Staying home superior to being a fisher woman? : the social position and space of women in small fishing communities in Tamil Nadu

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Staying home superior to being a

fisher woman?

The social position and space of women in small fishing

communities in Tamil Nadu.

Bachelor Thesis Human Geography Faculty of Social and Behavioral Science Supervisor: Dr. J.M. Bavinck Imme Groet 6268854/10050329 Lijnbaansgracht 302, 1017 RN Amsterdam immegroet@hotmail.com 0614418696 23 July 2014, Amsterdam

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Abstract

This thesis examines the changing social position and role of women within small scale fishing communities in Tamil Nadu, India. The aim of the study is to compare the social position of female fish traders with housewives and confront the results with a case study research of twenty years ago. The relevance of the research is gain insights in the changing contemporary social position and role of women in order to improve livelihoods of the women. In order to do so, first a comparison is made between housewives and fish traders and secondly a comparison is made between the social position and role of fish traders and housewives twenty years ago, and the social position and role of fish traders and

housewives in contemporary communities. Therefore, women in the local fishing community of Samanthanpettai were interviewed as well as a literature about the social position and role in these communities were analyzed. This thesis argues that the differences between the two groups: housewives and fish traders is the fish traders are more aware of changes in fisheries and the housewives are more aware of the changes in the community. The fish traders are average elder women who have more privileges in the usage of space, the housewives which are average younger are limited in their space. Both groups favor working women within the community due to the small financial independence they achieve. Yet, the women do not want their daughters to work. In addition, alcoholism causes financial and emotional problems within the household. Further research regarding the entrapment of the women within small scale fisheries needs to be conducted in order to attempt to improve the livelihoods of these women.

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Foreword

The research is part of a bachelor thesis project organized by the University of Amsterdam. A group of seventeen students with different academic backgrounds lived in India for a period of two months, where each of us conducted our own individual research. In January 2014 the preparations were started and the planning for the learning curve and field work was made. In February and March all students followed the course “India Lecture Series” at the University of Amsterdam. The course provided us with relevant information about the context and dynamics of contemporary India as we discussed a wide range of topics with different experts. Additional to the course there was a weekly meeting in order to discuss the personal research proposal. After finishing the India lecture series course at the University of Amsterdam, we travelled to Chennai (Tamil Nadu, India). Together with eighteen Indian master students from Anna University, the first two weeks were reserved for a program about ‘coastal zone development’ to provide background information about the coastal zone in Tamil Nadu. The last four weeks field work was conducted in Samanthanpettai, district of Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu). Together with a translator, the data for this thesis was collected by interviewing women living in this small scale fisher community, interviewing

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Table of content

Abstract

Foreword

1.

Introduction

1.1 Introduction to the topic – cultural context and inequality p. 17 1.2 Introduction to the topic – economic development within fisheries p. 19

1.3 Aim of the research p. 21

1.4 Relevance of the research p. 23

1.5 Outline of the thesis p. 23

2.

Theoretical framework

2.1 Definitions p. 25

2.2Women’s spatial entrapment p. 27

2.3 Behavioral geography p. 29

2.4 Review of gender initiatives p. 29

2.5 Social position and role of women according to the literature p. 31 2.6 Conclusion of the theoretical framework p. 33

3.

Methodology

3.1 Hypotheses p. 37

3.2 Operationalization of variables p. 39

3.3 Research design and methods of data collection and analysis p. 41

3.4 Research area and timeframe p. 45

3.5 Limitations p. 45

4.

Context of the research

4.1 Cultural context of marriage and caste p. 49

4.2 Fishing context Tamil Nadu p. 49

4.3 General description of Samanthanpettai p. 51

4.4 Post-tsunami village p. 53

4.5 Threats for the community p. 53

4.6 Fishing activities within the fisher community p. 55

5.

Data of the research

5.1 Data of the household surveys p. 57

5.2 Data of the semi-structured interviews p. 59

6.

Profile of the inhabitants

6.1 Fishermen within the research population p. 61

6.2 Women within the research population p. 61

6.3 Analyses of the semi-structured interviews p. 63

7.

Results

7.1 Widows p. 65

7.2 Influence of the activities of the husband on women’s activities p. 67

7.3 Alcoholism p. 69

7.4 Social cohesion and usage of space among the community p. 69 7.5 Changes within the fisheries according to women p. 71 7.6 Changes within the community according to women p. 73

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7.7 Opinion of the women in the community p. 75

7.8 SNEHA p. 77

7.9 Conclusion of the results p. 79

8.

Conclusion

8.1 The link between theoretical framework and fieldwork p. 81 8.2 Rejections and acceptations of hypotheses p. 83

8.3 Recommendations for further research p. 85

9.

