members could overcome these initial
difficulties and remain with the party. In the absence of set rules and
definite objectives party work became uninteresting. The tempo set by the
party's election campaign dies down soon after the election is over. A woman
politician remarked , "Ours is a party which
functions only as an election forum".
RESERVED SEATS FOR WOMEN IN
PARLIAMENT
Their reaction to the existing
constitutional provisions for reservation of women's seats is, to say the least,
not easy to comprehend. This is in fact a continuation of the arrangements made
in the Legal Framework Order of 1970 under which the general elections were
held. Fifteen women's seats are reserved under the Constitution; the electorate
is constituted by the members of Parliament elected directly by the people in
general seats. In effect women have an essentially male constituency. Their
attitude seems confusing or even contradictory. The leaders do not like the
present system of indirect elections in theory, but they do not oppose it
either and talk of possible alternatives only in loose and vague terms. It
would seem that the merit of the existing system appears to them so clearly and
unequivocally, an interim measure; , that they could
not reject it nor was it possible for them, from a theoretical and a long-term
point of view, to support the postulates upon which the provisions are built.
It was evident that with the exception of one, all of those interviewed were
exceedingly pleased in getting fifteen women's seats reserved as it would have
been impossible, probably, to get a fraction of this figure elected through
direct elections.
Women politicians feel that this is
certainly the best they could achieve under the present circumstances. They
are, however, of the view that in future this should be replaced by direct
election by women for women's seats. "The longer we enjoy these sorts of
small favours the slower will be our progress towards
achieving our rights said the dissenter. Some members protested against this
system, but agreed that the Liberation War had disrupted our communications
system to a colossal extent and it would have been impossible for, all women
candidates to reach their constituencies during the March 1973 elections even
if the electorate had been formed by women only. In any case they appreciated
that if women were eager to contest through direct election there was no bar to
their doing so. In fact a few female candidated did
contest in the general elections and if the situation had been better in the
country more could have done so.
The enormous problem of having over
one million
8
voters per constituency spread over nearly
four thousand square miles plus attendant logistics problem does not suggest
that this would be the ideal solution. The 1954 system of women legislators
being elected exclusively by the women voters living in municipal towns did not
also commend itself in these days of mass politics. On this point, a very frank
opinion was expressed by one politician. She said that because of weighty
practical considerations she accepted the present system and felt it would have
been impossible for any party even to name fifteen competent female candidates
in general seats, and to see all of them win would be
impossible. Hence it was advisable to accept the present arrangement until
women were strong enough to claim their rightful place. But she was a staunch
supporter of direct elections with no reservation for women. On this issue
another member was of the view, "Let us wait and see, we might even go for
direct election in reserved seats for women for the next few terms before we
ask for equal treatment; we should not ask for something which is beyond
us". Their acceptance of the reserved seats provision of the constitution
might apparently look contradictory in view of their strong views but their
reaction shows a shrewd acceptance of the reality.
The collective opinion gathered from
the persons interviewed is that, by and large, the male attitude towards women in
politics was favourable. With women politicians men
colleagues showed special consideration but none would say it was due to the
fact that they found the ladies less competent. It was so just due to the
social taboos that influenced them. In fact in the party meetings at times the
men did resist if any favour was shown to the women.
They accepted them as co-participants and co-workers. As workers they did not
generally show any discrimination. They believed that as members of the party
they were in no way less qualified than their male counterparts; also that the
few prominent women politicians we have were in no way inferior to the general
standard that was reflected in the party rank and file. At times the women feel
and act in ways injurious for the women members. "Why blame the men when
we women are incompetent in work and fail to prove our worth"? was the remark made by a veteran woman in politics. The
younger women in politics integrate more easily. She usually associated with
her colleagues in student politics and for her, life
in the party was the easiest thing to handle. With her the main female problem
of immobility was also of limited importance.
POLITICS AND HOME
When questioned as to the effects of
a political career on a women's home life, the reaction of more than halt the
interviewees was that they faced the usual problems a women as a member of a
"conservative society has to face while working outside the home."
They were of the opinion that as politics was an unusual profession where less women were involved, initially they were frowned upon;
but with an enlightened and understanding home front these difficulties are not
insurmountable. They also thought that politics was a game which does not have
any fixed rules so a participant had to be on guard all the time. For women who
had to look after a full time job this imposed some difficulties but such
problems were common to most working women. In view of this the respondents
felt it would be wrong to say that politics is not for women, "When we say
that a home and a career are not incompatible, it applies to and includes a
political career as well" - said one with a long political career to her
credit. A political career, it was felt, was within the reach of any educated, conscientious , hard-working woman.
WOMEN'S LIB
When asked to say something on the
'Women's Lib" movement in the West some expressed complete ignorance. One labelled it as a meaningless and purposeless whim of some
of the women of capitalistic society, and she felt very strongly that this
would never bring any permanent good to women. The general consensus of opinion
was that it was inapplicable and irrelevant to our society because we already
had our rights. The task here was to translate these rights into reality, to make
the best use of them. Our women were still far behind the women of many
advanced countries. They were yet to be freed from the curse of illiteracy.
Their economic and social conditions were much worse than those of other
emancipated women. It would be incongruous to think of such a movement in the
present context of our society.
The majority of the interviewees
were of the view that
being a woman was not a handicap for political participation. The liberation
movement and the war made women politically more alert. The dormant feminine
political spirit had been awakened and conditions were favourable
for the women of our country for participation and recognition not only in the
field of politics but also in other fields as well. The heroic deeds of a
number of female freedom fighters during the Liberation War had earned us some
real credit. They believed that if only our women could recognize and utilize
the expanding opportunities they could go forward without much resistance. In
future we could expect significant women leadership to emerge in some of the
political parties. In fact all the interviewees believed that women with their
innate understanding, orderly, compassionate and sincere natures could give
better leadership. The very fact that women were coming forward in large
numbers both in urban and rural areas, mainly due to economic pressure, proved
that there has been a great awakening among our women. This was bound to be
reflected in politics and their participation would be substantially broad-based.
In future participants will not be just from the privileged section of society.
WORKLOAD
It is difficult to get any clear
picture of the exact workload of the female politicians. Except in one case
where she had some definite duties to perform as a leading office bearer of her
party, most of them talked of attending party meetings only. During election
time the women members took part in election campaigns and went for relief work
after a natural calamity. In some areas they were also making efforts to set up
cooperatives, family planning and child-care clinics. But all this work was
being done by those who were involved in or connected with some social welfare
organizations. These politicians felt that as social welfare is complementary
to politics and vice versa the end goal of both being the same-public service,
it was a part of their political activities to be in social service also.
Their other task lies in their
effort to emancipate our women. Some of them admit that the very fact of their
being in politics and working shoulder to shoulder with men does encourage
others to come forward. At times while on a visit to the remoter places of the
country, they came across many rural women who were more eager to listen to
them rather than to the male workers. They had an easy approach to our rural
women and would influence them greatly. The only question was how frequently
they would visit remote areas.
9
by Dr. Abu Mahmood
We turn to the mode of production
and the nature of the superstructure that have emerged. Given the dependent
pittance of industry and its extension to agriculture in the form of Green
Revolution technology, those who call the state "neo-colonial" &
run by a bureaucrat-military comprador state-apparatus are not far off the
mark. As a matter of fact
IDENTIFICATION OF THE MODE OF PRODUCTION
The task of delineating the mode of
production is an extremely complex one. It has to be historically rooted,
structurally determined and culturally situated. The continuity of
But with the arrival of Clive and subsequent
defeat of Sirajudollah, the penetration and extension
of the capitalist mode in its predatory commercial phase started. Since then,
in every aspect of social, economic, institutional and political life of
In the case of
On the basis of the recent debates
on the mode of production that were published in the Economic and Political
Weekly of Bombay (EPW) and the debate on the interpretation of the 19th
century Indian history, it is possible to interpret the Bengal's mode of
production in a very different way. The debates in the EPW, though extremely
sophisticated & carried on abstract level, were helpful in clarifying con-
10
cepts but were inconclusive due to the
lack of historical rooting of the entire discussion. It is really surprising
that most of the participants used Marxist concepts and terminology, yet very
few of them paid attention to Marx's works on the issues, particularly Capital,
vol. Ill, Chapter XXXV, and Part IV, especially chapter XLVII, and V.I. Lenin's
the Development of Capitalism in Russia, especially Chapter II - section XIII,
which provide important reference points to the Indian debate. For example, Utsa Pathaik argued in the course
of her debate that neither the existence of landless labourers
nor production for the market indicate that capitalism
had penetrated or altered the production relations in the countryside. It is
true that production for market or differentiation by themselves can mean
capitalist-relations. But it is a historical fact that with the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal, and after the concession the British got
from
In the light of these observations, Rudra's mechanization-criteria, Patnaik's
emphasis on the reinvestment of surplus in expanded reproduction can be an
argument to show that development of capitalism was not taking place as it
happened in Western Europe, their reference points, but their argunent does not nullify the fact that capitalism
penetrated into the local mode of production, and dominated the system through
state-power and superior-technology & and capital accumulation. The
function of such foreign merchant-capital is to introduce colonial exploitation
through forced production and unequal trade, and export surplus value thus
appropriated to the metropolis for turning into industrial capital. And Chattopadhyay's defence
of Lenin's position that the existence of generalized commodity production - is
not a convincing argument in the case of colonial economy. He does not
take into account of Marx's key statement in Capital, vol.
