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| For Sweats of Fishermen and Fisherwomen |
Is empowering EASY or Difficult?
Is it a challenge?
Those questions comes into my mind at this
moment. but i know that it is a popular thing that most people discuss
yet remain as something ' important day by day'
sometimes, you cannot genderly differentiate
the issues that has most of us face. sometimes such things get no colour
of human gender, it has nothing to do with heredity or genetic factors
often some issues has something to do with 'human perceptions', their attitudes
some of them cannot be changed easily
sometimes it is difficult to convince people of 'importance of most the
things, how you should respect , value people's contributions to their
respective fields, areas of knowledge
,
'Fishing Industry' is a popular topic
worldwide, I do not know about the ministries of fishing - global and i
do not know whether people of authorities, big seats try to popularize
'fish' accurately or in what level they try to give adequate recognition
that the people who directly involved in the industry at grass-root
level even as a motivation factor.
this isn't a teeny weeny topic, facets of fish industry, you can think of a troller full
Inland fishing is differ from popular fishing that we all know or enjoy discussing always
this poor effort is to not to talk about
popular fishing that all know but at least to some extent, to talk about
things mentioning below
if we stay outside the net we get no chance
to 'improve', rich in information, other sides of popular topics,
Gayathri is reminding all of us, i believe
we need to try see through beyond traditional nets'
at least such some of the nets we know are transparent and visible , you can do nothing or less about wikileak type nets but 'you can do what ever possible to take our women out of 'traditional torn nets 'towards a better place where they get enough of recognition for their involvements
lets try analyze .......................
Customs, Traditions, Norms and Values play an important role
in most part of the world. Sometimes such things have the power to change
people’s lives. Some may argue that such things may not provide any chances to ‘explore’
any new areas of their desires objectives, aims, targets of lives, related to
their livelihoods or otherwise.
Why?
Why cannot you break such traditions and customs and go beyond
that?
Often, some questions them
‘No person of such societies should disobey the social rules or
ethics’ that people of any society have been practicing for decades’, that is
what culturally socially or otherwise people expect from the single term ‘Society’
, from every individual member of the mentioned or analyzed societies
That is the other side of the picture, if you are a member
that disobeys customs or traditions ‘you do not get recognition from the
society that respect such informal laws of societies’. Everything is
interconnected
Customs and traditions, any or every similar thing also have a
certain power to control human behaviours , the society as a whole to certain extent,
to certain levels .
According to some such systems of societies really helps people
to stay without ‘filling’ the ‘complaints books with this and that of things
that society or law recognize as crime or something offensive or punishable.
Taboos for instances
Sometimes some customs, traditions norms and values not
applicable to certain groups of the society and even some do not even oppose
against such things
Some customs traditions norms are specifically has something
to do with ‘women’s puberty’
Women are not allowed to entered in to certain parts of the paddy
lands specially when some ‘activities related to ‘harvesting’ takes place, they
are not allowed to enter when they are ‘unclean’, according to customs and
traditions, beliefs, though such things are inevitably have something to do
with ‘biological’ matters or physiological matters
BUT my question is how do they take such things personally?
I do not want to vies such things from the eyes of ours, I want
to view them read them, analyze them from ‘their point of view’
If they do not consider such things as something that block or
slower their enhancement in what ever they do?
If people, society, experts say such things slower or baring ‘improvement’,
or development of any groups, socially, economically or even politically; how
hard it could be to ‘change people’s mind sets’, especially when the group
affected do not consider them as something bothering them
Recently I read ‘Outside the Net’, written by Gayathri Lokuge
She is raising some questions related to women’s involvements
in fishing related activities, by providing us a picture of a fishing community
in Trincomalee that she has visited, for academic reasons.
According to what I felt she is unhappy of the ‘institutional RECOGNITION
they get for their involvement in fishing related activities. Or she suggests
that they should get more recognition for their contribution
I wondered whether the ‘women of that community, society or
the women who actively involved in any related activities, ‘think the same way’
that she thinks about ‘Outside the net’
Do they think or take it as something ‘that barred or
something that devalue their contribution’?
I believe or think the way that Gayathri thinks
I think it is good if they can involve in any activities they
wish with no outside issues. That is important when you find ‘female headed
households’ in the community.
If they want to involve in other activities such as trolering
or fishing in deep sea , or smoother sea close to coasts, other than ‘repairing
nets’, drying fishes’, providing meals , selling fish markets, lending money (?),
they should get the chance
But that is what you and eye think, what about them?
What do they want?
If they prefer providing meals for fishermen who fish in deep
sea, is it something to do with their ‘levels of Education, lack of awareness
on how other women in towns or in other societies deals with things related to
life?
I hope that we are not trying to ‘frame them, multi bonding
them in the fishing community’ without really thinking of helping them moving
out of traditional tasks, if you take the traditional women s role in a fishing
community?
What percentage of women involved in traditional fishing
related activities?
Any changes over years?
I do believe that they should get enough of recognition for
what ever task they do to ‘improve their livelihoods’, for the sake of their
own families’, for the sake of the industry, we cannot forget the importance
that it holds
How do they understand the term ‘recognition’?
How do they analyze it?
How do the members of their families, community members take
it, understand it, and analyze it?
Were they unhappy about the way they were treated within the ‘family,
community, and outsiders?
If they do not oppose against they ‘staying outside the net’
while others are happily ‘’inside’, how are we going to empower them?
Do you think that they do not explore their lives beyond that
line because of such things, ‘net bars’?
Do they consider it as something male dominated task?
What other activities they involved in so that we can try help
them, or we can push ‘the authorities’ (think of plans: -)) to help them to ‘move
out side the community barricades (if they think so) via the activities they
are already involved in.
How important it is to encourage them to move with the ‘mass society’,
move effectively with the ‘Network of other fishing societies outside to their
own community, (Samithi, groups)?
If they are already, somewhat, or to some extent not involved
in catching fish legally or ‘illegally’, for example, dynamiting to get more
harvest? What can we do to legalize their involvement’?
Do you think that we should suggest that ‘women also should
get the chances to obtain license (?) for ‘legal fishing’
How do you think or suggest that such rules should enter into
the ‘POLICIES’ related?
Did you find any groups of ‘the ministry of women’s affairs’
visited / visiting the community by any chance, for any reason?
How do they, women of the community participate in meetings,
if they have a ‘fishing society’ (Dheewara samithiya)
What do you think of the women’s participation in CBO’s (Community
Based Organizations) such as ‘Fishing societies?
Did you observe any female members actively participating in
meetings, any female office bearers, do they ‘represent themselves in the samithiya
/ society?
Do you think that they try to earn the recognition they think
is important, we think important?
Do they really want to stay inside the net? Or Prefer Outside
the net?
I think that it is an important ‘economical segment’ of our
country that is why we have a ‘MINISTRY’ to look after that industry?
It is not always about ‘how to catch ‘prawns
and toona’ and
how to sell them for many dollars or pounds, it is also about the ‘work
force of fishing Industry’,
their contribution, solving day to issues they face, (big or tiny), it
is about in reality ‘how much they get’, the big portion, without really
entering into the packets of
the ‘fish brokers’, dealers
It is about Right Identification of Fishing Zones, we do not
want bullets in the heads of the men and women involved in fishing in Sea due
to unawareness, due to lack of knowledge on set fish rules
It also about ‘ Sharks of the industry eats haalmessas’ , it is
about torn nets of fishes , it is about RESPECTING THEM FOR THEIR SWEATS
invested
Finally it is about their safety as well
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