Acknowledgement

10.

Literature list

11.

Appendix

11.1 Household survey p. 95

11.2 Semi-structured interviews p. 97

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List of key terms and abbreviations

BG - Behavioral Geography theory BSC - Bachelor of Science

CBDRM - Community based disaster risk mitigation EU - European Union

FAO - Food and Agricultural Organization GDP - Gross Domestic Product

INR - Indian Rupee, exchange rate €1 = ₹ 81,68 (retrieved on 12-7-2014) ICT - Information and communication technology

NGO - Non Governmental Organization NISD - National, International, State, District OBC - Other backward caste

SEWA - Self Employed Women Association WB - World Bank

WHO - World Health Organization

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List of figures, maps, tables and pictures

Pictures

Picture 2.1 Behavioral model (Gold, 1980)

Picture 2.2 Disaster mitigation framework (Gandimathi, 2009) Picture 4.2 Trawlerboat

Picture 4.3 Fiberboat Picture 4.4 Kattumarans

Picture 4.6 The monument for Mata Amritanandamayi Picture 4.7 Ruins in the old part of Samanthanpettai Picture 4.8 Post-tsunami houses in Samanthanpettai Picture 4.9 Fish traders around batches of fish

Picture 4.10 Fish traders at bidding process in the harbor of Nagapattinam Picture 4.11 Fish traders at bidding process at the beach of Samanthanpattei Picture 4.12 Fish traders waiting on their buckets for the next bidding process

Figures

Figure 3.1 Conceptual scheme of the thesis Figure 6.1 Age in categories

Tables

Table 5.1 Data of the household surveys in World Excel Table 6.2 Analysis of the fishermen population

Table 6.3 Analysis of the two groups of women

Table 6.4 Division of jobs of the husbands of the women Table 5.2 Semi-structured interviews datamatrix

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Maps

Map 1.1 Map of district Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu (Google maps) Map 3.2 Street map of Samanthanpettai (Google maps)

Map 3.3 Research area (Google maps)

Map 4.1 Coastal zones in Tamil Nadu (Google maps) Map 4.5 Map of Samanthanpettai with landmarks

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1. Introduction

Samanthanpettai, India. The sun hangs low in the clear blue sky and slowly sinks deeper and deeper to the land. In two hours it will be completely dark, as if there never had been a sun at all. Saraswathy (32 years) walks home, barefoot, from the beach to her house in the village. Under her arm she carries a bucket with Coalla (flying fish). This fish symbolizes one of the Hindu Gods in this village. These fish will be prepared for tonight’s dinner. Before dinner preparations for her son and herself, Saraswathy prays for one hour and then she will strip and spice the fish in the traditional way. She looks back at the fish and she is content with the earnings for that day. Why did she start to work in the fisheries? Six years ago she had a happy family with a husband and two beautiful sons. Five years ago her husband pasted away during a fishing trip and she lost her second son four years ago after a short but heavy period of illness. Her other living son has Down syndrome and is in need of special care. When her husband died she started to work in fish trading, to be able to take care of the household. Today, she is financially independent. She has a beautiful house with a large garden as well as a stable sufficient income. The neighbors and her friends help her with the care of her son when she is working. Although she has experienced setbacks in the past, in general she considers herself a happy person and feels blessed with her position within the village.

This story of Saraswathy symbolizes the strong, progressive women within the small scale fishing community in Tamil Nadu which is traditionally dominated by men. Not all women in the fishing community experience the same privileges as she has and not all the women experience the happiness she feels. Many women within the fisheries and in the community suffer from their low social position. This thesis focuses on two types of women within these communities. The introduction is divided in two parts; first the introduction elaborates on the cultural context of Indian women and the present inequality. Second, the introduction

elaborates on the economic growth of India and industrial developments within the fisheries. The connection between the cultural context of women in India and the developments within the fisheries is set out in the problem statement.

1.1 Introduction to the topic – Cultural context and gender inequality

Although the caste system has been officially abolished by government legislation and the distinctions between castes are fading, the traditional hierarchic sub division of groups of people who experience different social status is still deeply integrated into Indian society. The caste system is very normative with basic rules; established permitted occupations and social opportunities for people in the Indian society. These norms are inseparable from the dominant religion within India: Hinduism (Mayer, 1996).Each caste has its own specific culture, traditions, personal relations, social hierarchy, last name and economic principles. Born within a certain caste, determines the education, job opportunity, place of living etc. Escape of personal background is hard to accomplish due to family pride and condemnation of society (Beteille, 1996). Beside the differences there are also common features among all castes such as arranged marriage. The parents decide the spouse for their children. In