The changes in the modes of
production, and the dominance of the colonial forms of capitalism took place
through the stages of penetration, consolidation, dissolution, and domination
of neo-colonialism. This point was high-lighted in succinct terms by Ziemann and Lanzendorfer:
"The type and structure of the peripheral production relations have to be
seen as a product of the encounter of the worldwide economic system with
technologically backward societies, in which elements of the original society interlock
with the elements of the dominant society." (State in Peripheral
Societies", Socialist Registrar, 1977, p. 157). Their main
contention is that peripheral societies are marked by a dynamic element as well
as ''a static element of stagnation where "thro" the spread of
capitalist production relations, the non-capitalist are themselves produced and
reproduced. (see op cit. p. 159)
The dominance of the capitalist mode
of production can be traced back to indigo-cultivation and more clearly from
the beginning of the tea plantation & jute cultivation. In order to
undertake such ventures elastic supply of labour
forces was needed. The ascendancy of capitalism for the imperialist relations
as the predominant form of production relations and profound consequences for
Bangladesh mode of production characterized by the allocation of land by the
conquest of the native "Zamindar" (rich
peasants or landlords ) on permanent settlement and extraction of surplus
production mainly in the form of sharecropping, rent collection and other
multiple forms of tribute collections inspite of
incursion of capitalist forces through plantation and fibre
cultivation for exports. The Nengals' non-capitalist mode of production were largely self-sufficient with
occasional marginal short-falls that they were able to produce - the products
required for the reproduction of their population. Handlooms and cottage
industries supplied the local needs for industrial goods. It was this
self-sufficiency that necessitated to be broken if labor-forces were to be
produced on the scale at rates required both for the cultivation of
export-goods and to fight for the empire. The result was to employ
extra-economic coercive measures. The net-result of these measures was to
undermine the self-sufficiency of
Secondly, NCM provided a
non-expensive sector for adding to the pool of the reserved army of labor, not
immediately required in the capitalist production, at minimal cost to the
state. This reserve army fulfilled the usual function of keeping down the wage
of, and disciplining, the semi-skilled & unskilled workers.
Thirdly, the NCM offered a way of
providing, again at minimal cost to the state, for those who were permanently
marginalized, that is permanently excluded from the production process in the
capitalist mode as capital intensity increased.
It also provides a means for maintaining
the young, aged, sick, etc. These factors explain the "articulation of the
dominant CMP and the NCM and the over-riding tendency to conserve rather than
dissolve these aspects of the latter which were functional to capital
accumulation.
The explanation
for the continued stranglehood of feudal forces in
the agricultural sector, in the extraction of labour
power from NCM for capitalist production. An important feature of the NCM in
11
modity production, the reason for this is
that if Bengalis were to be forced to sell their labour
power, they would have to be denied the option of providing/selling or
alternatively production / selling agriculture goods which must be appropriated
by middle interests subservient to the capitalist sector. The result was that
the general pattern, commodity production in the agricultural sector must be
monopolized by rural bourgeoisie, but the industries of commodity production
reserved for the ruling class and production in the NCM to be used for
subsistence purposes to supplement wages paid in the CMP. Although in the early
stages of capitalist development and in Pakistani days Bengali peasants
commodity production had been significant their share started progressively
falling since state-sponsored planning with private enterprise started, and it
fell multilinearly during the Shaik's
time to accommodate his political hanger-on. Trading interests emerged as
commercial bourgeoisie with the help of local bourgeoisie and the ruling class,
and subsequently foreign merchant capital stepped up through foreign banks and
insurance and by various economic measures taken by the present government to
facilitate profit extraction and capital flight.
THE BENGALI RULERS AND THE BENGALI MIDDLE CLASS
In order to distinguish them from
peasantry and workers, the groups will be referred to collectively as the
Bengali "middle-class".
The classical "petty
bourgeoisie "such as traders & small-scale producers employing
non-family labour was quite strong before the Partitian and since most of them belonged to Hindu
community and had indirect state patronage, they left
The traditional ruling class who
gained control of the state apparatus at independence were
part of Bengali "middle class", their control of state power gave
them opportunities for self-aggrandisement. Most
important of those was the opportunity to strengthen their economic base. Those
who were in strategic economic positions like economic management, banking ,
commercial policy-making and in the control of external resources, soon aggrandised themselves both economically and politically to
be incorporated in the upper levels of the state-apparatus particularly during
the Mujib regime and further assisted in the process
by the Zia regime because of his lack of political
base. Thus the "upper levels" and those close to them secured
positions in trading , medium-sized agricultural
production and small-scale manufacturing. But because of smallness of their
numerical size, they constituted themselves into price-determining enclaves,
controlling both domestically produced goods and aid-financed imported goods.
Less important, but not insignificant in their access to the "fruits of
office" including high salaries, bank financed residential housing in posh
areas and other "fringe benefits" provided by positions in the state
apparatus. It is this monopoly of privilege that laid the basis of conflict
within Bengali middle-class, each layer of this class to organize in order to
obtain their "share of the cake".
During the
NEW BOURGEOISIE
After the killing of Mujib, a succession of coups within coup followed in Latin
American style. The changes or extension of existing tendencies in foreign
policy have been largely manifestation of important changes in class formation
within
In common with the experience of
many Asian and African colonies and neo-colonies, the development of indigenous
Pakistani capital though mainly concentrated in West Pakistan, was blocked beyond
certain points and channelled in particular
directions to avoid competition with foreign capital or to make the country
more dependent and non-self-reliant-Thus after the crackdown, and emergence of
Indo-Soviet sponsored Bangladesh as a nation, while a substantially organized
proletarian class existed, the petty bourgeoisie of traders, self-employed
artisans, fishermen and handloom owners, cash crop and labor-employing farmers
were both tiny and weak and overwhelmingly dominated by ruling class because of
aid financed help upon which they depended. Mujib not
only nationalized most of the organized industrial sectors and handed their
operation over to the former owners, selected corrupt civil servants, but used
his personal influence to distribute licenses and permits to indent essential
yarn, fertilizers & other chemicals needed by the petty-bourgeoisie. Since
the privileges were distributed among the Awami
League supporters in the countryside, he helped the creation of a small but
profit-hungry "jotdars", "aratdars" (wholesalers) and usurers who combined land ownership
with leadership in the Union Councils. Such a combination of political power
with access to state finance helped this new emerging class to get rich quick
and enter into an unholy alliance with local officers to establish one party
bandit rule in the rural
Secondly, while policy was
formulated to enable the rural owners of capital to take up commercial agriculture,
fishery and market gardening, nothing was done to change the land-tenure
system, grabbing of "khas" (government's
land) by "jotdars" (rich peasants) and
usurious practice of money lenders, hoarders and "ijaraders"
(lease holders). As mentioned earlier, most of the new middle class was the
creation of Awami League, and it was not possible for
Zia regime to take any steps against this renegades usurping the union councils and rural economy
as the regime had no alternative political base of its own. The full brunt of
the Zia's oppression fell on Jasad
and factions of Left Parties who have not hailed him as national bourgeoisie
and begged for protection from the wrath of their own followers
. Such a policy enabled the new middle-class to monopolize the domestic
production sectors like jute, tea, tobacco, hides and skins, spices and market
supply to the urban areas involving the smallest & least technically
complex units of production and distribution, the state itself tried to gear up
unsuccessfully the nationalized industries, jute mill and cotton while allowing
the chief foreign exchange earner jute trade to languish in the hands of the
"aratdars" and corrupt officials of the
jute corporation. A number of foreign owned multi-nationals were allowed to
start their manufacturing industries in medicine, processed food, chemicals,
electrical goods, etc. and these new enterprises were initiated either
independently or through so-called "joint-ventures" with
multi-national corporations. Our private sector has one unique aspect. Only
around 18% of its total capital belonged to the private capitalist and rest 82%
belongs to the government sector. Even that tiny 18% happens to be black money
appropriated during Mujib's time. Thus under the
present regime, the state policy promoted a parasitic growth of an
"indigenous profit-hungry group, the state sector investment in the
economy is hemstang by corrupt officials. Investment
increased and a relatively important sector (natural gas) as state capitalist
sector, emerged, and it is alleged that all types of conspirational
actions are being taken to mortgage it to multinationals for increasing the
credit-worthiness of the country for more aid and loan.
PETTY BOURGEOISIE AND FASCISM
Classes struggle simultaneously at
two ideological levels: as a class and as the people. For petty bourgeoisie,
identity as people plays a much more important role than identity as a class.
But the ideology of the petty bourgeoisie is too diffused to "organize its
own discourse and can only exist within the ideological discourse of the
bourgeoisie or the proletariat."
There is a critical insight in the
work of Hannah Arendt: "It was not
interpellations (Althussers concept) as a class but
interpellation as "people" which dominated
fascist political discourse. Fascism far from being the typical ideological
expression of the most conservative and reactionary sectors of the dominant
class was, on the contrary, one of the possible ways of articulation of popular
democratic interpellations into political discourse. (See Ernesto Laclau: Politics and Ideology in Marxist Theory:
Capitalism - Fascism - Populism, Humanities Press, N.S. 1977, p.111 ).
The working class, because of the
theoretical reductionism of its leadership, erected a class barrier and thereby
seceded the "arena of popular democratic
struggle" to the "monopoly fraction." The possibility of
revolutionary confrontation arrives when the ideology of the working class is
able to present itself as the heir to national tradition and when the
anti-capitalist "struggles becomes the culmination of the democratic"
struggles of the entire society over the "dominant bloc". It has been
overlooked, and here is one of Laclau's insights that
while democratic struggle is dominated always by class struggle, "popular
democratic interpellations" do not have a "necessary class
belonging". This Tito, Mao and Berlinuer
understood.
During the rise of fascism, the
working class failed to articulate itself as a "hegemonic popular
alternative" to the dominated classes as a whole .
The working class isolated itself ideologically and politically which the
"monopoly fraction" interpellated the
middle classes en route to absorbing and neutralizing them. Unless the working
class can avoid the dual perils of class sectarianism and social democratic
opportunism, it will never be able to develop "hegemony over the remaining
popular sectors". The need to understand these perils is particularly
critical today when the European working classes is attempting to widen its influence
over the middle classes.
