POLICY ON UNWED MOTHERS: THROUGH THE PERISCOPE
By Surina Narula

August 2, 2004 - (The Hindustan Times) Orissa was in the news recently because it had an unprecedented number of young unwed mothers between the ages of 14 to 20. Shunned by society and rejected by their families they are allegedly falling into the hands of traffickers and an estimated 3000 girls are missing. Apparently they had been promised marriage and a good life. Frequent natural disasters in this area have made a large number of people destitute, making them easy targets of sexual exploitation. Neither the Indian government nor the local panchayat have come up with any positive solutions. Local NGOs have taken up the cause of these victims and are fighting for justice. It is quite sad to note the reaction of a local panchayati who says that we cannot help these girls because society will accuse us of encouraging such immoral behaviour.

Individual experiences and realities often bear no resemblance to the dominant discourses in society. It is interesting to note that in England in 1834 New Poor Law, unmarried mothers were considered undeserving welfare subjects.
Unmarried mothers were characterised as lying, manipulative, irresponsible, promiscuous, and sexually corrupt and as bad mothers. There is a commissioner's report that tells us, for example that "continued illicit intercourse has, in
almost all cases, originated with the females" and that "female in very many cases becomes the corrupter" the women"feel no disgrace".

Negative characterisation was restricted to women and rarely, if at all, extended to men. There was widespread hostility and opposition to the 1834 New Poor Law and it was criticized for 'operating a dual standard of morality and for allowing men to seduce women with impunity'. This law had a long-term effect and left England with a legacy of single unmarried mothers as stigmatised. Social policy, therefore, played a significant role in regulating and controlling women's sexuality by defining their responsibilities and diminishing their rights.

Almost two hundred years later we are facing a similar situation in Orissa. The poor girls of Orissa are going to be victimised by the rich farmers and the corrupt bureaucracy. History is supposed to be a great teacher. Are we in India,
going to go through a span of 200 years before we stop judging people on morality issues? Government policies are meant to alleviate the problems of society not perpetuate them. Panchayats in Orissa have been empowered recently
to take a greater role in policy. Empowering local people on areas of local issues may be the right way forward but on issues that affect the rights of women may not be such a good idea. Villages in India are still imbued with the
stereotypical image of Indian female sexuality more akin to the Victorian - the passive, pure and innocent woman. It is a very difficult task to separate dominant discourses in society on issues of morality and social policy, but that is
the only way forward for policy to be fair and just.

From: South Asia Citizen's Wire