19 agreement with the family of the spouse, the wedding date will be planned. In general, arranged marriage needs to be with people from the same caste. Males can marry a female from a higher caste, however, this opportunity is not available for women. The family of the woman has to pay dowry to her future husband. This causes preference for males within the family due to the marriage benefits. Inter-caste relationships and interaction are more common within the urban context, due to the emergence of new types of jobs, such as the ICT sector. Within rural communities the distinctions between castes are more visible. Another common feature of the caste system is the fact that men have a dominant role. This is expressed in gender inequality. Sen (2001) claims that social and cultural forces influence gender inequalities in the society of India. These gender inequalities cause poor health and economic outcomes for females in India. Males in the Indian society have benefits in terms of economic security, status, inheritance, marriage and dowry. This puts pressure on producing sons and causes neglect of women and girls in health care, nutrition, economic security and status. A high female infanticide is still common (Guha, 2007). Since the 1960s women are on the agenda of different development programs, because the role of women was structurally underrated and undervalued (Williams et al., 2006). SEWA (Self-Employed Women Association) was founded in 1972 to benefit poor, self-employed women in India. This union is supported by the World Bank and focuses on protection for this labor force (SEWA, 2014). In 2001 the government introduced national policy for the empowerment of women. This framework focuses on creating opportunities to empower women in the

economy (provision of micro-credit) by improving access to health care, education, nutrition, drinking water and sanitation, housing and shelter, and human rights (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2001). These developments trickle gradually through the different castes and classes within Indian society. Delay within development is partly caused by orthodox Hindus who consider legislation for women as an unacceptable interference with the roles of caste and traditions (Guha, 2007). Urban areas experience stronger

development in comparison with rural areas, due to the artisan character and poverty among rural areas. Presently, India is facing processes of modernization, urbanization and capitalist transformation resulting in the emergence of new economic sectors and job opportunities. This causes fading of traditional caste boundaries and creates a new ‘middle class’ within urban areas. The rural areas remain more artisan oriented with the agricultural and fisher castes (Beteille, 1996).

1.2 Introduction to the topic – economic development within fisheries

In the past decades India has experienced strong economic growth and development. This growth is not equally divided over all states in India. The economy of Tamil Nadu is one of the fastest growing among all states in India with a GDP growth rate of 12.8% in 2011 (UNIDOW, 2011). This has resulted in a strong reduction in people living below the poverty line. Whereas in 2005 26 per cent of the people lived below the poverty line, by 2012 only 14 per cent of the people lived below the poverty line (World Data Bank, 2014). Currently, these empowerment initiatives are visible in all different economic sectors. This thesis focuses on the fisheries of Tamil Nadu, due to the significant developments within the fisheries sector since India became independent in 1947. Fisheries are essential for employment and food security in most developing countries. 200 million males and females are active in the fisheries industry worldwide. 70% of the fisheries consist of artisan fisheries or small scale fisheries (FAO, 2014).

21 Since the independence of India (1947), three revolutions have been initiated by the

government of India: the blue revolution in fisheries, the green revolution in agriculture and the white revolution in dairy products (Bavinck, 2011). According to the government, the fisheries in India were in special need of development due to its ‘backwardness’ character in social and economic development. In 1952, the planning process for the blue revolution started and in 1960, the implementation of the planning process occurred with a focus on shrimp farming and international export. This plan was executed by importing mechanical power boats, creating infrastructure with new harbors, freezing plants and ice storage possibilities. Trawling was introduced as a new method and mechanical power boats were imported (Vivekanandan&Kasim, 2014). In the 1960s the fisheries in India accessed the international seafood market by specializing in shrimp. This has resulted in the development of trawling vessels next to the small scale fisheries. Because of the industrialization of fishing vessels, the fish catch increased exponentially (Bavinck, 2011). The emergence of a new sector of industrial fishing besides the artisan fishing caused different impacts on the social aspects in fisher communities. There are two issues raised by the blue revolution: the quantity of the fish is increasing and the quality of the fish catch is decreasing. The two issues are caused by climate change and exploitation of the fish source by the exponential increase of fisher vessels and variation of fishing methods. The quality of fish is decreasing due to the pressure on fish for reproduction. Climate change leads spread of different species of fish, such as the oil sardine. This leads to a conflict between the small scale fisheries and the industrialized fisheries. The competition between the two groups increased since the blue revolution, due to the decreasing fish stock. Currently there are initiatives to manage this conflict, however, this conflict is not resolved (Vivekanandan&Kasim, 2014). In the small scale fishing sector, the women have an essential role next to the men. This sector is, unlike other economic sectors, characterized by an atypical collaboration between males and females. Fishing itself is generally accepted as a male task, the women execute secondary fisher tasks on land, such as local trading and repairing nets. The women in fisher communities thus have their own designated responsibilities.