THE RURAL POWER STRUCTURE
To indicate the rural power
structure, we are summarizing an article by Md. Salimullah
Khan: "Pattern of Leadership in Bangladesh Villages. A comparative study
of socio-economic background of the Union Councilors" Jahangirnager
Review, Vol. 2, NO. 2, Nov. 1978.
In 1973 all the Chairmen were new
entrants except 17% of members having previous experience a structural change
since 1977. Post independence corruption, political chaos among the leaders
gave rise to serious dissatisfaction and frustration among the people. It
indicates the rural people are politically conscious. It has been observed that
majority of the representatives were directly or indirectly associated with
local school committees, cooperative association, young clubs and other social
organizations. In fact, these are important tools in rising into rural
hierarchy.
AGE COMPOSITION OF THE CHAIRMEN AND MEMBERS OF THE
UNION COUNCIL WITHIN 45 AGES. |
|||
CHAIRMAN |
MEMBERS |
||
1973 |
1977 |
1973 |
1977 |
73.33% |
63.60% |
74.51% |
75.00% |
EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF CHAIRMEN
93.3% below secondary to graduate of which 27% are
intermediates and 27% graduates.
OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF THE MEMBERS & CHAIRMEN |
||||
|
CHAIRMAN |
MEMBERS |
||
|
1973 |
1977 (%) |
1973 |
1977 (%) |
Landowners/Farmers |
20 |
12.5 |
55.88 |
50 |
Businessmen |
26 |
50 |
39 |
42.5 |
Teachers |
20 |
25 |
1.9 |
3.33 |
Professionals,
Lawyers, Doctors, Technicians. |
27 |
12.5 |
Nil |
2.5 |
ANALYSIS IN BRIEF:
1.
In
1973, 20% of chairmen were landowners/farmers, in 1977 the figure came down to
12.5%. In 1973, 26.67% chairmen were businessmen, it
increased to 50% in 1977. 20% of the chairmen were teachers in 1973, in 1977 the figure was 25%. In 1973, 26.67% or
representatives were professionals and in 1977, it came down to 12.50%.
2.
55.88%
of the representatives were landowners / farmers in 1973,
it came down to 50% in 1977. In 1973, 39.22% of the representatives were
businessmen, in 1977 the figure increased to 42.50%.
3.
Analysis
of 1973 and 1977 data clearly shows that the proportion of peasants
representatives in local administration has declined. In 1961, and 1964
respectively, 81.80% and 70.35% of chairmen were farmers. In the same years,
the representatives of members of this class were 87,4%
and 80.89 % respectively.
The conclusion is growing participation of the
businessmen in local administration took place.
4.
It
appears that major source of income of the chairmen elected in l973 and 1977 were
either agriculture (40% & 31.25%) or agri/business
(40 % & 56.25%) and a sizeable number of chairmen (20% & 12.50%) had
other source of income as well.
For members as well, major source of income is either
agriculture or agri/business. The proportion of
business group is gradually increasing. In 1973 it was 47.06% and in 1977 it
increased to 56.67%. Most of the chairmen elected in 1973 and 1977 possess
above 5 acres of land. Among them, a great proportion of the chairmen own above
20 acres of land (20% and 37.50% respectively). It appears that richer section
of the rural population in respect of landed property, have greater
potentialities in getting into rural leadership.
5.
Besides,
both members and chairmen own some other properties. These include factories, godowns/arat, shops, houses in town, etc. Of these
properties, a large number of chairmen (33.34%)and
(43.75%) respectively and members (32.35% and 27.50%) shops. All these sources
contribute a handsome amount of their income. These local leaders are more wealthier than their predecessors in former Union
Councils or Basic Democracy institutions.
Since the introduction of
self-government in
The socio-economic relationship
within the village is not conducive to the poor peasants. This is an usual phenomenon in
In
PRESENT GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS TO PUSH
"POVERTY ORIENTED" RURAL
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME: AN EVALUATION |
It now remains to explore what the
effects of the government's "poverty-oriented" rural development programme is likely to have on the group totally excluded
from the cooperative - the landless. The following facts show the seriousness
of the problem facing landless labourers.
+
33%
of households in rural Bangladesh are landless and another 15% own less than
half-an-acre of agricultural land which is far less than subsistence requirements.
+
The
proportion of landless households in rural areas has increased from an
estimated ^g^ in 1961 to 33% in 1977; this during a period of consistent
agricultural growth.
+
The
rate of increase of landless households over the past decade (4-5% per annum)
was higher than the population growth rate (3% annually) and is likely to
increase further.
+
Because
of a combination of an increasing supply of labour
(growth of landlessness) and decreasing demand for labour
through subdivision of holdings (which concentrates land in the hands of
smaller peasants who are less likely to hire in labour)
there was a decline of about 50% in the real value of agricultural wages
between 1965 and 1975.
+
As
a result of these trends, the proportion of 'absolutely poor' households
increased from 52% to 87% from 1963/64 and the proportion of 'extremely poor'
households jumped from 10% to 54%.
It is not without reason, then, that
the government's new rural
development programme stresses the need for a
'poverty-oriented' rural-development programme.
However, when one examines the budget of the rural development expansion programme in Intensive IRDP than as over 80% of the
expenditure has been earmarked for production-oriented activities (minor
irrigation works, TCCA/KSS, rural credit and agricultural extension activities)
and most of the remainder has been allocated to public works programmes which may benefit the rural poor in the short
run by creating employment, but in the long run serve the interests of those
with land often by, e.g. building embankments that protect land from flooding
and enable an extra crop to be grown. Despite a call for 'target group oriented
programmes for benefiting small farmers and landless'
there has been almost no allocation of funds to either rural industries or
special schemes for this group. The rural development expansion programme would be better described as a
'production-oriented' strategy.
Given this rider, what are the
likely effects of the new rural development strategy on the employment problem
and rural poverty? To answer this question it is necessary to examine the
employment generating effects both of intensifying agriculture through the
adoption of high-yielding varieties and of the public works programmes.
DOMINATING CULTURAL MILIEU
The culture of a class in a
class-anchored society is an expression of a consciousness of life in which
there are three aspects - of thought of ideal, of creative self-expression; and
of practical and outward formulation. In other words, its philosophy and
religion, its arts, poetry and literature and its society and politics. E.B.
Taylor puts it in a slightly different form : Culture
is that complex whole which include knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom
and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.
However, the various parts of the pattern mesh with each other so that a
balanced equilibrium is maintained between the various parts of the whole. This
complex model (whole) is the social heritage of a ruling class or may be that
of the ruled. But the culture about which the bourgeois intellect-workers talk
about is that of the privileged class, state-sponsored, nurtured and nourished
for the purpose of legitimization and rationalization of their exploitive
social system, for strengthening and consolidating the allegiance of workers
and peasants usually catered through the prevailing educational system and
publications - literacy or otherwise, & news-media, all designed to channel
the thinking process of the citizens. With the shrinking of the modern world,
and world being clearly divided into two halves - developed and
under-developed, the dependent countries are spending huge amount to create and
project a national image of respectability having a distinct culture of its own
which might enhance their credit-worthiness for "aid" & loan.
However, the various parts of the
pattern mesh with each other so that a balanced equilibrium is formed, and that
the culture of the dominant class influences and distorts the culture of the
subordinate class, can be shown if we choose to pause and think about the
impact of the 1971 military crackdown on the people of Bangladesh. It did not
begin or end with the military machine that was unleashed on our people by the
Pakistani sub-imperialism. It has to be traced in morals and religions, social
life that our people were living before the crackdown and the impact it has
made on our culture, has to be fully assessed in the context of serious
disruption, breakdown of families and their traditional means of livelihood,
the way they escaped from complete annihilation, the gradual emergence of the
resistance movements the class of people who took to arms, the age and sex
composition of the freedom fighters, the role played by different stratas of the same class, the class and stratas of that class that collaborated with alien forces,
and the hatred and vengeance that were generated against them amongst the
patriots - all created a sudden leap in consciousness as regards exploiters and
exploited. "In a revolution, when the masses erupt on the political stage,
their class consciousness becomes practical and active. Hence a year of
revolution gave the Russian proletariat the kind of education that thirty years of parliamentary & trade union struggle
failed to give the German proletariat". (Rosa Luxembourg: The General
Strike)
Such a genesis of the ruling culture
is relevant to comprehend how deeply rooted and meshed up with other component
elements of culture of the present ruling elites. For "the ideas of the
ruling class are in every epoch the ruling idea: i.e. the class which is the
ruling material force of every society is at the same time the ruling
intellectual force. The class which has the means of mental production... " (Karl Marx : The German Ideology).
The origin of the Bangladesh army
which is ruling us today lie more than 200 years back in the mercantile period
of British expansion when the representatives of its commercial capital arrived
in India to trade and plunder. When the British government took over direct
rule, the East India Company's army became the Indian army, which with the help
of a bureaucratic apparatus ruled the country. This army was ultimately
developed into one of the largest and most effective colonial army in the world,
and its bureaucracy grew in size, discipline and training and became the steel
frame of the British rule in
By 1969
When the Pakistani army began its
crackdown on the night of March 25, 1971, the first objective was to disarm the
Bengali units of the armed forces which ignited their nationalist sentiment for
the first time in the whole history of
WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
As regards the possibilities and
difficulties of a socialist oriented development in
"People do not fight for ideas,
they fight to gain material advantages to live in peace and to improve their
lives, to experience progress and to be able to guarantee a future for their
children, and they accept the necessary sacrifices for attaining those.
