0:13
TITLE:
CAUGHT IN AN UNJUST WORLD
0:28
SUBTITLE:
To be a woman in India
0:43
A film by Marion Mayer-Hohdahl
0:48
TEXT:
These women are on their way to a special event. They are celebrating the fact that this 6-month-old baby is still alive. Not that she had been sick. The women are jubilant because she wasn’t killed.
1:27
The women’s group hands the 22-year-old mother two goats and two coconut-tree seedlings. Both are meant to be endowments for her daughter. Girls only come second in India’s society. Rather 1,000 sons than one daughter, a popular saying goes. Daughters mean that parents have to come up with a dowry.
2:00
Interview
Banu
Mother
After the birth, my husband didn’t even want to see me or the child, didn’t talk to me. He wanted to have a son. We are poor people, but with the support from the women’s group, I’m confident that I can raise the child.
2:15
The coconut trees are immediately planted. By the time baby Jerisa will be 18 years old, the sale of the coconuts should have generated a little bit of extra income for the family.
2:42
The non-governmental organization ARD has been fighting for more than 15 years against female infanticide in India’s rural areas. In 80 villages, they have helped women form self-help groups that virtually monitor homes where a birth is imminent.
3:02
Rajathi uses only one name, like all those who belong to the Kallar caste. They are on the lowest rung of India’s caste system.
3:16
She proudly shows us a picture of her husband, who has found work in the city. He only rarely comes home. Rajathi lives with her mother-in-law, whom she accuses – along with her husband – of having killed their second daughter.
3:30
Interview
Rajathi
Mother
I could sense that they were planning something. They wanted a boy and cursed me, saying that I had brought bad luck to the family. They pushed me out of the house. When I got back in, they told me the child had died. I ran to my mother’s house.
3:47
Interview
Subbammal
Grandmother
The child died just like that. We didn’t kill it. The child died of fits.
3:56
But Rajathi wants to prove the murder. She shows us where the baby is buried.
4:06
Question:
How does she know that the daughter is here?
4:08
Interview
Rajathi
Mother
They had talked about my husband getting married again if I didn’t bear a son. My mother-in-law didn’t allow me to give the child milk. I know that she’s still there.
4:32
(Leave free)
4:47
A song for a pregnant woman: my beauty, what are you thinking about? Please understand that a female baby is not a burden.
5:00
Rassamal is a traditional healer. She knows of at least 10 different ways to kill a baby: feeding it poisoned milk or very hot soup, wrapping it in water-soaked cloths before placing it under a strong fan, choking it with a pillow or simply letting it starve. She herself has never killed, but given advice on how to.
5:29
Interview
Rassamal
Healer
We accept the first girl. The second girl should be killed, then the third child will be a son. Women that only bear girls bring bad luck, that’s what we used to believe. But the women’s group now explains to everyone that this is not true.
5:49
But the reality is on display in kindergartens and schools. There are more boys than girls. And that ratio is the same in all of India. In some areas, there are scarcely 700 girls for 1,000 boys.
6:14
And many families don’t even send their daughters to school in the first place. After getting married, a daughter will leave her parents’ house. An education won’t change that.
6:25
The Indian women’s group that fights against female infanticide has been receiving support since 1993 from Germany’s Andheri Hilfe.
6:36
Interview
Elvira Greiner
President, Andheri Hilfe
Of course, this clearly is murder. It is prohibited by law, there is no question about that. But that has always been the case in India and it is just as clear that it happens hundredfold, it happens thousandfold. People don’t talk about it. In the villages – I have seen this often – every family is basically affected, but it is a taboo to even talk about it. It happens again and again, it is a long way, but I think that if people are aware of it and the whole community really stands together, then a change is possible. And we see this happening. In our project here in the vicinity of Madurai alone, more than 1,000 girls have been saved from a certain death and that is already an important success.
7:16
Female infanticide most often has economic motivations: even though dowries have been legally prohibited, they are still demanded as part of any arranged marriage. The awareness campaigns are said to have put a stop to female infanticide in 80 villages. But there still are isolated cases.
7:37
Interview
Murugeswari
Mother
After the second girl, I was treated very badly. Every day there was a quarrel. When I came back from fetching water from the tap, my daughter was dead, lying on the cot. I wanted to commit suicide, but then I thought of my first daughter.
7:52
This killing was unusual because the child was already 3 months old. Murusgeswari’s dead baby is also buried near the house, so that the body doesn’t get defiled. Indians believe in evil spirits and want to make sure that the dead don’t bring them any bad luck.
8:12
Interview
Murugeswari
Mother
This slab has only been here since my daughter’s death.
8:19
Hundreds of women’s group have been created in many villages and they can make some noise.
8:28
Again and again, they march through the streets to wage war against female infanticide. Murders of female babies have reportedly been prevented in more than 2,000 families.
8:51
The abortion of female foetuses has also been outlawed in India since 1994. Sonograms are allowed, but the doctors should not reveal the sex of the baby. Girija Rabindran has run a small hospital for 30 years and is well aware of female infanticide.
9:22
Interview
Girija Rabindran
Doctor
///IN ENGLISH: They don’t want – even when the baby dies at the hand of somebody else, they don’t want that misuse the body for foetal parts. They believe in black magic that they will take the body away or will use it for some amulets or something. So the female body they don’t want outside but bury it in the yard – in their own fields or near the house. That the burial site is known. When they get married they have to give away a lot of gold for the dowry. That’s why they do not a female only male child. When they die, the male child, when they burn the body, the male child has to light the fire for the last rites. Females cannot do the last rites.///
10:33
Human rights activists say that the ban on revealing a child’s sex before birth is often violated. During India’s 2001 census, there were 933 girls for every 1,000 boys. That number has gone down even further, they say.
