The New Dependables
- The India Times, February 6, 2010; by Prajwal Hegde
It’s a quiet revolution, and it not without a face. Increasingly, girls from poor homes in urban and rural India, with a monthly household income of Rs 3,000 or less, daughters of construction workers and janitors, domestic helps and penniless drunks are emerging as the main bread earners. For their families, they are the hope and the hurrah.
Their stories are the same, save for the small variations, irrespective of where they are from: Mangalore, Madurai or Madanapalli. Some spurned by society and neglected by their families, for the unpardonable sin of being born a girl, have overcome tremendous odds to get a foothold in the professional world. A few others have enjoyed parental support of sorts. All of them, however, swear by education. Their juggling jobs that pay for their degrees. The fields they target are: nursing, hospitality industry, and the beauty business, as in, jobs in parlours. They are modern society’s new dependable, having taken over from their fathers and brothers.
Asha Selvaraj is 21. Her father is a construction worker (bar bender), and, mother, a domestic worker. When completing her pre-university studies three years ago, she got a job in the Barista coffee chain. She’s still holding that job, which now pays her Rs 5,900 (More than the combined salaries of her parents). More importantly, it allows her the time to purse a B.A., which she’ll complete at an evening college later this summer. As for the future, she’s weighing options, one of which is an MBA.
The foursome of Nagarani M, Sobia P, K Girja and Angel Mariadas – all 21 – hail from remote parts of Tamil Nadu. While none of their mothers work, their fathers are lorry drivers, janitors and farm laborers. Each of them was encouraged to go to school and purse an education, as were their siblings. This bunch, however, took it a step further. Now they are the first, not just from their families, but their entire locality to complete professional courses. Las year, they finished their three-year degree in GNE (General Nursing and Midwifery), which cost them Rs 35,000. They are now working as trainee nurses Sathya Hospital in Kammanahalli. Once they’re done with their training, in the next couple of months, they’ll be looking at paycheques upwards of Rs6000. It’ll b more than what their fathers earn in two months.
Sociologist Hiremath Siddharamesh Lingayya, explained, “This trend started in the ‘80s. It began, in part, with mothers in remote villages putting idea of a better life in their daughters’ minds or in some cases, shaping an idea or ambition. Rural women have always worked, if not for others, then in their own homes, growing produce in their backyards and selling the excesses. Later, globalization came into play. Garment factories cropped yp everywhere and young girls found employment. The media, especially the electronic media, helped create awareness that’s leading people from under-privileged backgrounds to greater economic independence.”
Asha’s inspiration was her mother Pushpa. She determined early that her only daughter would not work as a domestic help and, therefore, stressed upon Asha the importance of education. Asha said, ”Only a good education can give people like us a place in society. My brother discontinued his studies, but I want to study even after graduation.”
Rajeshwari Mahadeva’s is an interesting case. She’s 19 years of age and hails from a tiny village called Chittakayanakoppalu in Mysore district. Rajeshwari currently works as a domestic help while pursuing an informal education in Bangalore. In the summer, she will join a beauty school, for a six-month course, after which she’ll gain employment at a beauty parlour, where starting salaries range from Rs4,000 to 5,000. Rajeshwari has resisted enormous parental pressure to get married. Her father, a farm labourer, with a driking problem, is hugely in debt. Sometimes, when a young firl is fair and good looking, grooms pay a hefty sum for their hand. Often young girls are married to older men, divorcees or widowers, in exchange for money that sets their parents free of loans. Rajeshwari, however, has other plans. She has three younger sisters, whom she’s educating. “I want all my sisters to be independent and have good jobs, so that we can look after our parents and educate our children,” she said.
Families and societies that once looked at the girl child as a burden are viewing them with respect. Hiremath said, “Generally, girls have a greater sense of responsibility, particularly at that age (past their mid teens) and in that economic group. Also, they have a greater sense of commitment and attachment to their families, while boys are pleasure seeking, and self centric in their conduct. Girls are meticulous and especially good with jobs that require lower skill levels. When one girl stands up and breaks away, she creates a road for the others.”
These girls have boundless energy. They’re on their feet at the crack of dawn and turn in only past midnight. They understand they’re at a disadvantage compared to most others in their age in the professional world, but you don’t hear them complain. The easy confidence perhaps comes from the fact that they’ve already fought and won more battles than most of us do in a lifetime.
Asha, who can make a scalding latte in 3 minutes, says her happiness comes from the fact that she has made her mother proud. “She’s never told me that she’s proud of me,” Asha said. “But I’ve overheard her many a time, talking to relatives or the neighbours, saying how happy she is with me.” In Sanskrit, Asha means hope. “That’s what this bunch of young girls has come to represent.