National liberation, the struggle against colonialism, working
for peace and progress independence - all these will be empty words without
significance for the people, unless they are translated into real improvements
of the conditions of Life. It is useless to liberate a region if the people of
that region are left without the elementary necessities of life. This is to
emphasize the necessary material basis of political work. Concrete improvement in the life of the people give meaning to
politics. We may define political mobilization as the process through which the
people's empirically grounded interests in social
transformation is converted into conscious political action in organizational
terms with leaders in whom the people have confidence and on whom they have a
measure of control. The possibility of control arises from the leader's dependence upon people's
support. In order to achieve the goals they have stimulated the people to
express politically. Political mobilization may well involve some compulsion
but differs from oligarchy and dictatorship in two important points
: (1) the starting point, which as the people themselves experienced
interest in social transformation and (2) the possibility of controlling the "participation",
instead of political mobilization".
The process taking place in
There has been dramatic reduction in
the output of the food for the domestic market and a consequent increase of
imports of basic foods.
The government has played a more
dominant role as employer, producers and financier than it does in many
developed capitalist of nations, to alleviate
some of the worst problems created
by the process of capitalist industrialization - poverty, unemployment,
worsening income distribution and partly to save local capitalists, and to
facilitate-the export of surplus enforced by imperialist.
"DIFFUSION OF THE OWNERSHIP OF THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION" |
Landownership: Here ruling
politicians and academicians are full of a coup de grace :
a more expressive idea has it that there is not enough land to go round. Pick
up any of the several studies of man/land relationship: elaborate techniques
are used to tell us how production varies with the size of landholdings and
whether Cobb-Douglas or some other, production - function "explains"
the agricultural trends, as regards land distribution subjective statements
without offering anything in that analysis - use "too small",
"unviable, or "uneconomic", heavily loaded terms to come to a
hasty conclusion.
No discussion of what problems
small-holdings create, or whether such problems can or cannot be dealt with
through cooperatives and the like. The cooperative movement in
12
Japanese Women:
Working Housewives
by Alfonso B. Deza
The family is the prime concern of
most Japanese women. This was gathered from a census that showed 98% of women
over 50 were married or had been married.
The importance of having a family
seems to rest on the traditional belief that "every woman is not a complete
person as a woman unless she gets married."
TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS
For many centuries up to the end of
World War II, Japanese society was based on the patriarchal system that stressed
continuing the family line to ensure succession to family property and proper
rites for ancestors.
The basic unit was the house.
Members were officially entered into the kosekl
(family register) and grouped together. Changes in status of members took legal
effect only upon recording. The head of the house was legal representative. His
consent was needed for marriages, divorce, adoption, admittance of new members,
etc.
Normally, a wife entering a new
family was registered only after she proved herself capable of being a good
daughter-in-law and bearing healthy children. As long as the marriage was not
officially registered, the wife could easily be sent back to her parents for a
number of reasons.
Education for girls goes back to the
10th-11th century. Girls' education, specially in the last couple of centuries
until the war, prescribed the following behavior for the well-bred woman :
Her destiny, on reaching womanhood,
is to go a new
home, to live in submission to the father-in-law & mother-in-law..... The
parents must not allow the daughter to express self-will so that she
will be prepared to accept the father-in -law's instruction without dissension.
Obedience, chastity, mercy and quietness are qualities which should be
acquired. A sharp line of demarcation separating women from men should be
observed from earliest youth, the rules of propriety must always be
obeyed, absolute submission to her husband is required, finding no fault in
him, and bearing his children. The traditional ethic for women has been
succinctly summarized as the paths of three obediences
- obedience to a father when get unmarried, to a husband when married, and to a
son when widowed.
The traditionally inferior status
given to women in
Thus, menstruating women and women
after childbirth, were required to move to a special
hut or to a special part of the house. Food for these people had to be cooked
separately so as not to defile the sacredness of the fire. They were "not
permitted to officiate at important ceremonies in some areas of
EFFECTS OF MODERNIZATION
Modernization came about to bring
modifications, if not counter-reaction, to traditional values.
13
A nationwide survey from 1972 to
1973, instigated by the Prime Minister's Office, concluded that the family
still plays an important role in the lives of Japanese women. However,
contrasted to the traditional family where husband-son solidarity was ideally
stressed, mother-children relationship now has stronger bearing. Strong
emotional •ties with children place the mothers, rather than the fathers, in
the strategic position to influence their socialization.
In reply to the question: "what
makes your life more meaningful?" women ranked children first
(52.6), followed by family (13.2), occupation (9.0), and husband
(2.7). Men ranked occupation first (43.9), followed by children
(28.8), hobbies (15.9) and wife (4.8).
Both men (83.8) and women (83.2) agreed
that the husband should earn for the family and the wife should stay home and
take care of the children.
Another survey done by the Women's
and Minors Bureau in 1972 found that Japanese women hold the purse strings and
are responsible for managing household economic affairs. The husband hands in
his pay envelope and the wife gives him his daily "allowance".
As for divorce, more divorces are
now filed by women rather than men — a sharp deviation from the prewar pattern,
an indication, perhaps, of the approaching equality of women to men. However,
there are still many economic handicaps a divorced woman must face, like
supporting herself and her children.
EXPLOITED HOUSEWIFE WORKERS
The employment of housewife workers may
be traced to 1963 when the governmental economic council stressed the need of
drawing in more women into the labor force to cope with the shortage of workers
brought about by rapid industrialization.
Most housewives were employed as
"part-time" laborers, paid either by the hour or the day. They were
usually employed at jobs that had no relation to their previous job
experiences, like unskilled factory labor that pays ¥300-400 an hour. They were
not unionized and their jobs were outside the regular employment structure
where pay raises, bonuses and social security are had.
Consumerism and inflation pushed the
erstwhile housewife into the job market. In the sixties, the slogan was
"three electric appliances (washing machine, refrigerator, TV ) in every home. "In the seventies it changed to
"the three C's (color TV, car, cooler )."
Usually, the housewife stops employment after her husband's salary reaches a
satisfactory level.
As of 1975, 17.4 per cent of
part-time workers were female. Housewife workers made for a sizeable part of
the labor force yet they were not considered real workers. They were isolated
and alienated from the main working sector and had little consciousness of
themselves as laborers. While the problems of the economy that originally gave
rise to the recruitment of housewives have changed, industry continues to hire
them under the same exploitative terms.
Housewives going to work may give a
semblance of greater liberation, but in
_____________
From IMPACT, June,
1978.
14
adapted from an article by
Ngo Thi Chinh
NEW ROLE IN PRODUCTION AND SOCIAL LIFE
89.34% of the women living in northern
Enquiries at two ordinary agricultural cooperative in Vinh Phu province (Bac Bo upland) reveal that in Thach Vu cooperative 738 of the 857 working members are
women. 204,108 of the 254,816 workdays (80.1%) spent on the cooperative’s 1975
10th-month rice crop were provided by women. In Van Hung
cooperative, 867 of the 1,216 working members are women. In
the 1975 10th-month rice crop. 175,096 out of the 283,328
workdays (nearly 62%) were provided by women.
Women also put more
workdays into the individual family economies.
There are many reasons for these
high percentages. First of all, women's political emancipation after the
triumph of the August Revolution; secondly, the large number of men in the
armed forces; moreover, industrialization of the North has drawn many men to
mines, factories, and construction sites, leaving relatively few men in the
countryside.
Bearing the demanding objective
conditions in mind, if women did not have a spirit of collective mastery,
initiative and enthusiasm, they could play their important roles. But they have
done the work entrusted to them by society satisfactorily, and brought into
full play Vietnamese women's traditional qualities: industriousness, perseverance , endurance, and acceptance of hardship. In the
past, women peasants used to work to keep themselves and their families only,
but now they also work to develop production, rid the countryside of poverty
and backwardness, and contribute
to socialist construction.
The division of labour
in the countryside has also undergone a change. In addition to the rice
transplanting, harvesting, weeding and manuring jobs
they have always done, women now do all kinds of production jobs, including
those formerly done by men only like ploughing,
harrowing, & rice-threshing. During the war of resistance against
Another difference from the past is
that women peasants are now involved in a great deal of the technical
improvement in the cooperatives. Every cooperative has its scientific and
technical brigade responsible for introducing technical innovations to all
production jobs, and not least to seed selection, rice-transplanting, and
animal husbandry. Most of the members of these brigades are women. In 1976, the
cooperatives of Binh An and Liet Ha (An Ha commune. Ha Bac
province) had 24 women agricultural technicians (as against 9 in 1971) while Tu Xa commune (Vinh Phu province
) had 29 (as compared to 15 in 1971).
In 1965, Luong
Thi Mai, a woman co-op member in Ha Bac province , was awarded the
title of Labour Heroine by the Government and the
National Assembly for her outstanding achievements in improving pig-breeding
techniques and developing ways to achieve high economic efficiency in this
branch. Mai 's example led thousands of eager young
women peasants to learn new techniques and apply them in production.
15
Women receive State assistance in
their studies. All girls attend school from childhood .Every Conmune (smallest administrative unit) has both first and
second-level general education schools (4 and 3 years respectively). All
districts have a third-level general education school (3 years). Adult women
are offered complementary education courses in the cooperatives. Statistics on
the educational level of people of working age in An Ha commune (Ha Bac province) show that most of the total women have
first-level general education. 620 have followed complementary education
courses, 35 have second-level general education and 7 have third-level general
education.
In the agricultural cooperatives
there are now many women with sufficient education to assume managerial work and
production guidance. According to incomplete statistics, 30% of all heads of
production brigades, scientific and technical brigades, clerks, heads and
deputy heads of cooperatives, i.e. cadres managing production in the
countryside, are women. In An Ha commune, there two women in the 12-member
co-op management committee in 1970, but their number rose to five in 1976, one
of whom was a deputy head of cooperative.