10:57
Interview
Jeeva
Human rights activist
///IN ENGLISH: Dowry is one of the causes of female infanticide and foeticide. But looking at women as a secondary citizen, that has to change.
Question: What will happen in India when there are not enough women around to marry? What will the men do?
11:17
For one woman many men will be fighting. There will be an eternal war and conflicts. There will be more kidnappings and more violence inflicted on women.///
11:30
Today, Sundaraselvi will marry the man that her family has chosen for her. They have seen each other once before.
11:40
The 1,000 invited guests from both their villages have to pay. Everything is carefully recorded, so that the same amount can basically be refunded to the donor at a future wedding.
11:59
Sundaraselvi’s parents are now highly indebted. Their daughter’s marriage cost them 90 grams of gold.
12:09
The two families symbolically negotiate over the dowry. All guests can witness that they in the end reached an agreement.
12:28
The groom, Jeyaperumal, was a coveted bachelor because he has a job.
12:44
The couple displays little emotion. Flower garlands are heaped upon them. Every one is a gift that will later be exchanged into money.
13:06
Every acquaintance, every neighbour, all relatives have been invited. Nobody can be forgotten. With a piece of string, the priest concludes the wedding. Their marriage is now valid.
(Leave free)
13:32
The guests are served food on banana leaves at a fast clip after the marriage ceremony.
13:51
Sundaraselvi draws a symbol of welcome outside her new home.
14:01
We visited the bridal couple one week after the wedding. For now, she can still wear the 90 grams of gold jewellery – soon it will be deposited at a bank. In the next few days, she will be allowed to visit her parents once more. When she returns, she will hand over all of the gifts to her parents-in-law. A motorbike will be among them too.
14:29
The groom shows his friends some family pictures. Next week, he will have to be back at work – and that in a small city many hours away by bus. He will only be able to visit every few months.
14:49
Interview
Jeyaperumal
Groom
When you marry out of love and there are problems, the parents won’t support you. This way, the parents will support you, because they chose the wife.
15:06
Sundaraselvi’s dowry is supposed to be a guarantee for her in case something happens to her husband. But in most cases, the gold is seen as a gain for the family.
15:23
Shortly after the wedding, she is apprised of her duties by her mother-in-law. In many families, they amount to a life as a servant until a son and heir is born.
15:42
The young women can only hope that their husbands’ families will accept them. More often than not, that depends on how submissive they act.
15:58
Interview
Sundaraselvi
Bride
I am happy.
Question: Was it difficult for her parents to provide the dowry?
16:24
My family suffered to give the dowry. I feel sad about that.
16:30
Raising a daughter is like watering a neighbour’s garden, according to one Indian proverb.
16:43
We ask this young mother about that, but she is too shy to answer.
16:58
“I am happy” are the only words the 18-year-old will offer, but her mother-in-law knows better.
17:06
Interview
Kamali Juanga
Mother-in-law
Girls are useful. They can collect firewood, get water from the well and serve the whole family.
17:19
A son can’t do that.
17:29
In a bid to improve the status of women in society, theatre plays are staged in villages. Often, the audience members are children who can still be influenced. Topics such as female infanticide and dowry killings, child weddings and family respect are touched upon. Among the most prominent subjects are the dowry demands, which can bankrupt entire families.
18:21
Ratnam is a highly unusual woman. Some accept her, others curse her – she is single. At 12 years old, she had her first period; six months later, her parents married her off. She escaped during her wedding night and ran back to them. Not just once, but several times. Now 44 years old, she lives alone in a tiny room.
18:59
Interview
Ratnam
Labourer
I want no man. My parents had to compensate the groom. I never went to school, now I’m doing work in the fields of others. But this is what I want to be.
19:18
Life is particularly difficult for widows. Just a few decades ago, they use to throw themselves into the fires burning the bodies of their deceased husbands, because they no longer had a place in Indian society.
19:30
When her husband died, the fields were handed to his brothers. She had no claim to them. But the 24-year-old was lucky. She found support in a women’s group, which trained her to be a seamstress and helped her acquire a sewing machine.
19:50
Hundreds of such self-help groups have formed, offering various skill-training programs. Here, the women learn how they can produce washing powder or detergent. They sell only small quantities, but it allows them to earn a living.
20:14
Each of the women is a member of a savings and loan scheme. They gather regularly to collect a few rupees. Everything is carefully recorded in the books. They proudly show their visitor that they have granted loans. That way, the women can borrow money. They have to pay back the amounts to the group with interest. It in turn invests the money into livestock breeding or sewing machines.
20:45
Another project prepares youths for their possible roles in life. We are visiting a local assembly: the boys and girls have elected their own ministers.
20:59
He is finance minister and must explain to his voters how he intends to budget their funds. The ministers responsible for education, economy, environment and women’s rights must also report about their plans.
21:25
Pugalhvani is an active participant in the children’s assembly. In the afternoon, she helps younger children with their homework.
21:35
She is the fourth daughter. Three are already married. Her parents will be indebted until their deaths. Shanti and Panneerselvam are already worried about how they are going to pay Pugalhvani’s university tuition. They wanted a son at all cost, but after four daughters any hope vanished.
22:08
Interview
Shanti
Mother
We thought about selling the house even before our third daughter married. But everybody said if we try to rent with four daughters, we’re going to be on the street.
