H.H.Mohrmen
A cursory study of the Khasi Pnar society, would give the impression that it is indeed a unique society that gives equal rights and privileges to both men and women. But scratch a little deeper and one will realize that there are certain areas where gender inequality is so obvious. The village administration in the Khasi and Jaintia hills is one such area.
I once attended a workshop at the IIM Shillong on the theme “Global and the Indigenous: Connecting the Discourses” In one of the sessions on the theme of governance, Tarun Bhartiya a renowned documentary film maker of the state; screened his short film titled, “When the Hen crows,” to give us a clear understanding of village administration system which prevails in the Khasi Jaintia hills. To be precise the documentary portrayed the kind of attitude the dorbar shnong have towards women who want to bring change in the society. The documentary portrayed the limited role that a woman can play in the day to day governance of the society. The documentary was about three women who used RTI and found that there were evidences of people in power misusing public money in the implementation of the MNREGA in the village. The immediate reaction of the dorbar shnong of Jongksha village was to ostracize (tait shnong) the women for daring to challenge the dorbar shnong.
The film makers deliberately used the popular Khasi Pnar phrase “When the hen crows, the world will come to an end” (manda kyn-ih da ki syiar kynthai tea da jan wai hi I pyrthai) to name the film because the entire problem was due to the influence of this old phrase. One can dismiss this as an old saying, but it is a phrase pregnant with meaning which also influences our attitude towards women especially those who dare to challenge the powers that be. We may say that these kinds of adages are archaic and obsolete but what happened in Jongksha village only proved that the saying is very much alive in the minds of people.
We must have all read the stories of Jongksha in the newspapers and some would still recall the prolonged confrontation, but how many of us care to ask what happened to the case, or what happened to the three women? Did the problem reach its logical conclusion? For three years the women and their supporters had to appear at the Madanrting Police Station because there was an FIR filed against them. This is the kind of reward we give women who dare to crow and the women of Jongksha village have to pay the prize for daring to ask questions.
There are other sayings which reflect a similar kind of social attitude we have for women such as, “Only those who wear a moustache/sport a beard can participate in the dorbar” and in some of my previous writings I challenged the first village in the Khasi Pnar society to elect a woman as the village head. Women are not expected to head any village dorbar (or become a Rangbah Shnong) because the nomenclature is biased towards male members of the society. The office is not meant for women by its very nomenclature since the person heading it is called Rangbah Shnong (male head of a village or headman) , so a woman can’t even think of becoming a Rangbah Shnong.
Then in the Pnar parlance we also have sayings like “Ka kchu ka siang” women are keepers of pots and pans when we refer to the opposite sex. The old adage literarily means that women’s rightful place is in the kitchen. This is not to suggest that the saying has a negative connotation, but the point is that a female member of the family is not only a mother, a daughter or a sister but she can also take a leadership role in the family and even in the society at large. We cannot simply draw a Lakshman-Rekha beyond which a woman cannot cross, because like any one of us there is no limit to what a woman can do.
I am only sharing these three phrases here, to drive home the point that these three powerful phrases describe the kind of attitude we still have towards women. These old sayings give the implication that in the Khasi Pnar society, women can be partners in the family and the society but cannot be trusted with leadership positions or be in decision making roles. In Jaintia hills, this situation is still very much alive and the case in point is the election to the daloiship. Till now women are not allowed to vote in any election to the daloiship. This is denying half the population their basic human rights. I can’t even understand how this office can be considered legitimate when half of the population does not take part in the election to the dolloiship?
In 1989-90 while I was pursuing my theological studies at the Unitarian College Manchester; which is part of the Northern Federation for training of ministers in Manchester city, a female student who was doing her research on status of women in the Bible, on knowing that I come from a society which holds women in high esteem requested for an appointment to interview me. During the course of our deliberation she remarked, “So your society is not a matriarchal but a matrilineal society.” This is the crux of the matter, women do not occupy a position in the society as some have often portrayed; she is merely a custodian of family heritage and the carrier of family lineage. Men still rule the roost.
Till today women are subordinate to men particularly in religious institutions and in religious affairs. We are yet to have women priests in Christian context and even in traditions which have both male female priests, the female priest is subordinate to the male. A woman cannot be a deacon in many Christian churches and the excuse that is given is that women already have their own organization (Seng Kynthei). That is basically where the problem is. Women are still being treated as inferior to men, therefore priesthood and deaconship is an exclusive male club. As long as women do not share the same status with men; if they are not treated at par with men in every sphere of life, it only confirms that there is no gender equality in the society.
In spite of all kinds of interpretation of our customs and tradition, there is indeed gender inequality in the Khasi-Pnar society. There is still this sharp line that separates what women can do and what they cannot do. As long as there is a list of do’s and don’ts for women and not for men, it indicates that there is no equality in the society.
After the Hon’ble High Court ruling on the issue of Rangbah Shnong the entire Khun u Hynniewtrep society is agog with debates on the implication of the ruling on the society. The KHADC has come up with its own Village Administration Bill and the JHADC too like Rip Van Winkle has woken up from its slumber to prepare its own bill. But the moot point is that these Bills do not talk of equal representation of women in the village administration!
The famous adage says, “there is nothing permanent in the world except change.” We have to change with changing times; we cannot carry on with customs and traditions which are undemocratic, impracticable and in some cases even illegal. In the national context we have done away with sati and with offering human sacrifices to Kali. We can change our customs and traditions because they are but styles, but what we cannot change is the foundation on which the tribe stands. These are the three cardinal principles ka tipbru tipblai, kamai ia ka hok and tipkur tipkha. These are like rocks upon which the Khasi Pnar tribe is built. These cardinal principles have to be observed in letter and spirit and by bringing gender equality. Equality of all creation is another unwritten principle of the community that has to be maintained.
As a community we still have a long way to go when it comes to giving woman her rightful place in the society and it should start from the grassroots.