Oppressed Within the Oppressed: The Patriarchal Hegemonic Discourse of Colourism on Dalit Women in Shahjadpur,Sirajganj,Bangladesh

Introduction

Girls are the prime colour-based victims and oppressed for the dark-black complexion by the patriarchal dominated social system in Bangladesh. The colour-based violence became a custom by normalizing the dowry and everyday-poking, e.g. Betachele (masculinity), Kala (black) and Hijra (transgender). A detached and marginalized group inhabited Bangladesh besides the so-called mainstream society, known as Dalits (Bob, 2007). They are exploited by the structural violence, historically in the Indian subcontinent; Bangladesh is not living outside that phenomenon (Mandal, 2013). Interestingly, within the them, based on colourism, we found an oppressed subaltern class, who are the dark-black-complexion girl (Ayyar & Khandare, 2013). However, Dalits are usually black-complexion people. Now a couple of questions can be raised—why the oppressed community regrets accepting the dark-black-complexion girls? What is the mechanism to exploit the girl and the family? What is the meaning of the ‘beauty’ to them?

Usually, as a dominating class, the Bangalee is an androcentric patriarchal society (Chakravarty, 2019). According to ‘Women and Men in Bangladesh, Facts and Figures 2018’, the population of Bangladesh is estimated 162.7 million, among them 81.3 million women and 81.4 million men are living in Bangladesh (Akhter & Islam, 2019). Although almost half of the population is female, the country is mostly governed by a patriarchal society. Where patrilineal, patrilocal, male-dominated, rural, social characteristics of most of Bangladesh mean that women are subjugated ‘weaker’ (Kabeer, 2003; Oakley & Momsen, 2005; Papanek, 1973). Even with no independent claim to the property, no link to the formal labour market and household decision-making power, women’s position is fragile, referred to as ‘silent and passive victims of patriarchy’ (Goetz & Gupta, 1996).

The marginalized and isolated Dalit community sees black skin colour as a curse of their women. According to their perception, black women are not considered as beautiful. As a result, after being born with black complexion, the girl child grows up and gets abused in many ways by family, relatives, neighbours and friends. The present attempt is to explore the triggering factors of exploitation with the dark-black-complexioned women living in the Dalit people in Bangladesh.

The research has been carried throughout 2020 and 2021 within the Dalit community of Shahjadpur in the Sirajganj district, Bangladesh. Here, unstructured survey questionnaires were used to do the field study along with observations, open and closed-door in-depth interviews. Especially dark-black-complexion women are chosen and organized one-to-one closed-door discussion by the three women authors of this paper. The case study of two Dalits was conducted using pseudonyms instead of their original names in this study.

Simultaneously, advertisements on television, radio, newspapers and billboards have been monitored to determine how cosmetics, especially bleaching creams advertisements, affect colour-based racism in society.

Observably, social isolation is a significant obstacle for the Dalits, which has made them insecure. Besides, the women living in this society are socially oppressed just for being born with dark-black complexion, which become abusive mentally and monetarily. This obnoxious social custom sinks them in deep frustration. A gloomy expression became a normalized outlook. They also become socially isolated among Dalits—the attempt is to explore this racist hegemonic isolation in the Dalit people. This research work can be told as the story of a cursed life of ‘being born with a dark-black-complexion’ in the Dalit people.

The Overview of Dalit Women in Bangladesh

Dalit community is considered untouchable in Hinduism’s caste system in the South Asian region. It is estimated that currently about 5.5 million Dalits are living in Bangladesh (Chowdhury, 2009; DSS, 2021; Islam & Parvez, 2013). According to various studies, the Dalits in Bangladesh are divided into 94 sections: Bnashfore, Hela, Lalbegi, Domar, Hari, Balmeki, Telegu, Behara, Dai, Nikari, etc. are notable. Although the Constitution of Bangladesh states that to ensure equal rights and dignity for all citizens, unfortunately, in the social context, Dalits remain oppressed in all aspects, especially rural Dalits are highly vulnerable. Among them, Dalit women’s condition is the most deplorable (Ahmed et al., 2000).

The Dalits are isolated from the mainstream and live a miserable life in various places in Shahjadpur. The survey revealed several Dalits who live in Dorgarchar, Rishipur, Bagdipara, Baidyarbahar, Palpara, Madhyapara and Kandapara are mostly isolated locations from the so-called mainstream society. However, the survey found that the most significant number of Dalits is living in Rishipur; around 675 Dalits live in about 130 houses (Table 1). Among them, half of the Dalits are almost women.

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Table 1.

