In spite of its name, the joginis of Dhanwada, a village in Mahbubnagar district of Telangana, lament the lack of dhan (money), protection and identity. They are shunned by society for having been forced into a tradition when they are too young to comprehend it.
The jogini tradition—marrying a girl to a village deity—though officially banned, is still prevalent in various parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Though many women have struggled to break out of this tradition, they wonder if they have done right, for the stigma stays. They continue to live on the fringes of society, shunned and insulted. Joginis are known by different names—Joginis in Medak and Warangal; Mathamma or Matangi in Nellore, Ongole and Prakasam; Basavi in Kurnool, Anantapur and Chittoor; Shiva Parvati and Paravathulu in Karimnagar; Thayaramma in Vizianagaram; Ambabai in Rangareddy and Devadasi in the coastal districts.
The jogini tradition is practised in the dry, arid regions of these states where poverty rules. Overcome by tradition and financial burden, parents 'marry' their daughters to a deity of a temple because they have vowed to do so. They do it in the blind belief that the gods will be pleased and their lives will improve. The deeply entrenched caste system plays a pivotal role in perpetuating such superstitions. These girls who are 'married' to the deity even before they attain puberty are forced to perform dances and are sexually exploited by village elders. Joginis are mostly dalits and are forced to serve men of the upper castes who believe sleeping with a jogini will bring them good luck. The children of joginis, too, face discrimination in society and are educationally and financially backward.
Though joginis are now trying to lead a normal life and blend into society, finding a livelihood is not easy for them as most of them are unskilled labourers. Neither do they know how to work on land as they have never owned property. Those who employ daily-wage labourers prefer couples because it is convenient and cheaper. Joginis stand to lose here because they do not have 'partners'. So, sometimes two joginis team up for the job and call themselves partners. Even then, finding work every day is a struggle. For, as young girls, they were forced to dance at weddings and funerals. Some of them are even today forced to perform at parties to the beats of popular film songs.
The jogini practice was outlawed by the Andhra Pradesh Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act in 1988 and steps were taken to rehabilitate the women. In fact, under the guidance of D.R. Garg, the district collector of Medak in the early 90s, about 32 jogini families from across Medak district were rescued. Among them were many girls under the age of 16. The district administration provided them houses in Sangareddy and named it Navodaya Colony. They were also given basic training in tailoring. Some women were offered jobs as cooks at a social welfare hostel in Isnapur. After working there for several years, they had to quit their jobs thanks to the decision of the government to cut their already nominal salaries by 50 per cent. While some women became domestic workers, some others opted for daily-wage labour. Later, many of them returned to their villages. A few still continue to live here, which came to be known as the Jogini colony. The houses are in shambles. But as Hajamma says, "At least we have shelter, a roof above our heads.” Hajamma, a jogini who has been brave enough to break out of the system, has joined the fight against this practice.
As Eeswaramma, a jogini working with the Jogini Vyatireka Mahila Sangham (JVMS) (Women against Jogini system) once told the media, “Earlier, they would marry off young girls from Scheduled Castes to gods in the villages. They are officially sex slaves to men of various other castes, forced to offer services when demanded. Today, families have adopted novel ways to keep this practice going.” Three years ago when Gauramma of Peddajetram village in Utkoor mandal was to get 'married' under this system, Narsamma and Tokka Bheemamma intervened.
In the Jeevana Jyothi scheme for joginis, a deposit of Rs 10 made them eligible to received Rs 60 every month for ten years. They were also entitled to a pension of Rs 200. But they received this measly sum only till 2005. Fighting for their rights, the women are now demanding a pension, but the government is clueless about where to accommodate the joginis. “We are seeking widow pension. We received it for a brief time and after that we started facing some absurd questions from officials. They ask, who is your husband? We tell them we are joginis. They say, you are married to god. God never dies. You cannot, hence, avail widow pension,” said Narsamma with tears in her eyes.
The Social Welfare Department, Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty and the International Labour Organisation have conducted several surveys on joginis. These, however, have not done enough to improve their lives. Half-baked initiatives of successive governments, too, offer no respite for joginis caught in the tussle between power and caste. When Telangana was formed in 2014, the joginis expected respite from the new government under K. Chandrasekhar Rao. Says Hajamma: “Why can’t they keep aside 10 per cent of the funds available to the SC Corporation for us? Why can’t we be part of the SC sub plan?”
On August 24, JVMS held a march to voice their demands, even as they were beaten by police, herded into a police van and taken away. Their demands included three acres of land and a house per family, Rs 1 to 5 lakh bank loan without surety, employment for their children who have passed class 10 or intermediate, Rs 3,000 as monthly pension, Rs 1,500 for physically handicapped joginis and implementation of Jogini Act.
“Karnataka has a separate corporation and each jogini [known by a different name in Karnataka] gets a monthly pension of Rs 2,000. Why can’t Telangana implement the same?” asks Hajamma. “Who will give us loans? What property or gold do we have for anyone to trust us and give us money?”
