Women in Anantapur

Profile- Women in Anantapur
Varsha Dugar


The condition of women is the best reflection of the condition of society. Any aspect – poverty, education, caste, employment - proves that India is still a patriarchal society and women are still the lesser sex. It is more so in the interior parts of Andhra, especially in Anantapur. 


Anantapur is known for being the second driest district in India. Women walking miles to fetch drinking water for their families, bear the brunt of this fact. Dr. Imam of Telugu magazine, Kadalika says “women spend a lot of time in fetching water and even fight for it. Also, most houses use fuel-wood for cooking and hence, women suffer from respiratory problems.” 


Respiratory problems however do not deter young girls from cooking. In SheikhShanipalli, young girls, hardly ten years old, struggle with the fuel-wood “chulha.”
Gulzar aged 16, studies in class X in the government school in Garikkapalli. A girl her age in the cities would expectedly be computer-savvy, participate in extra-curricular activities and even be in a relationship. Gulzar instead, helps her mother manage a chilly bhajji shop from their home. She knows nothing of computers, doesn’t speak English and is going to be married later this year. She does not have the options that her counterparts enjoy in the cities.


Srikrupa who is 17, from Raptadu is better off. She commutes daily to her college in Anantapur  and also pursues ISET. She plans to do MBA. She too cannot speak English but plans to enroll in spoken English classes. She knows computer-basics and TALLY. She however, cannot operate the internet. The only computer available is in the village school, else  she has to travel to Anantapur, which is at least 5-6 km away from her village. 


The extent of patriarchal domination in Anantapur is evident by the fact that a large number of women are abandoned by their husbands. For these women there is no option of re-marriage. Most of them stay back at their in-laws’ putting up with discrimination and humiliation. 22 year old Lakshmi from Raptadu is one such example. When asked if she would remarry, she just left the place without saying anything. Her answer did not require words as many other women had already voiced what she could not say.


Caste is a very pronounced and accepted reality in the villages of Anantapur. Anantapur district boasts of 80% backward classes, with the remaining 20% dominating. It is more psychological than physical. Reddys and Kammas have historically been more powerful than the other castes. Dr.Imam says, “Only Reddys were nominated for the post of Village Munsi, which was abolished in 1984.” They still enjoy the same authority over the lower castes although the post has become non-existent.  Women bear this difference more than men.


Indramma 22, is a resident of SheikhShanipally. She lost the use of her legs the day she got married two years ago. The reason for her disability is baffling. She belongs to a Scheduled Caste. She walked through the Other Castes’ colony in a customary ritual after marriage. Being a SC she should not have entered the OC area, she says. It is this sin, the price for which is the loss of her limbs. Here, SC women are not allowed to touch the common borewells. An upper caste woman pumps out the water and pours it into their utensils from a distance.


Women are on the receiving end even in access to health. Umadevi of Nigiddi is not sure about her age. She says she could be about 20 or 22. Last month she had a miscarriage in the seventh month. There is no resident doctor in her village and no Public Health Centre. The pucca road is 4 kms away from her village. 


Kalavati, aged 25, from Mudiguppa, was married off at 13 and abandoned by her husband two years later since she could not bear children. The ration card is in her husband’s name and she refuses to take help from him. She works as an agricultural labourer. 


Even as labourers, women do not get a fair share in terms of remuneration for work. Both men and women in several villages accept that women get ten to twenty rupees lesser than men for the same amount of work.  


The story of the women whose husbands committed suicide is even more painful. Their husbands have left behind a lifelong legacy of debts and unmarried daughters. Meenakshi Amma of Shekshampally is one such verbally impaired whose husband consumed pesticide two months ago. He has left her a debt of 1,50000 rupees with three daughters to fend for. 


The problem for women in rural India and especially in places like Anantapur is not necessarily poverty. It is more a problem of lack of access to modern amenities and all the progress that globalization has brought to their urban counterparts. They are deprived at every level although they are just like us.