IN THARU SOCIETY OF WEST CHAMPARAN : STATUS OF THARU WOMEN

STATUS OF WOMEN IN THARU SOCIETY

(WEST CHAMPARAN/BIHAR/INDIA)

The 

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The  Tharu women enjoy a dominant position in the society. It may seem to be a paradox to us that in a patriarchal society, which the Tharus of West Champaran have, women do command a very respectable position in their society. Most importantly, girls are not taken as burden on the family.

Photo (c) Dr Ajay kumar Ojha

Dominant position of the Tharu women is rooted in the culture of the Tharu society. The position of women in the Tharu society is not that of a family drudge as one may find in the societies of the Bajis(non-Tharus). 

The Tharu women have considerable freedom and wield great influence in the domestic sphere. The significant role of Tharu women in economic and social spheres of Tharu life can never be underestimated.

Customs and conventions of the Tharu society have not been properly understood, rather they have been misconceived, misrepresented and mis-interpreted. Customs are the integral part of the Tharu culture and here lies the reason for their dominant role in the society. They need to be analyzed from cultural relativist approach not ethnocentric one.

Photo(c) Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha

The customs of the Tharu women of West Champaran seem to be very unique and interesting for it gives a lot of elbowroom for the lady-in-charge of the house to maintain her dominance. 



But  irony is that these beautiful vulnerable simple Tharu women are branded as characterless and corrupt and all kinds of oppression and even sexual exploitation seem to have been practiced and perpetrated upon them for decades.