22:18
Panneerselvam
Father
I work as a driver during the daytime and at night. I sleep only three hours a day.
22:22
Shanti
Mother
I work breaking stones and cry almost every night because I don’t know where the money is going to come from. We did everything we could.
22:36
Panneerselvam
Father
But all of our daughters went to school.
22:43
To help Pugalhvani, her sister wanted to sell her dowry jewellery, but her parents-in-law would not allow it. The 18-year-old knows that her parents will not be able to provide another dowry for her.
22:57
Interview
Pugalhvani
I ask myself often why I was born. My parents struggle so much. I was ready to stop my studies, but my mother wouldn’t allow it.
23:10
Pugalhvani is in the second-to-last year of her engineering studies and always places among the best students. But her studies cost the equivalent of 860 Euros a year – an almost unaffordable amount for the family. She dreams of working in the United States after graduation, just so that she can one day pay every penny back to her parents.
23:42
Pugalhvani’s mother is one of many women who break stones for a living in the village. There used to be a stone quarry here that provided work for hundreds. Now, the rocks are brought in by truck. The women break them down to gravel. Because they work wearing only plastic sandals and no safety goggles, accidents are common. For one load, the women need 5 to 7 days. In exchange, they receive 950 rupees – about 14 Euros.
24:23
Poonkodi was born here and has been helping her parents in the quarry since she turned 10 years old. She never went to school. Every day, she works under the blazing sun. She has been in hospital several times after being injured by stone chips.
24:47
Like most people in southern India, Poonkodi uses only one name. She invites us to her home so we can meet her husband.
25:03
Interview
Poonkodi
Labourer
I have never taken my children to break stones, like many of the other women do, because it is very, very dangerous. Just look at my husband.
25:17
Interview
Velu
I have headaches and only one eye left. I can no longer work.
25:22
The labourers receive no assistance whatsoever in case of an accident. Poonkodi struggles to feed her family with her earnings.
25:39
The government closed the village’s quarry about two years ago, when its depth of 40 metres became too significant and too dangerous. It may look idyllic, but for some it is a curse. All the labourers had moved here from even poorer areas of India and now no longer have work.
26:29
Malliga’s husband has found work in the city and comes home only once a year. She looks after their two children. 14-year-old Kamatchi goes to school, a fact Malliga is especially proud of. The approximately 30-year-old – she doesn’t know her exact age – also used to work in the stone quarry.
27:00
Kamatchi gets ready for school. She wants to go on to university, but isn’t sure whether her family will be able to afford it.
27:23
Malliga’s son is not as good a student as his sister. Still, his mother doesn’t want him to ever have to break stones.
27:36
Interview
Malliga
Labourer
My father broke his leg in the quarry. He still has pain. My brother damaged his eyes while breaking stones, he still can’t see like before. I myself was often injured by the stones. I am determined to see that my children do not get involved in this work.
27:52
Over the last few years, the stone quarries in southern India have been mechanized, leaving less work for people. Poverty increased. Those who do still work in the stone quarries and live in their vicinity suffer from significant pollution. Add to that the trucks, which create even more grime by rattling down the sandy roads.
28:30
According to the Indian government, 27 per cent of the country’s 1.1 billion inhabitants live in poverty, earning less than 1 dollar per day. Non-governmental organizations estimate the true number to be at least twice that. The women are among those who suffer the most, having to worry about children and their future.
29:00
Some of the companies that deplete the 55 stone quarries here allow their workers to live in huts on their properties. Pavunu is one of the women who have found a home here. With her husband she has four children.
29:26
Interview
Pavunu
Labourer
This is where we sleep. My husband and I share the bed. The children lay underneath.
29:31
Just look at the roof. In the rainy season, the water pours through.
29:30
She too knows nothing else than life in the stone quarry.
29:45
Interview
Murugan
Labourer
I have been working since I was 12 years old. I can’t find any other job. The future doesn’t look good, because they are cutting positions here too.
29:57
Interview
Pavunu
Labourer
Our two oldest children live with my parents-in-law because both suffered from respiratory problems. At least the little ones go to kindergarten and learn something.
30:20
It doesn’t matter whom we speak with at the stone quarry, there is one thing they all want: their children should grow up differently than they did and receive an education, so that they can have a better future.
30:56
And that starts with the young ones in kindergarten. The Andheri Hilfe organization funds the building, the staff, the food.
31:15
Child labour is rare in the villages today, after having been the norm for years in rural areas. Only education provides the children a chance and that can’t start early enough.
31:34
The little ones receive one meal a day. Here they are kept busy and far away from the stone quarries.
31:40
India has democratic laws against child labour, female infanticide and the caste system, but enforcement is lacking. That is why human rights advocates get involved to educate the population about their rights.
32:07
Explicit images show visitors at this exhibit on children’s rights what is allowed and what is prohibited. Sexual assaults at school or at home are just as forbidden as child weddings and beatings.
(Leave free)
32:56
People’s Watch is one of the human rights organizations that are feared by the Indian government. Its founder advocates for all those who live on the fringes of society.
33:12
Interview
Henri Tiphagne
Human rights advocate
///IN ENGLISH: Indian society is seemingly a non-violent society, is projected to be a non-violent society, is known globally to be a non-violent society, but inherently because of the system of caste discrimination we have, we possess and which we want to hide globally, we are a very violent society. Therefore, the violence is in terms of marriages, in terms of practices and the violence is in terms of what is pure and impure in this country.///
33:37
Among the worst human rights violations is temple prostitution – the devadasi system. Young girls are dedicated to the goddess Huligamma. They become devadasis – temple dancers. In the past, they used to be respected; today, they are only scorned. The puja – a kind of invocation and recitation of religious texts – along with a cleansing of the body are integral parts of any temple visit.