Number of Dalits in Shahjadpur

Para	Houses	Members
Dorgarchar	13	78
Rishipur	130	675
Bagdipara	40	190
Baidyarbahar	9	59
Palpara	19	79
Madhyapara	6	27
Kandapara	12	54

Source: Field Survey 2021.

The Dalit phenomenon is also used as a synonym of untouchable and outcast (Chowdhury et al., 2014; Jodhka & Shah, 2010; Sunder, 2015). Poles apart dominant groups regard as Dalits through ‘otherness discursive’. Therefore, this marginalized group becomes as ‘Dalits among the Dalits’ those factors triggered more pervasive and hegemonic, primarily responsible for isolating Dalit people from mainstream society (Bhimraj, 2020).

In real life, the living standard of dark-black-complexioned Dalit women is horrible; they live in the most vulnerable conditions. Because of their black skin, they are often unmarried, so they are forced to live a kind of cursed life. Although to eradicate unfairness based on religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth or profession among the citizens of Bangladesh, an act ‘Boishammya Bilope Ain-2014’ was passed in 2014 to eliminate discrimination under the sections of 27, 28 and 29 of the Constitution of Bangladesh (Elimination of Discrimination Act 2014; LPAD, 1972).

Cursed Life of Dalit Women—‘Being Born With a Dark-black Complexion’: A Case Study

B Bnashfore (Pseudonym), age 45–50, works in an organization as a cleaner. According to religious ideology, she is a follower of Hinduism and lives in Kandapara of Shahjadpur, Bangladesh. B has a daughter and two sons. Her husband works as a cleaner in another organization. B was born into a low-income family. Her parents were both cleaners. After the birth of B, her parents became worried. According to B, in the Dalit community, when a daughter is born, the family members get anxious, because in most cases, the parents are expecting a son. In such a community, if the complexion of the daughter is dark-black, the level of anxiety increases several times more. The same happened with B.

From the time B Bnashfore was born, emotional turmoil and frustration grew up with her parents. The root of the disappointment was that the parents had to pay a large dowry in marriage, which was not affordable. Besides, B’s family did not take any steps to educate her due to her dark-black complexion. As a result, B Bnashfore continues to grow up taking stress. She did not dare to talk to anyone about her desires or aspirations. Relatives, neighbours and peers also looked down on her just because her complexion was dark-black. So, instead of looking at B Bnashfore as a daughter in the family, they started looking for a way to get out of woe with her early marriage.

Relatives and neighbours commented, ‘the girl is not beautiful to look at. If she doesn’t marry very soon, she will get older, and no one can be found for marriage’. These issues strike B’s parents. Her elder sister and an uncle bring up the relationship of a married person. And B Bnashfore was forced to marry a person between the ages of just 12 and 14. That person, who married B Bnashfore, had already a wife and a child. Knowing this, B refused to marry the man. But ignoring her reluctance, she was forced to marry that man. About 30 years ago, at B’s wedding, her parents paid a dowry of 5,000 Bangladeshi Taka along with gold ornaments and furniture to decorate the house.

After the marriage, B’s husband evicted his first wife and started a conjugal life with B. Since B was not so-called beautiful to look at, the people of her father-in-law’s house used to talk cruelly about B. Sometimes they bullied B as Betachele (Male), Kalo (Black), Hijra (Transgender), etc. Her husband could not stand B being influenced by these people and B often faced physical abuse. She never dared to protest the beating. However, she was forced to start cleaning other people’s houses to earn money. But her husband would take all the money she earned. In this case, if disagreed, she would have to be physically humiliated. Besides her husband, members of her in-laws also tortured her both physically and mentally.

After the marriage, B gave birth to a daughter. B’s husband brutally abused her for the birth of a daughter. Her husband’s expectation was a son. Besides, the level of torture increased due to the daughter’s complexion being dark-black. One day her husband kicked B out of the house with her new-born daughter. At that time, B took shelter in the place of a relative with her child. B’s husband later brought her back home, and B birthed two sons. Her husband was delighted to have sons. However, the husband could not tolerate B and her daughter. As a result, the daughter continues to grow by overcoming many obstacles. Moreover, with B’s single effort, she could get her daughter to complete her Secondary School Certificate.

However, due to the father’s disapproval, the daughter did not get the opportunity to continue the study. Because the girl’s complexion was dark-black, her father has to pay a considerable amount of dowry in her marriage. Hence, her father could not tolerate the daughter in any way but often hurt her, even abusing her in vulgar language. As a result, the girl became emotionally depressed. B could not endure the helplessness of her daughter. To get rid of this oppression, she started looking for the girl’s marriage to overcome the torture.

