Virginia Woolf in Sangrur: A Stitching Center of One’s Own for Impoverished Farm Women

[theHandpuppet]

1. Thanks much for this article

I found the story of the stitching centers to be very poignant. My, how we take so much for granted by comparison.

As the author so rightly pointed out, the economic crisis faced by the rural poor, particularly farming families in the Punjab, is especially hard on women and girls:
"The partnership focuses on women, not only because they are overwhelming the forced breadwinners in the suicide-afflicted villages but also because prejudices against women and girls have deepened with economic blight. Villagers do not want to have daughters, especially in tough economic times. This makes girls, and those who birth girls, particularly vulnerable. Gender stereotypes, masked better by the middle-class, take on a brazen face in economically distressed families. When the entire agrarian society is overwhelmed by economic frustration, women’s bodies are increasingly accepted as sites of release. Respecting these bodies for their autonomy and enhancing their independence and security is at the core of the NGOs’ partnership."

These stitching centers may seem like a small stop-gap measure but for many women it is critical both financially and psychologically. If anyone out there would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Farmer Suicides Relief Fund: Adopt a Family Program, there is a link at the end of the article.