34:12
Andheri Hilfe supports the Indian organization SNEHA, which runs a project aimed at abolishing the devadasi system.
34:22
Interview
Elvira Greiner
President, Andheri Hilfe
The devadasis, the temple dancers in the past had a socially very prestigious standing, but that has completely changed over the centuries. Today, they mostly are women from the lower castes who had no other choice. That is what always concerns me so much – all the women we are sitting with here were forced into a life where they have no alternatives. They are dedicated to the goddess as children and then have to live a life where they are ultimately exploited by men. They have no way to ever leave it behind.
34:53
The dedication of young girls has been outlawed since 1982, but there is barely any enforcement of the ban.
34:59
Interview
Sri Pada Bhatta Joshi
Priest
Huligamma is a very powerful goddess. Any prayer from believers comes to realization. People from all states come here to worship her – especially during three important festivals. In earlier days, women used to be dedicated to her. Now this is banned.
35:17
We try to find out what the truth is. The founder of the SNEHA organization speaks with a devadasi.
35:28
Interview
Ramanjaneya
SNEHA Founder
///IN ENGLISH///
36:00
That is how Bharamamma did it with her daughter. Like many from her caste, she uses only one name. Bharamamma knew that the dedication was against the law.
36:15
Nagamma is just 18 years old and the mother of the 4-week-old Kotramma. She doesn’t know which of the three men who visit her is the father.
36:29
Interview
Nagamma
Devadasi
Being a devadasi is a miserable life. I am very unhappy.
36:35
Nagamma shows us the necklace that symbolizes her dedication. It will remain in force for the rest of her life. Everybody in the village knows that she is a temple prostitute.
36:45
Interview
Nagamma
My father died and my mother had me dedicated because of our poverty. I often beg for food.
36:56
The neighbours don’t respect me and berate me.
37:08
Interview
Bharamamma
We have nothing. I had to have her dedicated. How was I supposed to feed three girls and provide their dowries? It is terrible. Hopefully the next life will be better.
37:28
Nagamma’s fate is no isolated case. There are tens of thousands of girls – mostly from lower castes – who have been dedicated to the goddess. They cannot get married.
37:38
In India, daughters go live in the homes of their parents-in-law after the wedding. That is why Mariyamma was dedicated, so that her mother would not have to live alone. She wouldn’t have had the money for Mariyamma’s dowry anyway.
37:54
Interview
Mariyamma
Devadasi
My children are outcasts. They are called names, like children of a prostitute. They come home from school with sad faces.
38:06
But there is hope for the devadasis. Education campaigns in the villages help people to better understand their situation. They did not choose to become prostitutes.
(Leave free)
38:26
Mariyamma is accepted by the other women. They work and even eat together, which would have been unthinkable in the past.
38:40
The SNEHA organization fights for the abolition of the devadasi system and raises awareness about the rights of women through street theatre productions.
Here the priest beckons for the dedication. It is a way for him to earn money. The priests also often are the first to abuse the young girls.
38:59
Interview
Ramanjaneya
SNEHA Founder
///IN ENGLISH///
39:26
Some of the devadasis have formed a dance group with other village women. They used to only dance in temples. At that time, they were admired. Now it is a step forward just for the devadasis not to be ostracized and excluded from life in the village.
40:00
Gangamma has made peace with her fate. She lives with her children and grandchildren in one house. A priest dedicated her when she was still very young. She does not want to divulge whether he abused her. Later, she had a lover who made life easier for her. But as she gets older, she grows ever more dependent on handouts. She has no land and could not survive without the support of her children.
40:34
Interview
Gangamma
Devadasi
My brother wanted me to marry one of my uncles. He already had three children and was very old. I said no. That is why I was dedicated. Another man wanted me later on, but since I had already been promised to a goddess, I could no longer get married.
40:54
But the women are now fighting back. They have formed a self-help group. They save money, grant each other small loans and show solidarity to one another. 50 percent of the villagers are devadasis. They have the same rights as those who live in poverty. But the women are angry. For a year, they have been waiting for food rations and financial aid from the state.
41:19
Education campaigns are also run in schools. Many wanted nothing to do with the children of temple prostitutes. They do not carry their father’s name and thus become pariahs.
41:31
Like her mother, Huligemma is a devadasi. She has two daughters.
41:36
Interview
Huligemma
Devadasi
The married men are proud of their families. Here, they only come and go. They don’t care what happens to me. I don’t want that for my daughters. They should go to school and university after that.
41:53
Rashma and Pavithra know what the devadasi system amounts to. They had to learn about it the hard way.
42:00
Interview
Pavithra
16 years old
I have friends at school. But inside, we feel that we are the children of devadasis. When we get asked for our father’s name, everybody knows, because we can’t provide one. It makes it even more humiliating for us.
42:18
Three times a year, the goddess Huligamma is revered even more than usual – like here during the full moon festival. Thousands come to pay her homage.
42:34
Except for maybe the priests, nobody knows for sure how many girls will this time be dedicated to the goddess, even though it is forbidden.
42:49
Traditions are kept alive by people. As a Hindu, you accept life as it is, hoping for a better existence after reincarnation. But women are now fighting for their rights with the support of self-help groups. They no longer want to be second-class citizens. And it is hard to believe that the will of a goddess would be to condemn young girls to a life of prostitution.