B’s husband, on the other hand, adores their two sons very much. B was asked if she would demand dowry for her sons. In response, B stated that she had no intention of taking the dowry. But her husband is interested in taking a lot of cashes dowry during the marriage of the sons. B Bnashfore is currently working as a cleaner in an organization, and her husband takes all the money she earns. As a result, she became mentally depressed. She is not happy at all in married life. Her husband spends money on gambling and drugs. Besides, B is often beaten by her husband. According to B, her desire to survive is over. Only by looking at the children, she is staying with all the oppression.

B’s husband K Bnashfore (Pseudonym) was interviewed one day in front of B to learn about their community and their marital life. K Bnashfore is 58 years old, and they are known as the Bnashfore community. He is currently working as a cleaner in an organization in Shahjadpur. His ancestor was involved in the production of bamboo products. Later, during the British rule, they migrated from the Bhojpur district of Bihar province of India to Mymensingh of Bangladesh. After relocating, they moved away from their primary occupation and became involved in cleaning as a sweeper. As a result, their previous profession, bamboo work, gradually became extinct. According to K, most of his relatives who have migrated to the country are engaged in cleaning work. K claims that his father had the opportunity to study at Anandamohon College, Mymensingh. Since then, he has done several good jobs. However, they went to India during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. After the war, they returned to independent Bangladesh. Although the father was educated, he was unresponsive to his children’s study, especially since he was addicted to gambling. As a result, neither K nor his siblings got a chance to study.

They use the Bhojpuri language inside the family. They even watch the Bhojpuri channel most of the time on television channels. However, they speak the Bangla language when talking to outsiders, and in the case of pronunciation, some letters of Bangla cannot be pronounced well by them.

In 1989, K married one of his cousins. However, this marriage did not last long. K’s reason was that after marriage, his first wife would go to his father’s house in Comilla without informing him. K later knew that his wife was previously married to another man. After learning all this, K did not want to continue the family with that wife. K married B Basak in 1992, three years after the divorce. B, who was sitting in front of K, said, ‘Does anyone’s wife just leave? He must have been abusive to his wife, therefore she is gone’. K was silent even after hearing such sarcasm of B. He had one son and one daughter with K’s first wife. K has raised that daughter by keeping her with him.

When asked about child marriage, K answered it with enough tact and intelligence. He claims that B was over 20 at the time of the wedding. However, B asserted that her husband is giving false information. B said that her menstruation did not start during the marriage. Her menstruation started long after the marriage. When asked to K, why his daughter’s studies were stopped, K replied that the economic situation around him was terrible, so he thought it would be safe to arrange marriages for her daughter. But in front of K, B said that she wanted to make her daughter highly educated. In this case, according to B, K is not interested in his daughter’s education. The thought of K is, after the marriage of the daughter, the in-laws’ will educate the daughter if they want.

Asked about K’s statement on dowry, he said that giving dowry is a tradition in their society. He thinks that the dowry system should not exist, because many families suffer to arrange money for a dowry during their daughter’s marriage. According to B, K kicked her out of the house for giving birth to a daughter. When asked about this, K said that he was very happy to hear about the birth of a daughter. Instead, B was upset about giving birth to a daughter. When B was asked about this, she remained silent without answering. Instead, K was saying,

‘Jatermeyekalovalo, nodir jol gholavalo’

(Black girl of a good caste is good; as muddy water of the river.)

It appears that K is not at all unhappy with his wife’s complexion. Although B and K’s speaking style is different, one noticeable thing is that K was very slow-moving and tactfully answering many questions. On the other hand, B was very outspoken and could easily express her regret.

Oppressed by the Oppressed: The Mechanism of Exploitation the Dark-black-complexion Girl

Colourism encouraged philosophizing about possible causes in the cultural and social context of Bangladesh. Ethnically, this country is diverse, with 98% population considered as Bangalee. It is thought that migration streams, trade routes and invasion have gradually developed a diverse culture. Not everyone in the country has the same complexion, so complexion-based discrimination exists in society very rigorously. However, mythologically, about 3,500 years ago, the Aryan invasion was established in the community with a firm idea of the origins of the caste system (Kulke & Rothermund, 2016). This is an entrenched statement of the close relationship of complexion with the caste system (Philips, 2004). However, it is also assumed that the centuries-long presence of the Mughal empire and the British empire and the colonial privilege given to fair-complexion communities associate with power, status and beauty with fair complexion (Manderson & Liamputtong, 2002). In Bangladesh today, dark-black-complexion people face several types of discrimination, especially girls. In most cases, parents face problems getting their daughter married off if her complexion is dark. Girls with this dark-black complexion experience negative comments about it from their parents, relatives, friends, neighbours and even from people in the street.

