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The Role of Caste in Prostitution: Culture and Violence in the Life Histories of Prostitutes in India Thesis

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The Role of Caste in Prostitution: Culture and Violence in the Life Histories of Prostitutes in India Thesis Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs The Role of Caste in Prostitution: Culture and Violence in the Life Histories of Prostitutes in India Thesis How to cite: Rozario, Mary Rita (1998). The Role of Caste in Prostitution: Culture and Violence in the Life Histories of Prostitutes in India. MPhil thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 1998 The Author https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.0000fed1 Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk 0(fVi2err/^tcT THF. ROLE OF CASTE IN PROSTITUTION: CULTURE AND VIOLENCE IN THE LIFE HISTORIES OF PROSTITUTES IN INDIA by Sr. Mary Rita Rozario, R.G.S. A thesis submitted to the Open University United Kingdom in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy The Oxford Centre for Mission Studies Oxford, UK April, 1997 ProQuest Number: 27696842 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 27696842 Published by ProQuest LLO (2019). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLO. ProQuest LLO. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.Q. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from the thesis, nor any information derived therefrom, may be published without the author's prior written consent. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am immensely grateful to Rev. Dr. Vinay Samuel (Executive Director), Rev. Dr. Christopher Sugden (Director of Academic Affairs), Dr. Kwame Bediako (Chairman), Mr. Simon JXumby (Registrar), Ms. Hilary Guest (Assistant Registrar), Ms. Jane Martin (Editor), Ms. Korklu Laiyea (Librarian) and staff, the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, U.K., for the academic, financial and all assistance extended to me during the course of this research in India, Holland and United Kingdom. My appreciation and gratitude goes to Dr. Marcus Banks (Director of Studies), Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Oxford, United Kingdom; Dr. Thanh-Dam Truong (Supervisor) Institute of Social Sciences, The Hague, The Netherlands; and Dr. Paul Preston (Supervisor), The Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, Oxford, United Kingdom, for helping to shape many of the ideas in this research with critical acumen, efficient guidance, sympathetic support and steadfast commitment to the completion of this study. I owe my thanks to the Director (Caritas, The Netherlands) and Ms. Miep Beuving (Secretary, Caritas, The Netherlands) for the financial, academic and all assistance extended during the period of my stay in India, The Netherlands and United Kingdom. My thanks to Dr. Jan Visser (Do Graff Foundation, Amsterdam), Dr. Thanh-Dam Truong (Institute of Social Sciences, The Hague) and Rev. Fr. Alexsis, O.F.M (Uthrect) for their academic, library and all services extended during my stay in Holland and U K My sincere thanks to Bryden Black (Australia) for his financial assistance for this study in U K and India. I am deeply indebted and grateful to the women and girls in prostitution in India who shared their life experiences generously. At this moment I recall with love and gratitude, the memory of those women and girls who having shared their life experiences have passed away during the course of this study, with the hope that other women and girls in India may have a better life in the Indian society. I am grateful to Professor Saral Chatteiji and Mrs. Jyotsna Chatteiji (CISRS & JWP, New Delhi) for permitting me to use the data collected for my study; to Professor P.Ramachandran (Head of the Department of Research Methodology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Trombay, Mumbai), for providing me the necessary guidance during my study in Mumbai. My thanks to Dr. Hazel D’Lima (Director, College of Social Sciences, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai), Desai (Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Trombay, Mumbai) and Director, S.N.D.T College, Mumbai, for the use of their College libraries. My special thanks to Mrs. Rosemary and Mr. Jeremy Herklots, Oxford, UK for their patient computer services and contribution in regard to printing and binding works. I am immensely grateful to Sr. Liliane Tauvette (Superior General of the Good Shepherd sisters, Rome, Italy), Sr. Sabina Pathrose (Provincial, India) and sisters. Sr. Lucina Wagon (Provincial, U K) and sisters, for extending the necessary permissions, financial