Report
praises wives of overseas Keralite workers
From
our correspondent
TRIVANDRUM — The
UN Fund for Population Activities’ State of the World
Population Report 2006 has paid glowing tributes to Kerala’s
more than a million wives of Gulf workers, who lead lonely
lives.
 A
chapter of the report entitled ‘A Passage to Hope-Women and
International Migration’ has commended the women left behind
by husbands working in the Gulf. It praised the women for the
fortitude with which they manage their families and educate
children, exuding a great sense of autonomy.
The report explores lives
of young women and young men from 10 countries who have ventured
into new lands to chase their dreams or to escape oppression,
war, poverty or misfortune. It profiles the lives of young women
and men from ten countries — Burkina Faso, Colombia, India,
Kenya, Liberia, Moldova, the Netherlands, the Philippines,
Suriname and Zambia.
Living away from husband
means solitude but at the same time it can be empowering for a
young woman: with her husband gone, she is the one taking
decisions, handling family finances, running the home and caring
for children and elderly in-laws.
The report showcases a
young homemaker Rajani, who took up the challenge of looking
after the family in the absence of her husband. A history
graduate at Kottakkal in Malappuram, Rajani had led a very
sheltered existence before her marriage. But after the marriage
she managed the affairs efficiently.
Daughter of a pharmacist,
Rajani initially objected to the alliance with the Gulf Keralite,
but she had to submit to the family will. She married
Unnikrishnan, working as a chief checker at the harbour in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2002 at the age of 20.
She met Unnikrishnan only
during the engagement ceremony. “Luckily we immediately liked
each other. The month and a half we spent together before he
went back to Jeddah, was perhaps the happiest time in my married
life”.
In a few weeks, Rajini had
become a ‘Gulf wife’ and had added responsibilities staring
at her. She had to take decisions, handle family finances, run
the home and care for children and elderly in-laws something
that she had never done in her life.
“I just learnt from
experience, and over the time I started to enjoy these
responsibilities because I knew I had the full support of my
husband in everything I did. So I feel positive, strong and
greatly empowered compared to my pre-marital days when I had
absolutely no control over my life”. Rajini is now hoping that
her husband will be able to find a job in a country that would
permit the family to be with him. The Centre for Developmental
Studies, Trivandrum had also studied the condition of ‘Gulf
wives’ and noted the empowerment they got.
Prof
S. Irudayarajan (CDS) says the Gulf wives’ “sense of
autonomy, independent status, management skills and experience
in dealing with the world outside their homes — all developed
the hard way — would remain with them for the rest of their
lives for the benefit of their families and the society at
large.
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