The large changes within the fishing sector combined with forces for empowerment of women, results in the changing dynamics between men and women in an artisan fishing community. Global trends are moving into the fisheries and precipitating changes within the community. Comprehending these trends within small scale fishing communities can lead to catalyze empowerment of women and reinforce opportunities to improve the position of women.

1.3 Aim of the thesis

60% of women in a fisher community are active within the artisan fisheries in India (FAO, 2014). This thesis identifies the different trends among women within the small fishing communities. This research has been done in Samanthanpettai. This small scale fishing community is situated in district Nagapattinam, in Tamil Nadu. Map 1.1 indicates the district Nagapattinam in red.

This research has a focus on women in small scale fisheries. I choose to focus on artisan fisheries because the artisan fisheries is a caste isolated from influences of other castes. The fisheries in Tamil Nadu are well known for their artisan character and are currently subjected to development. Samanthanpettai is chosen as research village, because Samanthanpettai has 102 small scale fishing vessels and only 8 industrial vessels and is

23 thus defined as a small scale fishing community. The research group in this thesis is the women within the community. I choose women as a research group because they have an essential role within this community which is changing due to modernization, urbanization and capitalist transformation within Tamil Nadu. This thesis makes a distinction between two groups of women in this community: the fisherwomen who are active in the fisheries, and the housewives in fishing communities. The status and position of fisherwomen and housewives in a fishing community are compared with the status and position of fisherwomen and housewives in the past.

1.4 relevance of the research

The scientific aim of this research is to contribute to the scientific knowledge about the changing position of women within artisan fishing communities. By doing so insights into the current position of these women can be obtained and the question of how to improve the situation for women can be answered. The knowledge about the contemporary women’s

position is expanded and explained in detail. By comparing with the existing literature nuances can be exposed and create a deeper understanding of the position of women and indicate trends in the changing position of women within fishing communities. The social aim of the bachelor thesis is to create understanding in order to propose improvements for the position of women within the small scale fishing communities. This research highlights aspects of the changing position of women within the fisher communities. National and local policy and local NGO’s can implement outcomes and recommendations of this thesis in their planning for empowerment of women of small scale fishing communities and improve their livelihoods. The understanding of the current trends can be important input for national and international development projects.

1.5 Outline of the thesis

First a theoretical framework is stated in Chapter 2, in which the situation of fisherwomen in the past is described from a theoretical background. Chapter 3 outlines the research

methodology including operationalization of variables, the research methods and the limitations of the research. Thereafter, the local context of the research is explained in Chapter 4. This context is based on observations of the research area. This is followed by Chapter 5 exploring the results from fieldwork of the household surveys and semi-structured interviews. Chapter 6 consist of first analyses of the collected quantitative data. After the data chapters final results of the semi-structured interviews are analyzed in chapter 7. This is followed by the conclusion in chapter 8. The conclusion finishes with recommendations for further research.

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2. Theoretical framework

This chapter summarizes the current knowledge on the research topic based on literature on gender issues in south Indian fishing communities and on position of women within fishing communities. First, the theoretical framework elaborates on definitions of specific phrases followed by two human geographical theories on the topic of gender and women and behavior based on the perception of environment. This is followed by a review of gender initiatives. Finally, this chapter concentrates on the South Indian fishing context and reviews literature about small scale fisheries. I have chosen two western based human geography theories due to the modernization, globalization and capitalist transformation influences within the fisheries of Tamil Nadu. The theories can make a relevant contribution to comprehend the results of the thesis.

2.1 Definitions

In this paragraph, definitions of concepts that are frequently mentioned within the research are given. These concepts are gender, due to the main theme of this thesis; gender roles. Position, role, fish trader and housewife are frequently used concepts in the research and variables within the research question (proposed in chapter 3). Resilience is a concept that is part of the position of women within the community and is relevant in context of the tsunami of 2004.

The World Health Organization defines gender as ‘the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a society considers adequate for men and women’. The

dictionary of sociology (Oxford, 1994) proposes the definition: ‘the socially constructed aspects of differences between men and women’. This refers to the individual identity and cultural ideals of masculinity and femininity and the sexual division of labor. Williams et al. (2006) focus on gender roles that are defined by a society and not biologically. The role of women within a society is cultural, historical, age and class specific. Roles can change over time and can go together with economic and social development.

The definition of a role of a person is according to the dictionary of sociology (Oxford, 1994): ‘the social expectations attached to particular statuses or social positions’. The definition of a role of women in small scale fishing communities in Tamil Nadu is specified to ‘the social expectations attached to the social position of women in small scale fishing community’. In this thesis I make a distinction between two groups of women present in the small scale fishing community; the fish traders and the housewives. The fish traders are women who have a function within the fisheries as local traders of fish or women who arrange the bidding and sale of the fish caught by the artisan fishermen. The housewives are the women who stay at home and do the housework.