In the past, women peasants were not
allowed to play an active part at all levels in society, but now they
participate in increasing numbers both in government bodies as well as in other
social organizations. Today the percentage of women in commune people's
councils is 33.15% and in district people 's councils
37.87%. 48 of the 137 women deputies to the National Assembly (32.29% of its
membership) are women peasants. There is a growing
number of competent chairwomen of commune people's committees. At the congress
of advanced women in 1977, which discussed women's mastery of production and
social affairs, a report by Nguyen Thi Thep, chairwoman of Tien Tien Commune People's Committee (a commune with a
population of 7,000 people) in Van Lam district, Hai
Hung province, aroused great interest. She had assumed this post when she was
19,and been re-elected six times, for a period of
nearly 12 years; she made full use of her leadership ability, and turned her
backward commune into one of the more advanced ones in the district.(1) The
women peasants' role in production and social affairs ensured them high status
in the family and real quality between men and women, to the betterment of
marriage and family relations.
CHANGES IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY RELATIONS
The feudal ethics governing the position
of Vietnamese women in their families taught them to accept the "Three Obediences" rule: obedience to their fathers when
young, to their husbands when married, and to their sons when their husbands
died. Men were so favored at the expense of women, and women were so dependent
on men that such evils as polygamy, child marriage, persecution of
daughters-in-law, neglect of daughters were
widespread. There have been radical changes in the position of women. The 1959
Constitution of Vietnam stipulates : "Women in
the Democratic Republic of Vietnam have equal rights with men in political,
economic, cultural, social & family life. They receive equal pay for equal
work."
To defend the interests and the
status of women in marriage and family affairs, the State promulgated a law on
marriage and the family in 1960, which was based on four principles: free and
progressive marriage (i.e. free union and an end to bride-prices & the
like-- Ed.); monogamy; equality between husband and wife; and protection of the
interests of women and children in the family.
A new and egalitarian relationship
between husband and wife, based on them helping each other in all aspects of
life, is now emerging in families in the countryside. They discuss everything
together, from production to their own lives and their children's upbringing.
Their management of family property
is also different. It is no longer necessarily a man who takes charge of this.
All important means of production, such as land, cattle, and farming implements
are collectively owned by the co-op. As for other family property, the law
stipulates that husband and wife have equal rights of ownership, enjoyment and
use.
Equality in husband-wife relations
can be seen in their participation in family affairs on an equal footing.
In the past, husbands ignored family
chores, which were regarded as "women's work" but now husbands help
their wives cook the meals, look after the children and tend whatever animals
the family may be rearing. In many cases the husband automatically takes on the
bulk of the family chores when the wife is busy with production and social
work.
Over the past years, the status of
daughters-in-law living in the husband's family has changed radically. In the
old society, the daughter-in-law had only minor status, despite her great
contribution to the upkeep of her husband's family. Private ownership of
property and the mercantile character of marriage meant that the
daughter-in-law had no ownership rights over her husband's property, only over
what she herself brought into the marriage. This made her economically
dependent upon her husband's family, and this, coupled with the feudal ethics,
tied women in an oppressive way to their in-laws. A woman was ' bought' by her
husband's parents (according to a system of bride-price bidding), and once
married the daughter-in-law was duty bound to do all the production jobs in the
field as well as all family chores she was told to, and was treated no better
than a servant.
Equality and mutual respect now
characterizes relations between daughters-and mothers-in-law as well as between
son's wives and other members of their husbands' families. Now their work
consists in no more than their part of the rational division of labour among all members of the household. Many families
entrust their daughters-in-law with managing the family finances and property.
Something entirely new is that now the parents-in-law to participate in social
life outside the family, particularly for 'national salvation against
The advent of free and progressive
marriage in the countryside has brought about many other changes. As young
people are free to get to know whoever they please, nearly all families are
established on the basis of real love and mutual respect now. Husbands no
longer beat or ill-treat their wives for not having children or for not bearing
sons.
Child marriage was common in the
countryside in the past, but now young men and women choose to get married-
later, generally between 20 and 26 in the case of women. The discrepancy
between the ages of each couple has also been reduced. In the past many young
girls were forced into marriages of convenience with old men, and mature girls
made to marry child husbands. Polygamy was accepted, so many women had to accept
the common fate of sharing a husband, but their role was rather as extra labour force in their husbands' families. The age
difference between couples getting married nowadays is rarely more than 5
years, and they are usually about the same age.
Marriage customs that place women in
a less than dignified situation, particularly the practice of the bride-price,
are on the wane. Statistics for the first six months of 1976 show that 655 (or
24%) of the 2,590 weddings in Ha Bac were rated
"A" class weddings, that is celebrated merrily and simply with no
bride-price involved; 1,995 (or 58%) were rated "B" class, that is
celebrated with a certain amount of over-indulgence and a bride-price involved;
and 428 (or 18%) were rated "C" class, that is celebrated with much
over-indulgence, and involving a high bride-price.
An important factor in the above-mentioned changes in the
countryside is the activity of the Women's
The revolutionary change in the role
of women peasants in production, social life and marriage-family relations is
more than an emancipation for these women. In a
largely peasant agricultural country like
_____________
(1)
See
Viet Nam Courier, No.46, March, 1976, A Woman Village-Head.
(2)
In
the Vietnamese countryside a married man continues living with his parents, in a
big family, especially when he is the eldest son. When the family grows too
big, the younger sons may live separately when married.
From
16
by Chi Dong Sheng
There are 1,100 workers in our
factory, 700 of them are women. The enterprise has been in good shape for the
last ten years, and there is now an upsurge of enthusiasm for still higher
productivity.
In
In
With this purpose in mind, we opened
a dining-room but it failed to attract many people. The meals were too expensive,
customers had to queue up for service, and the better dishes were usually sold
out before late-comers arrived. Times of service were inconvenient for mothers
with breast-fed babies. They would arrive in a hurry in the mornings and go
without breakfast when they saw the long queue at the counter. This was
certainly not good for their health.
We interviewed a number of them. One
mother told us "I have to get up at 5 o'clock, prepare breakfast S lunch for
my older child, and then get the little one up. You know what it's like to wait
at the bus stop and then find you can't get on because it's already full. So
when I do get here, I decide to go without breakfast to avoid being late. And
I'm not the only one in this situation."
Following talks with the workers and
in cooperation with the managing staff and cooks, we worked out ways of
improving the service. Our collective effort resulted in a greater variety of
food at a cheaper price. Now there are many customers. An extra foodstall set up at the factory gate to serve snacks at
check-in time has proved a great success. Young mothers happily comment,
"The leadership and cooks are very thoughtful to have adopted this
idea."
Most of the older employees work on
the third and fourth floors of the factory and their lunch is served hot by
dining-room assistants who convey the food upstairs direct from the kitchen.
This reduces by half the number
of people eating in the dining-room, and the queues are now much shorter. Time
is saved, and the workers
appreciate the improved service.
Many workers prefer to have their
breakfast & lunch at the factory and enjoy a family dinner at leisure after
finishing their day's work. As most northerners like noodles, the kitchen prepares
and sells quantities of this staple food to the workers to take home. Many also
buy steamed buns or cooked rice in the dining-room and eat them with dishes
prepared at home. Our workers are very satisfied with the dining-hall kitchen
service.
We have set up a nursing-room and a
kindergarten to lessen the burden of mothers with small children. Babies from
eight weeks to one-S-half years old are looked after in the nursing-room and
the mothers breast-feed them twice a day for half-hour periods. They collect
their babies after work. Children from one-&-half to seven years old are
looked after in the kindergarten on weekends or every evening as the parents
prefer.
The extra burden on women is not
altogether lifted with the setting up of these services, and in the early
stages, we didn't have enough toys and facilities for the children. The
teachers and nurses were inexperienced and many children objected to staying
amid strange surroundings. Zhang Shouhui, a woman
worker, was one of the mothers who always had trouble when taking her son to
the nursery. The boy would cling to his mother and refuse to be separated from
her. She often said to others, "I'm worried about my son and I just can't
keep my mind on the work." Like many other mothers, she would get nervous
if there was a telephone call for her during working hours,
for she was afraid her child might be ill and must be rushed to hospital.
We decided to solve these problems
and relieve the mothers of unnecessary anxiety. The factory allocated part of
its funds for the purchase of
toys and the equipment of a new clinic with a medical officer in
attendance. The Educational Bureau was asked to help with the training of a
number of teachers, and the situation in the kindergarten very much improved.
The varied and interesting activities there became a great attraction, and a
close feeling between staff and the children gradually developed. One day when
Zhang was working the middle-shift and wanted to keep his son home until later
in the morning, the boy cried and insisted on being taken to the kindergarten
at the usual hour because he wanted to be on time for the story-telling
session.
The mothers are very pleased with the clinic
because they no longer have to take their children to the hospital for minor
illnesses. "The children like the kindergarten now," the mothers say,
"and we are very happy to see our children growing healthy mentally and
physically."
The leadership of our factory also
pays attention to the health conditions of the workers and the management
staff. They have free medical care, & get a 50 per cent subsidy on their
children's medical expenses. It is very convenient for workers suffering minor
illnesses to go to the factory's own clinic, which is equipped her
physiotherapy and medical treatment. Doctors and nurses are provided with
educational facilities to improve their skill. An extra health station adjacent
to the workshop has been set up on the third floor of the factory building. The
clinic keeps a record of all those with chronic illnesses and regularly
delivers medicine direct to such patients. One of them said jokingly,
"When the doctor is on the spot and kind and considerate, you get over
your sickness almost before you know it!" Many workers have expressed their
appreciation of the medical service.
Quite a few women workers have been
found to have gynaecological trouble. The clinic
doctors give them regular check-ups and timely
treatment, thus reducing the rate of incidence. The factory has built a
bath-house for the women workers and a special retiring room for use in their
periods. We are thinking in terms of still better facilities for women workers.
We are keenly aware that as leaders
of socialist enterprises, we have the responsibility to provide the workers
with various welfare services. Our experience shows that these services and
productivity interact on each other. Workers are likely to rally around the
leadership closely, and cheerfully get on with their jobs when there is an
efficient factory welfare system in operation.