Text ends at 43:18
Images end at 43:46
TITLE:
CAUGHT IN AN UNJUST WORLD
0:28
SUBTITLE:
To be a woman in India
0:43
A film by Marion Mayer-Hohdahl
0:48
TEXT:
These women are on their way to a special event. They are celebrating the fact that this 6-month-old baby is still alive. Not that she had been sick. The women are jubilant because she wasn’t killed.
1:27
The women’s group hands the 22-year-old mother two goats and two coconut-tree seedlings. Both are meant to be endowments for her daughter. Girls only come second in India’s society. Rather 1,000 sons than one daughter, a popular saying goes. Daughters mean that parents have to come up with a dowry.
2:00
Interview
Banu
Mother
After the birth, my husband didn’t even want to see me or the child, didn’t talk to me. He wanted to have a son. We are poor people, but with the support from the women’s group, I’m confident that I can raise the child.
2:15
The coconut trees are immediately planted. By the time baby Jerisa will be 18 years old, the sale of the coconuts should have generated a little bit of extra income for the family.
2:42
The non-governmental organization ARD has been fighting for more than 15 years against female infanticide in India’s rural areas. In 80 villages, they have helped women form self-help groups that virtually monitor homes where a birth is imminent.
3:02
Rajathi uses only one name, like all those who belong to the Kallar caste. They are on the lowest rung of India’s caste system.
3:16
She proudly shows us a picture of her husband, who has found work in the city. He only rarely comes home. Rajathi lives with her mother-in-law, whom she accuses – along with her husband – of having killed their second daughter.
3:30
Interview
Rajathi
Mother
I could sense that they were planning something. They wanted a boy and cursed me, saying that I had brought bad luck to the family. They pushed me out of the house. When I got back in, they told me the child had died. I ran to my mother’s house.
3:47
Interview
Subbammal
Grandmother
The child died just like that. We didn’t kill it. The child died of fits.
3:56
But Rajathi wants to prove the murder. She shows us where the baby is buried.
4:06
Question:
How does she know that the daughter is here?
4:08
Interview
Rajathi
Mother
They had talked about my husband getting married again if I didn’t bear a son. My mother-in-law didn’t allow me to give the child milk. I know that she’s still there.
4:32
(Leave free)
4:47
A song for a pregnant woman: my beauty, what are you thinking about? Please understand that a female baby is not a burden.
5:00
Rassamal is a traditional healer. She knows of at least 10 different ways to kill a baby: feeding it poisoned milk or very hot soup, wrapping it in water-soaked cloths before placing it under a strong fan, choking it with a pillow or simply letting it starve. She herself has never killed, but given advice on how to.
5:29
Interview
Rassamal
Healer
We accept the first girl. The second girl should be killed, then the third child will be a son. Women that only bear girls bring bad luck, that’s what we used to believe. But the women’s group now explains to everyone that this is not true.
5:49
But the reality is on display in kindergartens and schools. There are more boys than girls. And that ratio is the same in all of India. In some areas, there are scarcely 700 girls for 1,000 boys.
6:14
And many families don’t even send their daughters to school in the first place. After getting married, a daughter will leave her parents’ house. An education won’t change that.
6:25
The Indian women’s group that fights against female infanticide has been receiving support since 1993 from Germany’s Andheri Hilfe.
6:36
Interview
Elvira Greiner
President, Andheri Hilfe
Of course, this clearly is murder. It is prohibited by law, there is no question about that. But that has always been the case in India and it is just as clear that it happens hundredfold, it happens thousandfold. People don’t talk about it. In the villages – I have seen this often – every family is basically affected, but it is a taboo to even talk about it. It happens again and again, it is a long way, but I think that if people are aware of it and the whole community really stands together, then a change is possible. And we see this happening. In our project here in the vicinity of Madurai alone, more than 1,000 girls have been saved from a certain death and that is already an important success.
7:16
Female infanticide most often has economic motivations: even though dowries have been legally prohibited, they are still demanded as part of any arranged marriage. The awareness campaigns are said to have put a stop to female infanticide in 80 villages. But there still are isolated cases.
7:37
Interview
Murugeswari
Mother
After the second girl, I was treated very badly. Every day there was a quarrel. When I came back from fetching water from the tap, my daughter was dead, lying on the cot. I wanted to commit suicide, but then I thought of my first daughter.
7:52
This killing was unusual because the child was already 3 months old. Murusgeswari’s dead baby is also buried near the house, so that the body doesn’t get defiled. Indians believe in evil spirits and want to make sure that the dead don’t bring them any bad luck.
8:12
Interview
Murugeswari
Mother
This slab has only been here since my daughter’s death.
8:19
Hundreds of women’s group have been created in many villages and they can make some noise.
8:28
Again and again, they march through the streets to wage war against female infanticide. Murders of female babies have reportedly been prevented in more than 2,000 families.
8:51
The abortion of female foetuses has also been outlawed in India since 1994. Sonograms are allowed, but the doctors should not reveal the sex of the baby. Girija Rabindran has run a small hospital for 30 years and is well aware of female infanticide.
9:22
Interview
Girija Rabindran
Doctor
///IN ENGLISH: They don’t want – even when the baby dies at the hand of somebody else, they don’t want that misuse the body for foetal parts. They believe in black magic that they will take the body away or will use it for some amulets or something. So the female body they don’t want outside but bury it in the yard – in their own fields or near the house. That the burial site is known. When they get married they have to give away a lot of gold for the dowry. That’s why they do not a female only male child. When they die, the male child, when they burn the body, the male child has to light the fire for the last rites. Females cannot do the last rites.///
10:33
Human rights activists say that the ban on revealing a child’s sex before birth is often violated. During India’s 2001 census, there were 933 girls for every 1,000 boys. That number has gone down even further, they say.