The mindscape of ‘beauty’ is the colonized epistemological and ontological constructions (Wardhani et al., 2017). This Eurocentric idea of aesthetics of beauty essentialized the ‘fairness’, which belongs to the white complexion (Soderholm, 1997). The concept of Aryan is phrenologically embedded with the physical appearance (i.e. sharp nose, tall) and a fair complexion (Imran, 2010). For a long time, the white supremacy of the English arrogance and the dominant racist spirit was the triumph of the world (Alim & Smitherman, 2020). The continuity of which is still particularly noticeable. However, today’s context is a bit different from the past. Today, white or fair means beautiful; it is not only part of the consciousness of racists, but it has also appeared in the form of a significant crisis among Southeast Asians. Added to that are the hegemonic colonial concept and the marketing politics of aggressive multinational corporations. That is why those advertisements that we are always fascinated to see when we turn on the TV are Fair & Lovely’s ‘Beauty is Power’, which means that a person’s beauty makes her strong and that is possible only when she starts to become bright and fair. Same stories have been instigated from soup opera, billboards and sometimes from the print bourgeoisie (i.e. the specialized article under the title of ‘Black, but beautiful’ in Bangla Kalo Tobuo Sundor on the feature page of ‘Naksha’ of the dominating Daily Bangla Newspaper ‘Prothom Alo’ (Muntasir, 2021). Later, conversations about beauty sprang up in a completely different vein, with the famous philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of ‘Beauty and power’, where dominance and the exercise of power began to dominate all matters related to the construction of beauty consciousness (Welshon, 2014). As a result, attempts can be made to ridicule the process of constructing a sense of the beauty of racist consciousness.

In contemporary reality, beauty is considered a product of the consumerist capitalist social system (Bierhoff, 2013). Women’s beauty is characterized by colour, slim figure and sexual appeal, and men’s beauty is characterized by a shapely body, six abs and biceps. Behind the scenes of both types of aesthetics, beauty is simultaneously the politics of the productive marketing of the dominant colonial hegemonic practices of the West and the aesthetic practices of the capitalist social order (Peters, 2015). Dowry is the prime tool to oppress the dark-black-complexion Dalit girl (Chowdhury, 2010). According to the field survey, marriage dowry for Dalit women is determined based on complexion. Dark-black-complexion women have to pay a dowry of about 1–3 lakh taka for marriage along with gold ornaments, furniture and television. Apart from these, usually, no man wants to marry dark-black-complexioned women. Slightly less fair-black-complexioned women’s parents pay 50 thousand to 1 lakh Bangladeshi taka with gold ornaments, furniture and television to dowry their daughter. For bit fair women, the dowry amount is less than others; in this case, at least 50 thousand taka, gold ornaments, furniture and television need to be provided to arrange the marriage for their daughter (Table 2).

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Table 2.

Dowry Amount (Bangladeshi Taka)

Colour	Dowry Amount	Others
Dark-black complexion	100,000–300,000	Gold ornaments, furniture, television
Black	50,000–100,000	Same
Fair-black	At least 50,000	Same

Source: Field Survey 2021.

One noticeable thing is that K got a chance to study a bit, but B never got a chance to do schooling even. K is an example of the institutional knowledge that empowers people. Therefore, during the interview in front of the two, K never spoke excitedly. In this case, it is conceivable that K works as a cleaner in an educational institution. He is well aware that his position may deteriorate if he does not show courtesy to the university teachers and students. On the other hand, B is somewhat indifferent to these matters of courtesy, for which reason she may have presented the words of her mind as she wished.

Conclusion

Masculinity, Niger and transgender—these types of derogative words have been used to identify or represent Dalit women, especially those who have been cursed of ‘being born with a dark-black-complexion’. Parents also treated their girls in the same manner because of the substantial obstacle to finding a husband. It is considered an economically loose issue. From the early stage of age, parents are treated as a problem for the family. As a result, most of the household works is bound to do by them. These types of dark-black-complexion girls cost double for their family. The colonial androcentric idea of ‘fairness’ hegemonized the masculine world of acceptance as a fiancé or daughter. Black misogynistic societal practices became everyday violence for the dark-black-complexion girl. In these cases, it is observable that masculine power is constructed from different dimensions and deconstructs the hegemonic discourse in the society through which the patriarchal society dominates women (Paechter, 2006).