_____________
From WOMEN IN
17
From team paper,
wscf
women's workshop
This working paper is a report and
conclusion of a study which lasted for about four months. From the various sources
which enabled me to make this paper, we expect to clarify the relations between
tourism and prostitution. Therefore we can see that the problem of women will
become the ultimate target of this study.
In explaining the problem of tourism
and its relation to prostitution, there has been a lot of discussion with
people who are connected with this problem. The study was concentrated in
Majority of Asian women are still oppressed
and exploited. Not only because they are women, but because they live in an
unjust social set-up.
2.
Many beautiful beaches have become
tourist objects of the trade, such as Bali (Sanur, Kuta, Legian & other
beaches), Java (Carita, Pelabuhan
Ratu, Pangandaran, Parangtritis and other beaches),Sumatera (Cermin and other beaches).
Many mountain areas have become rest
and recreation sites, such as Berastagi (North
Sumatera), Puncak (West Java), Tawangmangu
(
There are also small islands which
have become tourist places, such as - Nias on the
west side of Sumatera, Pulau-Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands) on the northern part of Jakarta, Pulau Kayangan on the west side
of Ujung Pandang (South
Sulawesi), and so on.
Besides that,
Economic development of
Inter-city transportation in Java
can be done by train. And there are at least 10 bus companies which support the
tourist industry. Besides, in
One of the supporting factors in
tourist industrial development, beside some other factors as mentioned above,
is to provide entertainment centres.
In Jakarta, there are scores of
night clubs & discos, steambath and massage parlours, and some shopping centres.
There are also some cultural centres, such as Taman Miniatur Indonesia Indah (Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature), museums and
recreational centres as Taman
Ria, Taman Ria Remaja,&
Ancol.
Supporting factors for the tourist
industry opens new opportunities and new employment schemes. Such employment opportunities are especially widely open for
women.
Many opportunities demand high or
junior level skills, such as hotel personnel, airline companies, and so on. But
there are many which just need some special skills for certain work.
In the survey, which is done in
night clubs, and massage parlours, the labour force does not have high school diplomas.
18
In such openings, women are required
to be able to serve their guests according to their skills. If they are beautiful
and courteous, such jobs are always open for them.
At Shanti
beauty salon in Menteng (
At Ibu Bandung traditional massage parlour,
Kebayoran Baru (
At Flamingo night club, Ancol (
From the above mentioned data we can conclude as follows:
(1) Many work opportunities relating to
the tourist industry are provided for women. In this case, no university education is
needed.
(2) The tendency to look for jobs in the
tourist industry faces the applicant with hard competition, because there is no
balance between the number of the labour force and
the existing labour market.
(3) Many women who are willing to work
in the tourist industry are influenced by their daily needs.
Therefore there is a tendency to
work at the formal jobs but at the same time utilize them to do prostitution.
We will discuss this later in this paper.
3. THE WORLD
OF PROSTITUTION
This paper defines prostitution as
physical surrender of a woman to the sexual needs of any male who desire it on
a payment basis.
This definition should be noted before
we see the relation of the problem of women in general and tourism
specifically.
As it happens everywhere, the people on the prostitution stage are the prostitutes, customers,
keepers, intermediaries or merchants of women. In this paper, we will deal more
widely with the prostitutes themselves and their practice attached to tourism.
In fact there are two kinds of
prostitution. The 1st one is legal prostitution, the
2nd one is covered prostitution.
The legal prostitution is:
-
brothel prostitutes in certain locations. In Jakarta there
are five separate locations, based on the municipal government policy.
-
call girls (prostitutes), where in practice prostitution goes on
by introducing the girl to the customer in a certain place. In Jakarta, this
belongs to high class prostitution, because the price is very expensive.
-
street walkers, prostitutes who look for customers in
public places. Such practices can be found on the pavement of the streets,
where lights are not shining brightly, such as public recreational places at
Jakarta Fair, Jakarta, beside the bridges, etc.
The covered prostitution is
utilizing other works as a cover of the prostitutes.
Such practices are found in
entertainment centers in
Many hostesses in the night clubs
function as prostitutes with their customers after working hours. Many massage
girls in steambath and massage parlors function also
as prostitutes. Many score girls in billiard centres
can also be utilized as prostitutes. Many beauticians in beauty salons function
as prostitutes.
Last September the municipal
government of Jakarta Raya closed down temporarily 16
beauty salons. The reason was that they also provided rooms for prostitution,
although they denied it by saying that such rooms were used as massage rooms.
4. THE
BACKGROUND FOR BECOMING A PROSTITUTE
The following results from
conversations with prostitutes are noted down. They describe how they became
prostitutes:
WARISH
Native of
MEITY
Native of
She never thought of entering this
kind of world. She even angrily called it as a dirty thing.
On one Sunday, four years ago she
was raped by her own stepfather. He promised to give her a motorcycle and had
intercourse with her 20 times. But what she got was only contraceptive pills.
This might have happened on and on, had her mother not caught them in action
and immediately sent her away. She could not bear the shame, because this event
was announced to all the relatives and neighbors. And she decided to become a
hostess in
CORTUM
Native of Karawang, 27, coming from a family of good reputation which
also has a rice field and water buffaloes. White skinned, sharp faced, still having the beauty
of her younger days, but an empty smile. She had even been married to a man of
her parents' choice, but they were not happy. They always quarrelled,
because according to her, her husband was restricting her very much. But that
marriage left 2 children of 9 and 6.
19
One night she was upset. She
attempted to strangle her husband, while he was sleeping. She does not know
whether he died or survived, but the same night she fled to
She lives near the brothel, without
any future plans or ideals.
TUKIYEM
Native of Subang,
At 13 she was sent by her parents to
join that group, with the reason being that she had to collect money before her
marriage. She became a singer and dancer and followed the travel of such an
entertainer. This was a custom in Subang, Indramayu, Karawang, that girls
are encouraged to earn money before their marriage.
She is now doing her job at Kramat Tunggak,
5. HOPE AND
FUTURE INSIGHT OF THE PROSTITUTES
There is one question which each
prostitute finds very difficult to answer - either legal ones or the covered
ones, and those who work under
hostesses of entertainment centres.
The
question is, "How long will this work last?" Each time when this
question arises they seem to think seriously and answer carefully. There are
those who answer the simple question. But many of them are quite open to
discussing it, involving in the discussion the meaning, significance and aim of
human life, beginning from this question.
When the discussion begins with how
long they have done this work, they try to cover their answers. The answers
like, "Just for two weeks. Uncle", or "just
one month. Brother" and other kinds of answers show that they
recently began their jobs. Therefore the questioning man will conclude for
himself that he is facing a new "thing". Of course, the price will be
decided after bargaining and it can reach-to a higher one.
But when
the question above arises and is discussed together seriously, the prostitute will see
that her future is dark, full of uncertainty. From various serious answers of
how far they can go, will come thoughts on the
struggle of humanity.
Someone who has involved herself in
such work tells that it is very difficult to get out of it and begin a new life
or look for a new job. Here we can see that she wants to leave the world of
prostitution, but she does not know how to get out of it.
But there are also prostitutes who
really want to get out of it and they have taken serious steps through saving
their money. They think to begin a new work.
But there are a number of
prostitutes, both legal and the covered ones, who discuss this question
seriously, and give their answer that they want to leave this work as soon as
possible. But they need some one else to accompany them (her), to look for a
way out, and show the possible and necessary steps.
6. THE
RELATION TO TOURISM
When we relate prostitution and the
development of tourism, it seems that there is an interdependent relation.
Prostitution, legally or covered, is increasing because of the supra-structure
of tourism which supports the tourist industry.
Development of tourist
supra-structure, such as hotel facilities and entertainment, night club steambaths, billiard centres,
etc., will become supporting factors for developing prostitution practices.
This statement is also confirmed by some other discussions with some girls who
work in these places.
There is a massage girl at Jalan Blora,
There is a prostitute in the
locality of Kramat Tunggak,
who has many experiences of serving foreigners. Many of the customers are
sailors, whose ships are anchored at the
The prostitute can only say in
English, "three thousand rupiah" or "five thousand rupiah",
while showing her fingers to explain the requested amount. They both can
understand that they are now bargaining. I have seen such actions myself.
Two of these examples show the
interdependent relationship, as mentioned above. The practice of prostitution will increase
especially in big cities, such as
From this survey and study, seeing
(1)
The
development and expansion of a city, from a non-industrial one towards an industrial
one, cannot avoid the tendency to make tourist attractions.
As it has been explained previously, such city
development, to become a tourist city, will have close relations with the increase
of prostitution practices, either the legal or covered ones.
(2)
The
involvement of a woman in prostitution with all kinds and all forms of practice
in public, is closely related to the problems of
educational level, labour market, and the shape of human
relations among men and women, or husband and wife.
Therefore these urgent problems have to be met before
we begin our efforts on the so-called "prostitution abolishment". We
must accompany her in seeking a way out from her world.
(3)
Prostitution
practices as mentioned above, happen in various places
in
There is also an impression that many women flee to
and enter the practice of prostitution as a protest to the problem of their
status which is a level below men.
____________
From WOMEN & MEN IN ASIA, WSCF
20
by Ayako
Miyoshi
INTRODUCTION
In
Here is the announcement on the wall
of the Municipal of Olongapo-Bulletin Board, Base Industrial Relations Office,
US Naval Base,
Applicant Supply file announcement
(for Filipino citizens)
CARGO CONTROL CLERK, PG 64-68
Salary: P4.83 - 5.79 per hour
Location: US Naval Base facilities
Purpose: this announcement Is issued to augment
the register of eligible which may be used to fill current and future
appropriate vacancies, indefinite or temporary, whichever is applicable.
The register is applicable for one
year unless otherwise cancelled.
1. SSS number
(from the SSS office)
2. Current
Residence certificate (from the Municipal)
It is said that US bases in PI
directly contribute a measurable P200 million annually to the Philippine
economy, with the total contribution including secondary benefits, considerably
higher,5 percent of Philippine GNP.
