Lifting the veil of silence: Jamuna's narrative of pain.

Abstract

This article relates the story of the life of Jamuna, a married mother of two boys and a girl living among a scheduled caste in India. The female researcher had been interviewing Jamuna's husband, who sells excess cloth to wholesalers and is active in the Bahujan Samaj Party, which is seeking to liberate India's lower castes. Jamuna usually ignored the female researcher or treated her curtly. The researcher, however, invited herself to lunch at Jamuna's house one day, and Jamuna unexpectedly began talking about her life while she prepared the food. Jamuna refers to her husband as "Bhim's father" (Bhim is her oldest son). Bhim's father rules the household, controls the money, never consults his wife, and treats her like a servant. Jamuna looks much older than her estimated 25 years. She was engaged when she was 8, never attended school, and was kept indoors. Her children attend an expensive school, and her husband wants them all to stay in school as long as possible and then get jobs. Jamuna was married to Bhim's father because his family did not demand a dowry. Both families have small farms, but her family grows more crops and makes more money. She used to live with her in-laws but now they avoid her. Jamuna feels strongly that girls should be married early to avoid disgrace. Jamuna was shocked by menstruation and intercourse. After her third delivery, Bhim's father allowed her to become sterilized. She hates her husband and believes he hates her. He treats her like a slave and insults her. His only virtue is that he ignores other women. Jamuna has no friends or confidants. She was not consulted about the move from the village to Delhi. When Bhim's father is away, she has to tend to his business and risk his anger over her mistakes. After this outpouring, Jamuna retreated to silence when the interviewer came to visit.