The definition of the position of a person is according to the Oxford dictionary: ‘a particular way in which someone or something is placed or arranged’. The definition of the position of a woman for this thesis is specified to: ‘a particular way in which the woman is placed within the small scale fishing community’.

Resilience was originally an ecological term for a natural, undisturbed system that is in a transient state, with a certain equilibrium. When human demands increase on ecological systems, the system is removed from its equilibrium. The definition of resilience in this case is the amount of disturbance that an ecosystem can endure without changing processes and structures (Holling, 1973). Adger’s (2000) definition of resilience as a social concept is the

27 ability of people to manage with external stresses and interferences as a result of social, political and environmental change.

Two main theories seem in particular relevant for this thesis. The first theory is the women’s spatial entrapment within the sub discipline feminine geography, and the second theory is the behavioral theory.

2.2 Women’s spatial entrapment

The feminine geography developed as a discipline since 1980 with nuanced theories and visions. The theories focus on gender relations between men and women. Gender relations are dependent on time, space and society. Society highlights the cultural differences

between males and females. The ‘women’s spatial entrapment’ theory was initially founded by Melissa Gilbert (1993). This theory proposes that women in a low societal position are limited in space and time as a result of patriarchal structures among a society. The women do not have access to mobility or resources in the form of cars or bikes due to their poverty and therefore they are limited to a small region as their habitat. Within the lower segment of the society, the primary role of married women is domestic labor; work activities to earn money is secondary option (De Pater et al., 2011).The women are affected by the spatial structures for their labor opportunities. Women are forced to jobs in their nearest habitat. This limits the job opportunity in quality and quantity, especially for married women (Rapino & Cooke, 2009). These job opportunities are subjected on gender inequality and thus generally underpaid and undervalued (Gilbert, 1998). In this theory the women are trapped in their local network and region they live in. Due to the patriarchal structures, men are the traditional family providers and have lower domestic responsibilities and a higher status within the labor market. The men are less trapped within their local habitat and the local job opportunity (Rapino & Cooke, 2009). Gilbert (1998) nuanced this vision arguing that women actually find a base of support through their limitation of space. The women’s spatial

entrapment can be both constraining and enabling for women. In the habitat of these

women, they build up a strong personal network for creating understanding for their situation of housing, children and jobs. This can be determined as their survival strategy or the daily decisions and practices of poor women. The poor women use their survival strategy in order to attempt to secure employment, housing, childcare, economic and emotional well-being. The network can be accounted for the social capital and not be accounted for their actual use. The network of poor women is mostly based on family and neighbors. The spatial distribution of women is partly determined by their social networks. The survival strategy of women from a low segment of society differs from women of a high segment of society. The decision process and practices vary and thus their social network varies. This can give insights in the opportunities and barriers of the women in different segments of society (Gilbert, 1998).

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2.3 Behavioral geography

The second theory is behavioral geography, commonly known as behavioral analysis. Behavioral analysis states that humans do not act according to the available space, rather do they act according to their perception of space. In 1925 Sauer described the basics of this approach: culture is the cause of certain behavior (Norton, 2001). From the end of 1960, behavioral geography became more specific: “Human beings respond to the environment as it is perceived and interpreted through previous experience and knowledge.” Humans

respond to personal perceived external stimulus from their environment. The characteristics from the spatial environment determine the spatial behavior. This can be visualized in a stimulus-response model, see picture 2.1. Unlike the physical determinism theory which is founded on the environmental influences that causes culture or behavior of a person, the behavioral geography theory focuses on the behavior of a person as a response to their perception to the environment. Behavioral geography researches the cognitive (acting) and affective (emotional) processes within a person as a reaction to their perception to their environment.

The behavioral geography theory is well known for its voluntarism: the human is creator and responsible for its own action. The behavioral theory is expanded with the concept

‘schemata’. These are mental structures within a person that are partly based on earlier experiences and partly congenital. The theory of behavioral geography came about due to a lack of knowledge in the behavioral discipline and the geographical discipline (De Pater&Van Der Wusten, 1996).

Fishing communities have their specific roles for men and women, unlike other economic sectors. Thompson (1985) claims that the fishermen in fishing communities have a certain dependency on the women ashore. This gives fisherwomen a responsibility and power within the community and in the house. The fisherwomen are placed in a special position within the community and at home. This position is based on the role of fisherwomen labor in trading the fish locally on the role of women in general as bearing and raising children, and the responsibilities of the women when the men are absent (Thompson, 1985).

