Rameswaram women make waves in fishing community

Fishing is generally a business associated only with men as there is a conception that only fishermen venture into the sea and face rough seas. It may be true in other areas but not in Rameswaram as women in fishing community are tough and venture into the sea just like men. 

Chinnapalam is a small fishing village near Pamban where around 300 fishermen families reside. Here, while the men follow the usual practice of men going to sea in the early morning and returning the next day, the women too have taken to fishing because of lack of sufficient money to run the household. Drinking is a menace that the village is a victim to and most men tend to spend a lot of their earnings on alcohol, forcing the women to look for means of extra income and hence, they ventured out to the sea.

Initially, the women would collect seaweeds and sell dried algae but since they made very little out of it, they decided to take up fishing.

Speaking to DT Next, Lakshmi, a resident of Chinnapalam, said that her husband’s earnings were not sufficient to run the family and so they started to fish. The sea in Pamban is not so deep for five to six nautical miles and they manage to fish within the zone. 

With this, the women are able to earn at least Rs 300 a day, said Lakshmi. 

Another fisherwoman, Rasathi, also from Chinnapalam, said that on many occasions they carry their children to sea and work more carefully than men in protecting the kids. “We drag nets full of fish on their own and face no difficulty in doing the work at all,” said Rasathi.