10:57
Interview
Jeeva
Human rights activist
///IN ENGLISH: Dowry is one of the causes of female infanticide and foeticide. But looking at women as a secondary citizen, that has to change.
Question: What will happen in India when there are not enough women around to marry? What will the men do?
11:17
For one woman many men will be fighting. There will be an eternal war and conflicts. There will be more kidnappings and more violence inflicted on women.///
11:30
Today, Sundaraselvi will marry the man that her family has chosen for her. They have seen each other once before.
11:40
The 1,000 invited guests from both their villages have to pay. Everything is carefully recorded, so that the same amount can basically be refunded to the donor at a future wedding.
11:59
Sundaraselvi’s parents are now highly indebted. Their daughter’s marriage cost them 90 grams of gold.
12:09
The two families symbolically negotiate over the dowry. All guests can witness that they in the end reached an agreement.
12:28
The groom, Jeyaperumal, was a coveted bachelor because he has a job.
12:44
The couple displays little emotion. Flower garlands are heaped upon them. Every one is a gift that will later be exchanged into money.
13:06
Every acquaintance, every neighbour, all relatives have been invited. Nobody can be forgotten. With a piece of string, the priest concludes the wedding. Their marriage is now valid.
(Leave free)
13:32
The guests are served food on banana leaves at a fast clip after the marriage ceremony.
13:51
Sundaraselvi draws a symbol of welcome outside her new home.
14:01
We visited the bridal couple one week after the wedding. For now, she can still wear the 90 grams of gold jewellery – soon it will be deposited at a bank. In the next few days, she will be allowed to visit her parents once more. When she returns, she will hand over all of the gifts to her parents-in-law. A motorbike will be among them too.
14:29
The groom shows his friends some family pictures. Next week, he will have to be back at work – and that in a small city many hours away by bus. He will only be able to visit every few months.
14:49
Interview
Jeyaperumal
Groom
When you marry out of love and there are problems, the parents won’t support you. This way, the parents will support you, because they chose the wife.
15:06
Sundaraselvi’s dowry is supposed to be a guarantee for her in case something happens to her husband. But in most cases, the gold is seen as a gain for the family.
15:23
Shortly after the wedding, she is apprised of her duties by her mother-in-law. In many families, they amount to a life as a servant until a son and heir is born.
15:42
The young women can only hope that their husbands’ families will accept them. More often than not, that depends on how submissive they act.
15:58
Interview
Sundaraselvi
Bride
I am happy.
Question: Was it difficult for her parents to provide the dowry?
16:24
My family suffered to give the dowry. I feel sad about that.
16:30
Raising a daughter is like watering a neighbour’s garden, according to one Indian proverb.
16:43
We ask this young mother about that, but she is too shy to answer.
16:58
“I am happy” are the only words the 18-year-old will offer, but her mother-in-law knows better.
17:06
Interview
Kamali Juanga
Mother-in-law
Girls are useful. They can collect firewood, get water from the well and serve the whole family.
17:19
A son can’t do that.
17:29
In a bid to improve the status of women in society, theatre plays are staged in villages. Often, the audience members are children who can still be influenced. Topics such as female infanticide and dowry killings, child weddings and family respect are touched upon. Among the most prominent subjects are the dowry demands, which can bankrupt entire families.
18:21
Ratnam is a highly unusual woman. Some accept her, others curse her – she is single. At 12 years old, she had her first period; six months later, her parents married her off. She escaped during her wedding night and ran back to them. Not just once, but several times. Now 44 years old, she lives alone in a tiny room.
18:59
Interview
Ratnam
Labourer
I want no man. My parents had to compensate the groom. I never went to school, now I’m doing work in the fields of others. But this is what I want to be.
19:18
Life is particularly difficult for widows. Just a few decades ago, they use to throw themselves into the fires burning the bodies of their deceased husbands, because they no longer had a place in Indian society.
19:30
When her husband died, the fields were handed to his brothers. She had no claim to them. But the 24-year-old was lucky. She found support in a women’s group, which trained her to be a seamstress and helped her acquire a sewing machine.
19:50
Hundreds of such self-help groups have formed, offering various skill-training programs. Here, the women learn how they can produce washing powder or detergent. They sell only small quantities, but it allows them to earn a living.
20:14
Each of the women is a member of a savings and loan scheme. They gather regularly to collect a few rupees. Everything is carefully recorded in the books. They proudly show their visitor that they have granted loans. That way, the women can borrow money. They have to pay back the amounts to the group with interest. It in turn invests the money into livestock breeding or sewing machines.
20:45
Another project prepares youths for their possible roles in life. We are visiting a local assembly: the boys and girls have elected their own ministers.
20:59
He is finance minister and must explain to his voters how he intends to budget their funds. The ministers responsible for education, economy, environment and women’s rights must also report about their plans.
21:25
Pugalhvani is an active participant in the children’s assembly. In the afternoon, she helps younger children with their homework.
21:35
She is the fourth daughter. Three are already married. Her parents will be indebted until their deaths. Shanti and Panneerselvam are already worried about how they are going to pay Pugalhvani’s university tuition. They wanted a son at all cost, but after four daughters any hope vanished.
22:08
Interview
Shanti
Mother
We thought about selling the house even before our third daughter married. But everybody said if we try to rent with four daughters, we’re going to be on the street.
