interviews take one

My first week of interviews is complete. We interviewed about thirty women, starting with 12 on the first day. The first few interviews were clumsy, confusing and long. It did not help that half of Myrada was sitting in the room, which made it seem more like interrogation than just a simple interview. Of course the training director who had berated me for being late a day earlier, showed up three hours late, only to interrupt and then proceed to take over the second interview. He treats the women so badly, it embarasses me to be in his company. However, these women are either not aware of it, or realize that they cannot do much to change things (I'm not sure which is worse).

He talks down to everyone, and is typical bougie Indian yelling from his desk for everything from dialing a number to a cup of tea. Moreover, when he sees me, he talks to me like I am a child. This lasted about 2 hours before I got really angry and came out guns a blazing the day after I was ill. I laid out my requests, was curt, direct and used such a strong voice that suddenly he was at least paying attention. I have to give him another dose of "American bitch-in yo face don't mess with me because i'm meaner than i look" tomorrow because instead of telling ME (the person in charge of the research) about who was accompanying us to villages, he found it easier to tell my translator, Vijay ( a man). Grrrrrr.

In any case, the first day ended with a really great interview. I got to interview, Janakamma, a really wonderful woman, about 35 years old. She lives with her four children, her husband and her aging parents. At first, I think her family was really skeptical of me (as most people are) but soon after we both warmed up to one another, and I had a really wonderful time. She is one of those women you can't forget because she inspires something in you. Her four children are really sweet, especially her 13 year old daughter, whose birthday it was. (I think I was way more excited than the little girl was!) We sat on the floor with the family in her living room (most other interviews happened at the Myrada RC buildings) and talked through the interview like it was a regular conversation. She had really detailed answers and was really willing to explain things to me. I even got to ask her mom some questions. She wants to send her children all for higher education. At present, she works in her own family shop and also acts as a bookkeeper for several other SHGs, since she unlike most of the women I have met, has attended school till SLC (10th grade) level. (Her mom, when I asked, mentioned that she wanted to send her daughter to school because she had not gotten the opportunity to complete because of marrying so early and having children etc.)

This interview was in stark contrast to the women I spoke with yesterday morning who basically contested the purpose of having a female child study beyond the seventh grade. The woman, about 35 years old, answered forcefully when I asked why girls shouldn't be sent to school. "There isn't any point! Besides its not safe to send them to school far away." I probed some more and she explained that girls "will go to thier husband's homes, its up to thier husbands to decide whether the women will leave the home. " This particular group of women were all of the Muslim community. From what Rafi has told me, a significant majority of Muslim families throughout this area do not allow young women to leave the home after a certain age. Married women are more likely to have a chance to leave their home to work, but single women, are pretty much banned beyond a certain age. (Also, a lot of women around this area wear the full hijab, I was surprised both at the size of the Muslim community and how traditional some of them are.)

I did meet two Muslim women on Friday, whose children had studied beyond 7th grade and actually mentioned that they would like to see thier grandchildren seek higher education. (These women were however, in the town and not in the rural villages, I am wondering if this makes a difference.)

I was surprised to know how many women had never even gotten to attend school. I expected this from the women who were 40+, but was surprised to find that most of the younger women, many of which are around my age (25-35 years old) have never even attended school.

However, when we ask the "future plans" question, more often than not, people will hope for the higher education for thier children/grandchildren (where relevant). Most of them link education to improved economic status through way of "better jobs" especially government jobs, which have good pay and benefits.

It is hard to make a deep connection with the women, because I spend so little time with them. Many of them, from what I understand actually think that I am a white woman from America, and not an Indian from America. Most of the time, the translator gives a short explanation of why I am there, but many are skeptical as to why I would bother. (not all, but especially in the poorer villages, they are very skeptical.) Moreover, many of them, when I ask "do you have questions for me?" will respond that they wish I would contribute to the sangha. To which I have to politely respond (through the translator) "I'm sorry but I am just a student etc."

Finally, it is interesting how people react to me, even when I am decked out (each day) in a salvar kameeze (tunic and baggy pants that make up traditional indian wear). The children in villages and pretty much everyone else (men and women alike) will come to wherever we are interviewing and just watch me and when I look over and smile at the children, they giggle and act really shy. The whole thing is really interesting, becuase they really do view me as a complete stranger.

more later. i think i will leave the internet cafe, three hours of broadband is enough even for this internet junkie:) and head back to do some results...

also, (it aint over till i sing!) i have to say that while i was initially lonely, having some books and music has really had a great effect... i wish i could interact with the community more in the evenings... but unless i drag my translator to each village after work hours and ask him to help me talk to people, i am basically in a silent world...bc kannada is still quite foreign (even though there are some cognates with tamil). i am really awaiting my short field study period in tamil nadu, because at least then i will be able to talk to people....

lastly i hate being on other people's time.... i want to do things when i want to..but i have to wake up eat breakfast at the same time, and dinner etc.. its sooooooooo bizarre!

okay ... i think this was more venting than an informative blog post :) more adventures to come!!!!

(to my readership...thank you) readership = akka! :)