assistance and services during the course of this study. I sincerely thank my family (my sister Ms. Violet Rozario who passed away during this study) and my relatives in India and U K for all assistance given me fi*om the inception of this study. There are many who have offered me help and support in numerous capacities over the years of my study in order not to leave any of them I wish to express my gratitude to this group who have on their own way been of incalculable assistance. CONTENTS PARTI CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 OBJECT OF THE STUDY 1 0 1.2 PROSTITUTION AND PROSTITUTE/THE QUESTION OF DEFINITION 10 1.3 PROSTITUTION AND PROSTITUTE IN INDIA TODAY 14 1.3.1 Prostitution viewed as a female phenomenon 14 1.3.2 The association of heterosexuality with prostitution 15 1.3.3 The psociation of males as clients and females as prostitutes 16 1.3.4 The idea of males (involved in prostitution) as economically independent and females (involved in prostitution) as economically dependent 16 1.3.5 The association of transvestites with female prostitutes 17 1.3.6 The law related to prostitution in India and female prostitutes 17 1.3.7 The association of penal measures with female prostitutes 17 1.3.8 Dichotomization of adult and child prostitution 18 1.3.9 Adult prostitution seen as free from violence 19 1.3.10 The association of Scheduled Castes with prostitution 20 1.4 CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGIES RELATED TO CASTE 20 1.4.1 The concept of caste 20 1.4.2 Caste and power 22 1.4.3 Caste, class and political power 22 1.4.4 Brahmins, Kshatriysa, Vaishyas, Shudras (Sudras) and the Scheduled Castes 23 1.4.5 Depressed classes, Harijans, Scheduled Castes/Dalits 24 1.4.6 Caste 'not applicable' 25 1.4.7 Caste and the Indian Constitution 25 1.5 CUT.TURE AND VIOLENCE IN THE DAY TO DAY LIFE OF THE SCHEDULED CASTES IN THE INDIAN SOCIETY 26 1.5.1 The situation of Scheduled Caste men, women and children 26 1.5.2 The situation of Scheduled Caste women and children in India today 27 1.5.3 'Passivity' in the face of marginalization and exploitation 27 1.6 THE SITUATION OF WOMAN AND GIRLS IN INDIA TODAY DESPITE THEIR HIGH LEGAL STATUS 30 1.6.1 Reasons presented for legalization of prostitution in India 31 1.7 STUDIES AND THEORIES RELATED TO CAUSATIVE FACTORS FOR ENTRY INTO PROSTITUTION 32 1.8 STUDIES RELATED TO PROSTITUTION IN INDIA 35 1.9 THE RATIONALE OF THIS STUDY 36 1.9.1 Bom prostitute','black', and'primitive'theories 36 1 .10 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK AND THE UNDERLYING PHILOSOPHY OF THIS STUDY 37 I.II THE ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY 42 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY 47 2.1 NEED FOR AN APPROPRIATE METHODOLOGY 50 2.2 SCRUTINY OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES 53 2.2.1 Conventional research methodology 53 2.2.2 Ethnography 53 2.2.3 Participatory research methodology 54 2.2.4 The narrative study of lives research methodology 54 2.3 CHOICE OF ECLECTIC METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH 54 2.3.1 Formulation of an interview schedule 55 2.3 .2 Place of interview 57 2.3.3 Typologies of prostitution 61 2.3.4 The‘working hours’ of prostitutes 61 2.4 PREPARATION OF THE ASSISTAOT FOR FIELD WORK 62 2.5 PREPARATION OF THE RESEARCHER FOR FIELD WORK 63 2.6 AN EXPERIENCE OF DATA COLLECTION 64 2.7 DISAPPEARANCE OF THE FIELD ASSISTANT 68 2.8 INTERVIEWS IN INSTITUTIONAL SETTING 69 2.9 LIMITATIONS OF INTERVIEWING RESPONDENTS IN nstSTmrnoNAL settin g s 70 2.10 A NON-INDIAN OFFERING TO ACCOMPANY ME FOR DATA COLLECTION 70 2.11 ARREST OF MY SECOND FIELD WORK ASSISTANT 71 ui 2.12 AREA OF DATA COLLECTION AND SAMPLE SIZE 73 2.12.1 Table 3; Place ofdata collection and sample size 73 2.12.2 Table 4: Area of data collection: the four year national study (1983-86) 74 2.13 QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF DATA COLLECTION ' 76 2.14 OPPORTUNISTIC SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 76 2.15 CODING, TABULATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS 77 2.16 CALL FOR HUMANITARIAN SERVICE AT THE TIME OF DATA COLLECTION 78 2.17 THE HUMAN AND PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION TO DATA COLLECTION 79 CHAPTER 3 CASTE, GENDER AND SEXUALITY 80 3.1 INTRODUCTION 80 3.2 CASTE 81 3.3 ONE SOCIETY, ONE CULTURE 84 3.4 COMPLEX SOCIETIES 84 3.5 CONCEPT OF PURITY-POLLUTION 86 3.6 WOMEN, CASTE AND GENDER 87 3.7 GENDER 87 3.7.1 Inversion of value and power in relation to women 88 3.7.2 The paradox of virgin and whore 89 3.8 DUAL PERCEPTION OF FEMALENESS: SEXUALITY 91 3.8.1 Women as sakti 91 3.8.2 Subjugation of women legitimized 91 3.8.3
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