22:18
Panneerselvam
Father
I work as a driver during the daytime and at night. I sleep only three hours a day.
22:22
Shanti
Mother
I work breaking stones and cry almost every night because I don’t know where the money is going to come from. We did everything we could.
22:36
Panneerselvam
Father
But all of our daughters went to school.
22:43
To help Pugalhvani, her sister wanted to sell her dowry jewellery, but her parents-in-law would not allow it. The 18-year-old knows that her parents will not be able to provide another dowry for her.
22:57
Interview
Pugalhvani
I ask myself often why I was born. My parents struggle so much. I was ready to stop my studies, but my mother wouldn’t allow it.
23:10
Pugalhvani is in the second-to-last year of her engineering studies and always places among the best students. But her studies cost the equivalent of 860 Euros a year – an almost unaffordable amount for the family. She dreams of working in the United States after graduation, just so that she can one day pay every penny back to her parents.
23:42
Pugalhvani’s mother is one of many women who break stones for a living in the village. There used to be a stone quarry here that provided work for hundreds. Now, the rocks are brought in by truck. The women break them down to gravel. Because they work wearing only plastic sandals and no safety goggles, accidents are common. For one load, the women need 5 to 7 days. In exchange, they receive 950 rupees – about 14 Euros.
24:23
Poonkodi was born here and has been helping her parents in the quarry since she turned 10 years old. She never went to school. Every day, she works under the blazing sun. She has been in hospital several times after being injured by stone chips.
24:47
Like most people in southern India, Poonkodi uses only one name. She invites us to her home so we can meet her husband.
25:03
Interview
Poonkodi
Labourer
I have never taken my children to break stones, like many of the other women do, because it is very, very dangerous. Just look at my husband.
25:17
Interview
Velu
I have headaches and only one eye left. I can no longer work.
25:22
The labourers receive no assistance whatsoever in case of an accident. Poonkodi struggles to feed her family with her earnings.
25:39
The government closed the village’s quarry about two years ago, when its depth of 40 metres became too significant and too dangerous. It may look idyllic, but for some it is a curse. All the labourers had moved here from even poorer areas of India and now no longer have work.
26:29
Malliga’s husband has found work in the city and comes home only once a year. She looks after their two children. 14-year-old Kamatchi goes to school, a fact Malliga is especially proud of. The approximately 30-year-old – she doesn’t know her exact age – also used to work in the stone quarry.
27:00
Kamatchi gets ready for school. She wants to go on to university, but isn’t sure whether her family will be able to afford it.
27:23
Malliga’s son is not as good a student as his sister. Still, his mother doesn’t want him to ever have to break stones.
27:36
Interview
Malliga
Labourer
My father broke his leg in the quarry. He still has pain. My brother damaged his eyes while breaking stones, he still can’t see like before. I myself was often injured by the stones. I am determined to see that my children do not get involved in this work.
27:52
Over the last few years, the stone quarries in southern India have been mechanized, leaving less work for people. Poverty increased. Those who do still work in the stone quarries and live in their vicinity suffer from significant pollution. Add to that the trucks, which create even more grime by rattling down the sandy roads.
28:30
According to the Indian government, 27 per cent of the country’s 1.1 billion inhabitants live in poverty, earning less than 1 dollar per day. Non-governmental organizations estimate the true number to be at least twice that. The women are among those who suffer the most, having to worry about children and their future.
29:00
Some of the companies that deplete the 55 stone quarries here allow their workers to live in huts on their properties. Pavunu is one of the women who have found a home here. With her husband she has four children.
29:26
Interview
Pavunu
Labourer
This is where we sleep. My husband and I share the bed. The children lay underneath.
29:31
Just look at the roof. In the rainy season, the water pours through.
29:30
She too knows nothing else than life in the stone quarry.
29:45
Interview
Murugan
Labourer
I have been working since I was 12 years old. I can’t find any other job. The future doesn’t look good, because they are cutting positions here too.
29:57
Interview
Pavunu
Labourer
Our two oldest children live with my parents-in-law because both suffered from respiratory problems. At least the little ones go to kindergarten and learn something.
30:20
It doesn’t matter whom we speak with at the stone quarry, there is one thing they all want: their children should grow up differently than they did and receive an education, so that they can have a better future.
30:56
And that starts with the young ones in kindergarten. The Andheri Hilfe organization funds the building, the staff, the food.
31:15
Child labour is rare in the villages today, after having been the norm for years in rural areas. Only education provides the children a chance and that can’t start early enough.
31:34
The little ones receive one meal a day. Here they are kept busy and far away from the stone quarries.
31:40
India has democratic laws against child labour, female infanticide and the caste system, but enforcement is lacking. That is why human rights advocates get involved to educate the population about their rights.
32:07
Explicit images show visitors at this exhibit on children’s rights what is allowed and what is prohibited. Sexual assaults at school or at home are just as forbidden as child weddings and beatings.
(Leave free)
32:56
People’s Watch is one of the human rights organizations that are feared by the Indian government. Its founder advocates for all those who live on the fringes of society.
33:12
Interview
Henri Tiphagne
Human rights advocate
///IN ENGLISH: Indian society is seemingly a non-violent society, is projected to be a non-violent society, is known globally to be a non-violent society, but inherently because of the system of caste discrimination we have, we possess and which we want to hide globally, we are a very violent society. Therefore, the violence is in terms of marriages, in terms of practices and the violence is in terms of what is pure and impure in this country.///
33:37
Among the worst human rights violations is temple prostitution – the devadasi system. Young girls are dedicated to the goddess Huligamma. They become devadasis – temple dancers. In the past, they used to be respected; today, they are only scorned. The puja – a kind of invocation and recitation of religious texts – along with a cleansing of the body are integral parts of any temple visit.