2.4 Review of gender initiatives

The small scale fishing sector is a popular research area among policy makers. The FAO has set up a program ‘fisheries and aquaculture – gender' with international guidelines in order to secure and sustain small scale fisheries. The European Union wrote a report on ‘women and gender participation in the fisheries’. Williams et al. (2006) wrote a report on the events, the creation of programs such as ‘women in fisheries’ and gender and fisheries initiatives. In this report generalities about women in the fish sector are stated. Williams et al (2006) states that the fishing sector is acknowledged as an economically depressed sector for women within a society. Activities by women are categorized as ‘overworked’, ‘low-paid’, ‘poor productivity’ and ‘lacking opportunities for skills upgrading and access to training’. Key issues for fisher communities within development programs are: poverty, division of labor, health, access to education and other rights. Poverty is a widespread issue among the fish sector worldwide. This is especially the situation for small scale fisheries, where the

industrial fish sector is suppressing the artisan fishing sector with competition and

overexploitation. Health is a serious issue among fisher communities due to ignorance of diseases and a lack of finance for treatment (Williams et al., 2006). His report proposes an

31 increase in research and research organizations. By organizing events and symposiums such as ‘The FAO global workshop on women in aquaculture’, initiatives, development programs and NGO’s are developed and implemented. An example of an initiative in the district of Nagapattinam is the local NGO SNEHA, which is active in promoting gender equality in fisheries. Jesu Radnam provided me with the book SNEHA’s Memory Lane (Gandimathi, 2009), about the local initiatives, development services and activities of this NGO. This NGO is mainly active for 25 years in providing micro-credits and loans for women. SNEHA changed its mission ten years ago in the context of the tsunami. Their current mission is:

“to work towards a just society that is free of caste, class, religion, gender, language an age based discrimination trough social transformation with peoples’ participation and participatory, consultative

transparent and inclusive system of governance which ensures the protection and promotion of environmental and sustainable development.”

See picture 2.2 for the implemented framework of SNEHA. SNEHA organizes the women in collectives, called the Sangams. The Sangams created federations which forced interaction and rights for women and gender issues among communities. SNEHA strives to improve the resilience for the impoverished small scale fisher communities at different scale levels and with a vary of tools such as education, training, livelihood support to activities, research and documentation and networking. Within the district ofNagapattinam, there are 617 currently Sangams active, next to the different campaigns and programs that are set up by SNEHA.

2.5 Social position and role of women according to the literature

This paragraph outlines a review of the existing literature about small scale fishing

communities. Research has been executed within South Indian fishing communities. Two researchers (Sinrath and Ram) are discussed. Research executed by Sinrath (1997) in Vypeenkara, Kerala, points out that 20% of women are active within a small scale fishing community. This rate is declining due to the development of harbors and industrial fisheries. The trading of fish from industrial fisheries is executed by men. Sinrath claims that women in general are active within the small scale fisheries because this improves their lives.

Ram (1991), a Tamil researcher, has done research in the Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. Her topic is ‘gender, hegemony and capitalist transformation in a South Indian fishing

community. Her research had a main focus on Mukkuvar Women, the local Christian women within small scale fishing communities. Her research group is women from the age of 18 within the community. This review distills statements and generalities which are relevant for this research. The review of her research is categorized in the following categories:

ecological description of fisheries, cultural context of a fishing caste in a South Indian society, the gender issues for women in small scale fishing communities and distribution of space among women in smalls scale fishing communities.

According to Ram (1991) fisheries are heavily dependent on the ecological structures. Changes within these structures can have severe consequences for the fishing sector. The emergence of the industrial fishing sector puts pressure on the existing small scale fishing sector and the fish stock in the ocean. The fisher communities experience exploitations of the fish source, especially the small scale fishing communities. The small scale fisher communities are more vulnerable to weather events and natural disasters. This is due to the poorer fishing utilities and vessels and the decreased resilience of the community as a result of poverty. The fish source is mainly important for the community for food security and an income.

