Women in coastal fishing communities of the south Indian State of Tamil Nadu don’t venture into sea for a living, though they are no stranger to life at sea. For ages, while their men toiled in the sea, women looked after the household. Of late, girls from the community go for higher education, but they tend to limit themselves to teaching and nursing, despite rich traditional knowledge on marine life.
Girls taking up studies in marine sciences or fisheries are negligible and could be counted, the coastal people said.
Advocate J Jacquelyn Mary, a resident of Thuthoor village in Kanyakumari, is a first-generation graduate. She is now practising in Kanyakumari district court. “Girls were not aware of various jobs during their studies. During our college days there was no one to guide us. We never knew that there were jobs in fisheries and marine sciences. Ignorant, most of us took up teaching or nursing professions,” she said.
Community members blame themselves for missing out on popular jobs. For ages, the fishing communities were not dependant on the government and vice versa. “We became isolated in the end. Even government measures to guide us on other marine professions were lacking,” she said. “There is a general tendency among our women to stay back with the families. Teaching and nursing courses appear ideal as they allow them to stay closer to their homes,” reasoned L Wilfred, a resident of Colachel. “A basic trait of indigenous communities is to stay closer in their comfort zone and the fishermen community is no exception. Women don’t want to venture out and take up challenging professions,” says Fatima Babu of Veerangani Movement in Tuticorin. “The fishermen community keeps their face towards sea and their back towards the land and got isolated from mainstream jobs. They have not ventured even into marine-related professions like fisheries or marine technology which should be their domain,” she added.
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