34:12
Andheri Hilfe supports the Indian organization SNEHA, which runs a project aimed at abolishing the devadasi system.
34:22
Interview
Elvira Greiner
President, Andheri Hilfe
The devadasis, the temple dancers in the past had a socially very prestigious standing, but that has completely changed over the centuries. Today, they mostly are women from the lower castes who had no other choice. That is what always concerns me so much – all the women we are sitting with here were forced into a life where they have no alternatives. They are dedicated to the goddess as children and then have to live a life where they are ultimately exploited by men. They have no way to ever leave it behind.
34:53
The dedication of young girls has been outlawed since 1982, but there is barely any enforcement of the ban.
34:59
Interview
Sri Pada Bhatta Joshi
Priest
Huligamma is a very powerful goddess. Any prayer from believers comes to realization. People from all states come here to worship her – especially during three important festivals. In earlier days, women used to be dedicated to her. Now this is banned.
35:17
We try to find out what the truth is. The founder of the SNEHA organization speaks with a devadasi.
35:28
Interview
Ramanjaneya
SNEHA Founder
///IN ENGLISH///
36:00
That is how Bharamamma did it with her daughter. Like many from her caste, she uses only one name. Bharamamma knew that the dedication was against the law.
36:15
Nagamma is just 18 years old and the mother of the 4-week-old Kotramma. She doesn’t know which of the three men who visit her is the father.
36:29
Interview
Nagamma
Devadasi
Being a devadasi is a miserable life. I am very unhappy.
36:35
Nagamma shows us the necklace that symbolizes her dedication. It will remain in force for the rest of her life. Everybody in the village knows that she is a temple prostitute.
36:45
Interview
Nagamma
My father died and my mother had me dedicated because of our poverty. I often beg for food.
36:56
The neighbours don’t respect me and berate me.
37:08
Interview
Bharamamma
We have nothing. I had to have her dedicated. How was I supposed to feed three girls and provide their dowries? It is terrible. Hopefully the next life will be better.
37:28
Nagamma’s fate is no isolated case. There are tens of thousands of girls – mostly from lower castes – who have been dedicated to the goddess. They cannot get married.
37:38
In India, daughters go live in the homes of their parents-in-law after the wedding. That is why Mariyamma was dedicated, so that her mother would not have to live alone. She wouldn’t have had the money for Mariyamma’s dowry anyway.
37:54
Interview
Mariyamma
Devadasi
My children are outcasts. They are called names, like children of a prostitute. They come home from school with sad faces.
38:06
But there is hope for the devadasis. Education campaigns in the villages help people to better understand their situation. They did not choose to become prostitutes.
(Leave free)
38:26
Mariyamma is accepted by the other women. They work and even eat together, which would have been unthinkable in the past.
38:40
The SNEHA organization fights for the abolition of the devadasi system and raises awareness about the rights of women through street theatre productions.
Here the priest beckons for the dedication. It is a way for him to earn money. The priests also often are the first to abuse the young girls.
38:59
Interview
Ramanjaneya
SNEHA Founder
///IN ENGLISH///
39:26
Some of the devadasis have formed a dance group with other village women. They used to only dance in temples. At that time, they were admired. Now it is a step forward just for the devadasis not to be ostracized and excluded from life in the village.
40:00
Gangamma has made peace with her fate. She lives with her children and grandchildren in one house. A priest dedicated her when she was still very young. She does not want to divulge whether he abused her. Later, she had a lover who made life easier for her. But as she gets older, she grows ever more dependent on handouts. She has no land and could not survive without the support of her children.
40:34
Interview
Gangamma
Devadasi
My brother wanted me to marry one of my uncles. He already had three children and was very old. I said no. That is why I was dedicated. Another man wanted me later on, but since I had already been promised to a goddess, I could no longer get married.
40:54
But the women are now fighting back. They have formed a self-help group. They save money, grant each other small loans and show solidarity to one another. 50 percent of the villagers are devadasis. They have the same rights as those who live in poverty. But the women are angry. For a year, they have been waiting for food rations and financial aid from the state.
41:19
Education campaigns are also run in schools. Many wanted nothing to do with the children of temple prostitutes. They do not carry their father’s name and thus become pariahs.
41:31
Like her mother, Huligemma is a devadasi. She has two daughters.
41:36
Interview
Huligemma
Devadasi
The married men are proud of their families. Here, they only come and go. They don’t care what happens to me. I don’t want that for my daughters. They should go to school and university after that.
41:53
Rashma and Pavithra know what the devadasi system amounts to. They had to learn about it the hard way.
42:00
Interview
Pavithra
16 years old
I have friends at school. But inside, we feel that we are the children of devadasis. When we get asked for our father’s name, everybody knows, because we can’t provide one. It makes it even more humiliating for us.
42:18
Three times a year, the goddess Huligamma is revered even more than usual – like here during the full moon festival. Thousands come to pay her homage.
42:34
Except for maybe the priests, nobody knows for sure how many girls will this time be dedicated to the goddess, even though it is forbidden.
42:49
Traditions are kept alive by people. As a Hindu, you accept life as it is, hoping for a better existence after reincarnation. But women are now fighting for their rights with the support of self-help groups. They no longer want to be second-class citizens. And it is hard to believe that the will of a goddess would be to condemn young girls to a life of prostitution.
Text ends at 43:18
Images end at 43:46