00:00outlawing child marriages was just the beginning for the hindu women's organization the push for protection and recognition of women continues
00:10currently we are trying to amend the hindu marriage register in which the bride's profession is not included we met with former minister of legal affairs and had a good understanding that she would do her best to advance our cause but alas the government changed
00:33speaking at the launch of a new publication detailing the experiences of indian indentured women in trinidad the organization president kamala tuwari said while the minister of legal affairs may be prioritizing other national matters
00:48attorney om lalla has been helping the group push the amendment process forward the book highlights the journey of thousands who arrived in trinidad under the shadow of bonded labor but whose stories are often left behind
01:03we know that thousands of indians came here um to harsh contracts echoing some people may say the shadows of slavery some described it as a new system of slavery some said it's like you rent something you know if you own something sometimes you take better care of it but when you rent something or someone you actually tend to abuse or exploit it even more
01:26but within that history the suffering of women is the least recorded women as rhoda reddick has said reminded us that indian women endured isolation violence and exploitation and face double discrimination gender and class yet resisted
01:42their names too were often forgotten even in their own families sometimes in history you know we we we anonymize these powerful women
01:54women and it's like a great grandmother or somebody who came from india but do we know their names do we know the names of our grandparents our ancestors um even when we pray for them in terms of calling their names and this lady's name was karmite that my husband told us about my own ancestry you know has been lost somewhere um but but but she was kidnapped and she was taken on the boat and and and brought across
02:22you know you know the kalapani to trinidad and tobago and really has been you know a a tower of strength when we hear of her story of you know resilience
02:34those hardships scholars say were endured quietly far from public view indotrindadian women have been carrying out a quiet revolution for as long as they have lived in this society
02:46the most profound human rights work has often occurred in the intimate private spaces of the home and community for author brenda gopi singh the book is a reminder that women's economic and social realities were shaped by the legacies of slavery and indentureship
03:05it was said indian women have in the 20th century been constrained by an acceptance of natural docility obedience and passivity especially in comparison to african women and even when the hindu women's organization was first being formed gopi singh recalls the resistance
03:27the idea of hindu women having become having an organization of their own did not rest well with many prominent hindu males
03:37such sentiments did not lose currency so much so that our members when our membership made an attempt to become an incorporated body in the house of parliament in 1991 one independent senator objected vehemently
03:54but the battle for equality is still far from over we must confront the the truth that many women and girls today still experience violence discrimination and inequality
04:08and so the message of this book becomes more relevant because the story of indentureship is not just a story of labor it is a story of human rights it is a story of struggle for recognition
04:23it is a story of women who endured the unendurable and still rose the event served not only as a tribute to the resilience of indo-trinidadian women but also as a reminder that the pursuit of justice dignity and recognition remains an ongoing journey
