South Asian Women face Discrimination Twice over

By SIMONE HOEDEL
published in Fall/Winter 1993

An Indo-Canadian woman rises to her feet in the Langara faculty lounge to tell a group of approximately 30 South Asian women how her husband refuses to acknowledge her child simply because she is a girl.

The woman is emotional as she tells her listeners about the humiliation she now faces as a wife and mother.

'We used to be an example of a model marriage," she said. "Now my marriage is ruined."

The woman told her story at Mahila Milan (a meeting of women), a conference for South Asian women held at Langara last weekend.

The two day conference, which included a workshop on violence against women, was organized by the India Mahila Association (IMA). It brought together women of various backgrounds, who shared their experiences as South Asian women living in a very different culture, and as women within their own very patriarchal culture.

The women murmur and nod their heads in sympathy when they hear this Indo-Canadian woman's predicament, and offer support and advice.

She is taking her husband to court to order blood tests to prove he is the father of her daughter. Without his acknowledgement, the child will have no name and no standing in the Indo-Canadian community. The woman is herself an exile.

"Now I am facing isolation in my own community," she said.

In fact, many South Asian women are in the same situation.

"Our (Indo-Canadian) newspapers don't talk about these issues because they are male dominated," said another woman.

The group agreed racism and discrimination are aspects of everyday life for most South Asian women, and that these problems are systemic and institutional. The immigration system is a prime example of this.

"Indian women are threatened with deportation if they step out of line," said Jyoti Sanghera, who presented highlights of an IMA needs assessment report.

"The immigration department is instrumental in keeping us dependent and powerless."

"The immigration process is constantly a sword hanging over our heads," she said.

The women at this conference also agreed the school system should include education on racism issues.

Nandita Sharma, another woman at the conference, said, "But we don't want 'unlearning racism' workshops. We want anti-racism workshops."