However, their existence has
affected the Philippine society in various ways, such as prostitution,
corruption of bureaucracies, illegal drugs and PX smuggling, etc.
PROSTITUTION
Approximately 16,000 hospitality
girls live in Olongapo. They are registered in Social Hygiene. And 3,000
waitresses are working there, as nonregistered
prostitutes. They are not so young, unexpectedly,
while the youngest is 14 or 15.The average age can be estimated at about 27 or
28. Most of them have children. Some of them are widows .They are divorced or
illegally separated from their husbands. Many cases are caused by the
maltreatment of husband to his wife. While they are released from their
husbands, under the present situation of PI, there is no other way for them to
feed their 4 or more children except prostitution. A 43-year-old prostitute
tries to convince her four children that she is working inside the base, not in
the bar. Needless to say, many American infants are born every month. These
children usually have white complexions and features which make them easily
identified as illegitimate children.
The
success stories with Americans have influenced to
entice a continuing flow of new recruits. Most of them come from Visayas, in
particular Samar or
If you like to work in the club,
first you must contact a floor manager. He introduces you to the owner of that
club. If he accepts you, you are given some money for the preparation for the
register in the Social Hygiene. You must get some medical certificates and also
a municipal permit from the Mayor. Every year you have to pay 500 pesos for
"hostess fee" to social hygiene. It includes tax and fee for medical
care. All hospitality girls have the
obligation to check up on
VD every two weeks.
We usually think of prostitution as
an easy job, but actually they are left behind any kind of social welfare which
makes their lives stable. They don't receive either salary or benefits. Besides
prostitution they make money through ladies' drinks bought for them by
customers. Their standard commission is 50 percent of the purchase price which
varies from $1 to $3. Some of those hospitality girls even take a peculiar kind
of medicine to stimulate drinking. A man who likes to take a girl out of that
club pays a bar fine. It is classified from $40 to more than $200 based on the
hierarchy of the clubs. After that the woman is given a pass to leave and is
free to negotiate her purchase price. Slipping out without the pass would
expose her to arrest as a street walker, a system which is rigorously enforced
by the police in cooperation with her owners. If a hospitality girl fortunately
gets an American steady, he gives her monthly allowance, which varies from P500
to P2,000. However, their monthly income is closely
related to the frequency of calls of ships. According to their saying, there is
no ship and no honey and so no money while some of them can get 1000 pesos per
night, sometimes, more than that.
Approximately 750 night clubs are
there all over Olongapo city, mostly owned by ethnic Chinese. There are two
kinds of clubs, which means for Filipinos and the other for Americans. Those
clubs that are classified as first are mainly located in the
21
You can realize how the Municipal Office is closely
related to such industry, once you read the bill as following for such as night
clubs, hotel, beer halls, disco house, etc., while there is no other industry
except those related to REST and RELAXATION for American and Filipino workers
inside the base.
Medical Week Celebration (Sept.23-30)
provided by Municipal
What: Education Seminar for hospitality girls, waitresses, combos and
other club workers.
When: Sept. 23, 1979, 1-5 pm.
Where:
Topic: VD and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Danger of Abortion
Cancer Detection and Protection
Family Planning
Notes: Certificate of Attendance will be given to each participant.
Through such authority's help those
hospitality girls can get something concrete to certify their high
consciousness regarding VD and other sexually transmitted diseases, in other
words, strengthen safety as sexual means. I wonder if they are preaching the
danger of abortion to those prostitutes without any guilty sense, meanwhile
they are making money through their labor. This occasion represents no more
than collusion between sections of the club owners and other businessmen who
are getting profit out of the prostitution industry and the authorities
concerned.
Those hospitality girls feel
desperate at heart.
They feel they have nothing to do without
waiting for the chance to get married with Americans while they are passing
their prime. Some of them are already beyond 40 years old. To escape the
reality many of them indulge in alcohol or drugs. For example, one of the
prostitutes whom I met spends P10 for two marijuana sticks a day which means it
costs her about P300 monthly. Ironically there must be no job but prostitution that can provide her with such a big amount of money. They
never doubt marriage must be the final solution to their problems although some
of those married with Americans are suffering a lot from ethnic discrimination
and even hostility to
Filipinos in the US.
CONCLUSION
There are two things they are
running after. One of them is money that make them
enjoy their relatively luxurious life compared with other Filipino living
standards. It means how the people have been deeply influenced by the
capitalistic values, namely consumerism. It should be noted under the
capitalistic economy the people cannot be satisfied with what they possess so
far. They feel hunger to buy commercial goods which they have not yet
possessed. That's why it is very hard for them to sacrifice their handsome
income, even though they are eager to quit their jobs so much. Another one is
marriage, especially with Americans, as I have mentioned repeatedly, however in
my understanding marriage is nothing more than dependence on HUSBAND
economically and psychologically unless women could be emancipated from men's
domination and encouraged to participate in the socio-economic process . They seem to be willing to be a slave, namely a
so-called good wife, who should be indefinitely obedient to her husband,
In short, their problem could be
solved only when society integratedly is changed to
make possible that every individual engages in creative and productive
activities in the context of integrity of their life. Prostitution reflects
clearly various social contradictions which the Filipinos face under the
capitalist and feudal system.
_____________
From Frontier Internship
in
22
23
24
They damaged the conference room,
breaking glass, ashtrays and blinds and scrawled on the black-board.
Earlier they had thrown stones at the
Public Service Association building in
And they promised to return the
following.
The demonstrators numbered about
1200 but at times the crowd swelled to around 2000 during the long siege of the
Chief Minister's offices.
The women stormed the office just on
lunchtime after police had been asked to let them through by a senior
Government officer.
That order was withdrawn after the
women rampaged through the conference room and the crowd threatened to push
through the glass partitions of the lobby.
Police
managed to get the crowd back down the steps of the offices and a
three-and-a-half-hour meeting cum sit-down protest began.
The Police Commissioner Mr. Brian Holloway, and his senior officers came down from
headquarters & formed a barrier across the bottom of the steps.
The MHA for Central Regional,
Josephine Abaijah led the placard-carrying women from
Koki Market to Konedobu and made numerous speeches
throughout the afternoon.
She gave Mr. Somare
a petition summarizing the women's demands.
They are:
*
All
prices to be frozen until wages have their money value restored.
*
All
low and medium wages be Increased as an interim
measure pending substantial wage increases.
*
No
price rises.
*
Government
and employers to stop exploiting workers.
*
Salaries
of all Members of the House of Assembly to be halved to put them in touch with
the people.
*
The
Ministers' overseas trips to be cut so that the Government is not in the hands
of wealthy local people remote from the needs of the common family.
*
Any
employer who raises the price of goods should raise the wages of his workers.
*
Remove
unemployed people from Port Moresby so that his cheap labor cannot be
exploited.
*
Provide
a proper roads system for rural people so that they can supply food at a
reasonable price.
The Chief Minister, Mr. Somare, tried to speak to the crowd several times along
with the Minister for Defence, Foreign Relations and
Trade, Mr. Kiki.
They were shouted down by the women and returned to
their office.
Superintendent G.M. Feeney, the
superintendent of Papua division, asked Miss Ajaijah
to get the women to go home.
She said they wanted Mr. Somare to answer their demands and Mr. Somare
returned to the steps.
"I am sorry that you have been
sitting and waiting," Mr. Somare said.
"I feel sorry that you have
come a long way and we are not getting anywhere - unless we talk face to face.
"I said earlier 'that the
Government has a committee that is looking into wages and we're still waiting for
the report.
"The Government is aware of
your problem,& he said. "Our Papua New
Guinean fashion is we sit down and solve our problems and finish it."
Several times during the speech the
women shouted "koikoi" (lies).
Miss Ajaijah : "We have been
here since this morning and we haven't heard any good answers. "
"We want our demands to be
answered point by point.
"Are you coming back
tomorrow?"
The crowd: "Yes, with our men and children."
_____________
From
25
by Bhaskar Jadhav
Chorus: All our life is on
fire, all the prices rising
Give us an answer, O rulers of the
country!
A handful of American wheat, a kilo
of milo mixed with chaff
Doesn’t our country grow crops
Or do we have only mud-mixed grain?
Give us an answer…..
We have forgotten the color of milk,
Coconuts and dried fruits have gone
underground,
Our children have only jaggery
tea for nourishment, Give us an answer…..
Sweet oil for cooking is the price of
gold,
Coconut oil for our hair is not to be
found,
Without rock oil for our lamps we
have grown familiar with darkness.
We burn in the summer,
we are drenched in the rains,
We bear the rigor of winter without
any clothes,
Why don’t we yet have any shelter?
Give us an answer….
We toil day and night and sleep
half-starved
While the parasites fill their
bellies with butter,
Why does the thief get nourishment
while the owner is cheated?
There are pastures for the cattle of
the rich,
For forest development, land is
preserved,
Why is there no land to support
living men? Give us an answer…..
Tall buildings rise before our eyes,
The roads cannot contain these motorcycles
and cars,
On whose labor has such development
been built? Give us an answer…..
We filled the jails for independence,
We hurled bombs into the cars of the
white men,
Did we do it to fatten the sacred
cow? Give us an answer….
When we ask for a rise in the wages,
for work for the unemployed,
When we demand land for cultivation,
Why are we met with jail, beatings
and bullets? Give us an answer….
Now you have taken a new disguise
And appear in the form of socialism,
But we no longer want for today the
promises of tomorrow! Give us an answer….
Now we will stand on our own feet,
We will throw caste and religious
differences to the winds,
We call for the brotherhood and
sisterhood of all boilers!
We vow today to fight with our lives,
We will bury capitalism in the grave
And sound the drums of our state!
____________
From BULLETIN OF
CONCERNED ASIAN SCHOLARS, Vol.7, No.1.