33 Observing the fisher caste within the caste society of India, one can come to the following conclusion: making a rough categorization of the caste system within the Indian population, the fishing caste is viewed the agriculture caste as other backward caste (OBC). The agriculture caste is the lower caste in the social hierarchy within the Indian society. Within the agriculture caste, the fishing caste is determined lower in hierarchy than the agriculture caste (farmers) for two reasons: its polluted character and dependency on other sources. First, due to the killing of life, the fishing caste is considered as a polluted caste. Second, the agrarian caste is more self-sufficient in their food security. It can live from its own harvest. The fish from the fishing community is not sufficient to provide a complete diet. Ram (1991)describes the small scale fishing caste as a community, apart from other castes with its own culture and traditions due to their occupation, their religion and the labor system (explained below). While in the agrarian caste, the hierarchy is clear, with owners dominant to the labors, in small scale fishing caste, there is no strong hierarchy with a segment dominating over another segment. The distribution of ‘owning’ vessels and fisher utensils is vague. A fisher vessel can be owned by a small scale fisherman, the utensils on the vessel can be owned by the fishermen laborers (or crew). Owners organize the trip, decide the use of equipment and the supply of equipment. The crew as a whole makes the decision about the location of fishing, the duration of the trip and which materials to use. The small scale fishing caste segregates itself from other communities and lives in a subculture at the shore. The beach, the shore and the sea are male only spaces. The women are not allowed at sea. (Ram, 1991) makes a distinction between women that are active within the small scale fishing community as local fish traders and women at home, the housewives. The fish traders are only elder, married women. The younger, especially unmarried women are housewives and active within the household. The housewives are not allowed at the shore or the beach, their habitat is around the house. Fish traders only come at the beach at special periods of time for the bidding process (described in chapter 4).

The female fish traders are the opening to the outside world via their local trading. The relations they build, are not based on dominance but on equality due to their trading position. The female fish traders are forced to interact with other castes due to their need to trade the fish; unlike the agrarian caste additional food sources are needed from other castes.

2.6 Conclusion of the theoretical framework

In conclusion, the social position of women is a widely researched topic, yet there is a lack of knowledge of the changing position in communities that are influenced by the processes of globalization and modernization in the very concrete case of fishing communities. Two theories are abstract Western theories of the human geography discipline. The first theory is a gender theory, based on the spatial entrapment of poor women in their region. The second theory is behavior can be clarified by the interpretations of the environment by a person. These two theories can clarify that the fisherwomen are trapped within their community due to poverty, patriarchal structures and domestic responsibilities, as Ram (1991) indicates. Fisherwomen can have a large network in their community due to their survival strategy. The review of the gender initiatives points out that the urgency of the gender topic is high on the international agenda. This should be visible with local initiatives and organizations among the women within the communities, such as the local NGO SNEHA, that provides loans for members of self-help groups (Sangams). Ram (1991) describes the social position and role

35 of women within small scale fisher community twenty years ago. In general, this is expected to be similar with the findings of the data. A comparison is made of the social position and role of women in these communities in the past and the social position and role of women in these contemporary communities. Review of literature points out the gap of knowledge is in the contemporary social position and space of women in small scale fisher communities. No recent literature about the social position and role has been found, although there are strong influences of modernization, globalization and capitalist transformation within such

community. The influences are researched during the field work. The social position and role are compared and differences are detected.

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3. Methodology

As the aim of this study is to explore the role and position of women in the fisher industries in Tamil Nadu, the research question is formulated as follows:

“What is the role and social position of women (i.e. housewives and fish traders) within the small scale fishing communities in Tamil Nadu and how has this role changed since the last two decades of modernization and globalization?”

The sub questions which subdivide the research question are:

- What is the position and role of fisherwomen within small scale fisher communities in contemporary Tamil Nadu?

- What is the position and role of housewives within small scale fisher communities in contemporary Tamil Nadu?

- What was the position and role of fisherwomen and housewives within small scale fisher communities two decades ago in Tamil Nadu?

- What are the differences between trends and changes in the roles and positions of housewives and fisherwomen?

3.1 Hypotheses

This research is an explanatory case study, based on previous research and compared with the current situation. There is chosen for a case study because the case of fish traders and housewives is intensively researched. The case is extensively analyzed and the case is researching women within the small scale fishery community as a case. The research uses quantitative and qualitative research methods (Bryman, 2001), The hypotheses are:

- The fish traders have privileges and knowledge about fisheries. Fish traders want to work, due to obtaining of financial independence of their husband. An increase of fish traders compared with the past is expected.

- The housewives are limited in their daily lives due to their financial dependency. The husband is more controlling of the spending of household money and the daily completions of the housewives.

- Significant differences within the usage of space of fish traders and housewives are expected. The fish traders are expected to move in a larger area and more solely. The housewives are limited in their space around the house and within the village. Solely shopping for housewives to the larger village is expected to be a problem. - The social position and role of women within small scale fishery communities

changed compared to the past. This is due to the influences of modernization, capitalist transformation and globalization. The women are more emancipated and more independent, due to influences of globalization and feminist organizations within the country.

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3.2 Operationalization of variables

A conceptual scheme has been made in figure 3.1 to illustrate the relationship between the variables and to make the comparisons between the different variables.

