Sex, lies and tribals: The grim saga of expolitation in Wyanad

Worried over the increasing number of unwed young mothers in Wyanad, the Kerala Women's Commission has asked the state government to set up a DNA centre to prove the fatherhood of illegitimate children in this predominantly tribal district.

A two-day fact-finding mission by KWC members in the hilly areas of Mananthavady, Pulpally and Sultan Battery in the district has startled the authorities.

Some 170 unmarried tribal girls with one or more children came to the Commission, pleading that they do not know who the fathers of their offspring are.

"I am a daily wage earner in the paddy fields. The men (landlords) tempted me to their houses. But I became pregnant before I knew that I was sexually being exploited by them," 18-year old Pallavi told the KCW

"I want to marry my daughter's father. But I do not know who he is," she said. Many other tribal girls like Pallavi now want their alleged perpetrators either to marry them or to pay them hefty compensation to bring up their children.

The KWC has offered to help these unwed mothers. To begin with, it has asked the Wyanad district collector to conduct DNA tests on 70 children whose mothers have named their alleged exploiters.

"If the DNA tests on these children prove their fatherhood, the tormentors of the poor tribal women will be dragged to the courts and made to marry them," KWC member T Devi told Rediff On The NeT.

But the district authorities have informed the KWC that conducting blood tests on 70 children and their alleged parents is a costly exercise as the nearest DNA testing centre is in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

Thus the Commission has asked the E K Nayanar government to immediately set up a DNA testing unit in Wyanad. Establishing such a unit will cost the government nearly Rs 15 million. 'But considering the nature of sexual exploitation and the large number of fatherless children in Wyanad, a DNA centre is an utmost necessity,' the KWC recommendation to the state government said.

The KWC said rich landowners sexually exploit the tribal girls through temptation, kidnapping, cheating and rape.

"Kerala may be a fully literate state. But the high level of literacy has not trickled down to the tribal areas of Wyanad with the result that sexual oppression produces more children than out of marriage among the tribals," said Devi.

KWC member M Kamalam says Wyanad has the dubious distinction of being one of the most backward districts in India. "We are worried that the economic discrimination and sexual exploitation of the tribals and backward classes in Wyanad is a serious social issue that the government should take up on a war footing," she told Rediff On The NeT.

"Ignorance about marriage and panchayat laws among tribals is the root cause for the sexual harassment in the district," she said.

Forced by the ills that afflict Wyanad's tribals, the KWC has decided to set up exclusive family council centres in the tribal pockets of the district. The family council teachers will work among the tribals, educating them to resist the sexual exploitation from the rich landlords.

The family councils will teach the tribals that marriage is a legal necessity before entering into any sexual contacts and marriages have to be registered in their respective panchayats.

"There are 13 exclusive women's rights which tribals are not even heard of. Therefore we hope to educate them on the social rights, cultural rights, right of privacy and honour, right to motherhood, the termination of pregnancy act etc," KWC Director and Inspector General of Police Dr Alexander Jacob said.

"The government is worried about the illegitimate children in Wyanad. We are launching a women's rights movement in the district to fight against the sexual oppression of tribals there," he told Rediff On The NeT.