Between Women: Indenture, Morality and Health

Abstract

[...]while she was the agent that threatened the colonial order, her contribution to the 1920 strikes was very different from the physical attacks against male colonial officials led by indentured women like Fulquhar, Rahiman, Rachael, Sonia, Mungri, Kalan, Ladu, Majullah, Hansraj, Dreemal, Hanki, Dwarka, Junkaom and Etwari. If we accept feminist scholar Uma Narayan's argument that Indian nationalism 'associated women with the preservation of Indian traditions, culture and spirituality' (133) then it is possible to suggest that the sexual exploitation of indentured women was chosen as a central focus by nationalist patriarchies to emphasise the moral status of women associated with monogamous marriages and motherhood. [...]as Indian women campaigned for the honour of their sisters in Fiji, they simultaneously 'colluded in the patriarchal regulation of female sexuality' (Welchman and Hossain xi).Of course, the counter-argument is that middle-class Indian women, who were economically privileged and had the leisure time to engage in such affairs, consciously employed patriarchal codes, for example, the honour/shame binary, to draw public attention to the exploitation of women labourers in Fiji, and in doing so, deconstructed patriarchal structures that oppressed other women. Indentured women also affirmed the need for these vital services. [...]given that health rights are intricately related to other rights like food, housing, employment, education and so forth, the Committee of Inquiry also contributed to the attainment of some of these rights as well. [...]when Dr. Staley developed a bond of trust with indentured women, she created a safe space to care for the vulnerable female body.