26
As an educated woman, I find I am torn
between the traditional and the modern western-style of life. In western
society it is the man who proves that he is a man by working, while in
traditional society it is the women who do the hard work.
It I want to go back to live in the
village, people do not accept me, because I am educated like a white man. To
them the white man is superior. But I do not fit into modern western-style
society either. When I talk about western society I am also talking about the
educated Papua New Guineans. In traditional society men made decisions
affecting the whole village, while women were responsible for decisions
affecting themselves. But in western society all the decisions are made by men.
There is a great clash between an educated woman in a developing country and
her male counterpart. The educated men have taken advantage of both worlds and
they are much worse than men in a society like
Even so, I do not support the
western woman's liberation. It is very difficult for us, as we are trying to
uplift our own people, or even the black race, and at the same time trying to
uplift the woman. I can't be on the side of women's liberation and forget about
the black race. I don't think women's liberation will find itself in any developing
country as the women there are fighting for their own rights as well as the
rights of the men.
For instance, take the case of those
women who demonstrated for two days in
The Government in
The only woman in Parliament is
Josephine Abaijah who has formed the Papua Besena movement which is calling for separate nationhood
for Papua. In 1884 Papua was annexed by the Queensland Government at the
request of the British, while
27
been known as the
I would like to see a United Papua
New Guinea, but under a united Federal system whereby Papua has its statehood,
but is under the Federal control of
Initially the missionaries came to
When Michael Somare's
government came to power, they took measures to outlaw racial discrimination.
There was a lot of discrimination against the Papua New Guinean people. People
now are trying to get rid of the colonial government, because of what they have
experienced, or what their parents experienced before — being treated as an
inferior. Young educated people are aware of this inequality and deplore it and
try to get rid of any signs of colonialism in the country.
One thing that really hurt me was in
When
I would not like to see more
multi-national companies coming in to
Sometimes I think to myself
"why the hell did I get educated, there are so many problems that I can't
face as a person". My mind keeps saying, you have got to do something for
the country, but another part of me says, get out before you kill yourself.
Sometimes I wish I wasn't educated, and that I was just a village person. I
would like to feel that I am a woman who belongs somewhere, and know what my
role is. And that is not degrading myself. In our
society we regard ourselves as people with our own dignity. Sometimes I get
angry for being educated. I am between two cultures, with responsibilities on
both sides.
Interview by Kate Moore
From WE WOMEN,
28
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ In all parts
of
First of all we greet you in the
name of Christ. We cannot but thank God for being able to address you once again
openly in this manner. His rod and His staff were never far from us as we moved
through the valley of the shadow of death. His promise to Joshua, "I will
always be with you/ I will
never abandon you," (Jos. 1:5) has been actualized in our midst these
years.
Today, through this letter, let us
speak to you about things of our common concern.
For the first time in over then
years the Standing Committee of our national Three-Self movement met in shanghai during the
last week. As we listened to colleagues' reports on church conditions in
different parts of
In closing our meeting today we are
struck by the fact that the meeting has been so
similar to the one in
Although in the recent past the
policy of religious freedom was trespassed upon in the Lin Piao
and the "gang of four" cliques, and although many of our clergy and
leaders of Three-Self organizations had to suffer all sorts of persecution
alongside leading cadres of religious affairs bureaus and of other governmental
organs, as well as many intellectuals, yet it heartens us to learn that large
numbers of Christians all over China have persisted in their faith, that their
service, prayer and waiting before God has not ceased and that they have
witnessed well in places where they work. We have seen that the Church has not
let her light to be put out but has gone through trials and been strengthened,
and that our witness to Christ also has not been dimmed but has in quietude
borne fruit. All these years we have firmly believed that the correct line of
the Communist Party would return to New China, We have firmly believed that the
policy of religious freedom laid down by Chairman Mao and Premier Chou En-Lai
was correct and could not be permanently abrogated by anybody. We have firmly
believed that the Chinese church, through the Three-Self-movement, would become
cleansed and fair, an abode for the Lord. We have firmly believed that
upheavals would pass and stability would be restored, bringing a bright
prospect for New
Brothers and sisters, today,
We need to develop and strengthen
further our movement.
The Three-Self patriotic movement
has achieved a great deal in the course of the last thirty years. As a result
of this movement more and more Chinese Christians have come to cherish our
motherland. There is a heightened sense of national pride on our part as
Chinese and we are now much closer to the people of
Today, we fellow-Christians all over
We gave heed to the yearning of our
brothers and sisters in all parts of our country for the publication of our own
Bible and have decided to hasten this work.
We gave heed to the big demand for
other Christian publications and have decided to go ahead to meet the need.
29
There Is a
big need -for well-trained clergy and church workers and we have decided to resume
the work of preparing such personnel.
In some parts of
We need to strengthen our relations with
Christian communities everywhere, help solve their existing problems and help
Christians In their endeavours
to glorify God and bring benefit to men and women.
We also need to help elevate the
consciousness of our constituencies so that all Christians in China will love
our motherland, adhere to state laws and prevent anyone with ulterior motives
from using Christianity as a cover for activities detrimental to social order,
endangering our people and defaming our church.
In short, we need greatly to strengthen
the pastoral work of our Christian communities-This Is
an urgent task which calls for our Seep commitment and leads us in a most
concerted way to see the necessity of the formation of a Christian national structure. After
earnest prayer and long deliberation we have decided to proceed with the
preparatory work for this organization. This organization aims at giving the
necessary pastoral help to Christians and Christian communities across
The relation between this new
national structure and the Three-Self organization Is
going to be like that between the two hands of a body. There will be no
question of one giving and the other accepting any leadership. The formation of
the new body does not at all imply the winding up of the work of the Three-Self
movement and its organizations. The latter work is rather to be carried forth
more extensively and deeply. We need to continue to uphold the banner of the
motherland and give encouragement to Christians to unite with the rest of the
Chinese people, contribute to the task of the four modernizations, safeguard
the stability and unity of our country and oppose aggression and defend world
peace. We need to continue to uphold the banner of national independence, of
self-government, self-support & self-propagation, promote Three-Self
re-education among our Christians, raise further the sense of national self-respect, defend
the fruits of the Three-Self movement, enhance the love of the brethren and the
practice of mutual respect In matters of Christian faith which have become the
heritage of our movement, and guard against the divisive tactic of those trying
to undermine the movement.
We are aware that in churches abroad
there is a small number of people still hostile to New
As to those Christians abroad that
assume an attitude of equality towards us and respect our principled stand on
independence and self-government, we are ready to enter into friendly relations
and fellowship with them.
In order to turn our intentions into
facts, we have decided to call a national Christian conference in the near
future in which, aside from the discussion of other Important questions, we
will produce the new national committee of the Three-Self movement and go into
the question of the formation of the Christian national organization. These are
questions which concern every Christian and we request you to put the
conference in your prayers. If you have any opinion regarding our Christian
work in China today, please write to us at 169, Yuen Ming Yuen Road, Shanghai,
so that we can take it into consideration at an early stage.
As we meet we remember with love our
brothers and sisters in
In spite or the fact that we are unworthy servants of
Christ, let us pray that, in
God's blessing, a Chinese church befitting the new countenance of our
motherland will soon arise on the beloved soil of
The Enlarged meeting of the National
Standing Committee on Self-Government, Self-Support & Self-Propagation
March 1st, 1980.
From the standing committee of the christian movement for
self-government, self-support and self-propagation
-Pages 30-34 are
continued pages-
35
THOSE STUDENTS
AGAIN…
The Year 1980 is proving to be a
banner year for student activism so far in both the
The Kwangju
Incident of May 16th was the culmination of several factors attending current
development in Korean life: resistance against military and martial rule,
demands for the scrapping of the Yushin Constitution,
and also current economic problems. Students were at the forefront of the May
16th incident together with Christian leaders known for their militancy, which
covers the period March to May which we quote from the July 15th issue of Korea
Communiqué: "The 2-month period covered...can be roughly divided into
four phases of student demands and activities - 1) democratization of the
campuses, March 19 to April 30; 2) opposition to the intensive of f-campus
military training, April 4 to May 1; 3) social democratization, and end to
martial law, and emphasis on laborer's rights. May 1 to 12; and 4) Massive
off-campus demonstrations calling for more rapid democratization and end to
martial law. May 13 to 15. The call is for us to
express our solidarity to the heroic efforts to restore democracy in
Militant students meanwhile have began intensive confrontation with government beginning June
10th when leaders of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) were arrested. It is
known that 27 such leaders were served warrants of arrest to prevent them from
leading demonstrations on June 12,
It is generally admitted that the
deteriorating economic condition in the
NEW STAFF ARRIVES IN HK....
JAEWOONG AHN
After half a year of intense
negotiations, one of the two in-coming staff of the Asia Pacific region of WSCF
arrived at the regional office in
Jaewoong Ann was born in
In 1970, he took part in the First
Asian Leadership Development Centre (ALDEC), a program of WSCF Asia Region that
was held in
NEWS FROM SCMs
Philippines SCM held its biennial
General Assembly last April 7 to 11 and had for their theme -"Student
Solidarity in the Struggle of the Filipino People". Dave Rodrigues, current Chairperson of the Asia Pacific Region
was re-elected Chairperson of the SCMP while Liddy Nacpil, a student at the University of the
SCM of Bangladesh met in National
Assembly last May 22-25 at Baalavpur, Khustia. The meeting was attended by around sixty
delegates. It was followed by a one-day "
Mr. Sangbok
Chung, Associate General Secretary of the Korea Student Christian Federation
was elected the General Secretary following the departure of Jaewoong Ahn for
The Student Department of the
National Committee of the YMCAs of Japan (Japan SCM) will hold its annual
assembly in Tozanso Conference Centre of the YMCA
last week of Aug. In a letter from Masumi Nakahara, Student Secretary, an
invitation was extended to our new Staff, Jaewoong Ahn to visit