Fisherwomen and housewives

In this thesis, I found a division between housewives and fisherwomen. Housewives are women who stay at home to do the housework and take care of the children. They have no income and are fully dependent on the income of their husbands. The fisherwomen are the women who are frequently active as local fish traders, which provides them some financial independence from the income of their husbands. They buy fish from local fishermen and trade the fish in the environment of their village. These types of women are central in a small scale fishery community. The women who have other functions and tasks than fish trading or being a housewife, are excluded from the research population. The research group is

defined to women aged above 18 years.

Social position and role

The concepts ‘ social position’ and ‘role’ are defined in the theoretical framework. The two concepts are related to each other and influence each other. The social position and role are investigated by specific questions in the semi-structured interviews with the respondents. The position and role of fisherwomen are compared with the role of housewives in chapter 7. The position and role are gender-related concepts and dependent on time, space and

society. The trends that are influencing their ‘position’ and ‘role’ over time are indicated in the conclusion.

Time

Time has influence on the position and role of women in the fisher community. In the introduction, the cultural context and the development in inequality and gender roles are indicated. This factor will propose how the development is influencing the position and role of women in fisher communities. ‘Twenty years ago’ is chosen as a variable because Ram (1991) wrote her book on gender, hegemony and capitalist transformation within a South Indian fishing community, with a description of the role and position of women within a small scale fisher community. This book is approximately dated twenty years ago and explains the variable time. The description of the role and position of women in a small scale fisher community of the book is compared with the current role and social position of women, described in chapter 7 (results).

I have chosen to focus on women within small scale fisher communities due to the current forces of globalization, modernization and emancipation. Small scale fisher communities are known for their artisan character, cultural values are central within the community and the community is a closed subculture. However, the small scale fisher communities are

influenced by external factors. This leads for changes among the community as a whole, as well for the women. Due to the existing literature of Ram (1991) fish traders are chosen as a research group. To indicate changes of position of women within the community, a second group is chosen to make a comparison. There is a clear bifurcation among the women in the fisher community. On the one hand, the fish traders who are active within the community, on the other hand the housewives. There are differences present within the role and position of

41 these two women. These are researched during the fieldwork and within the literature of Ram (1991).

3.3 Research design and methods of data collection and analysis

This research is an explanatory case study, based on previous research and compared with the current situation. Chosen was for a case study because the case of fish traders and housewives is intensively researched. The case is extensively analyzed and the case is researching women within the small scale fishing community as a case. A case study enables to do a more in-depth study and to apply multiple methods of data collection and thus will lead to a more varied result and more nuanced conclusion. It provides a basis for more quantitative research. The research uses quantitative and qualitative research

methods. In this case study the units of analyses are the women. In a case study it is difficult to find clarifying factors for certain phenomena. This argues the choice for the research methods: household surveys, semi-structured interviews, observations and open interviews with key-informants. (Bryman, 2001).

This research includes both quantitative and qualitative methods. In order to conduct interviews of the respondents, a translator was essential. A female translator was required for gender-related research. The translator translated English into Tamil (the local language) and from Tamil to English. Field work in the village was executed in shifts. A day contained two shifts: from 6am to 11am and the second shift from 4pm to 7pm. First, a simple map is drawn by the researcher of the area. The map is translated in a Google map with landmark. Four types of research have been executed; household surveys, semi-structured interviews with respondents, open interviews with key-informants, and observations.

Household surveys

Household surveys were collected from every fifth house within the village. If there is a female fish trader present within the household, the woman was asked for an open interview. In a household survey, a respondent from the household was asked to answer

semi-structured questions. A household survey gathered the following information for every household member: name, gender, age, position, education, employment, as well as the appearance of their house. A household consists of all the members who lived in one house at the moment of taking the survey. Members who passed away or married children living in another house are excluded in the household survey. The translator wrote down the

information due to the spelling of names. Depending on the size of the household, conducting a household survey took an average time of 15 minutes. Socializing with the family is not including in the conduction of the household. The household surveys were collected by all the Dutch students in their research area. One of the students, Anke, executed her research partly in the village Samanthanpettai. In consultation with Anke, the neighborhoods for collecting the household surveys were determined. The collected data of the household surveys of Anke in Samanthanpettei are combined with the data of the household surveys for this research. The results of a total of 100 household surveys were executed in the statistic program SPSS and Word Excel. Analyzes of the different variables were made to have a complete overview of the composition of the research group. This includes the average age, education, employment, etc.

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Semi-structured interviews

Semi-structured interviews were collected from fish traders and housewives. The fish traders and housewives were interviewed through semi-structured interviews with open questions. This took place with a translator, mostly in the houses of the respondents. Women were approached at the street. Some fish traders helped the translator and me to approach other fish traders. Some semi-structured interviews with fish traders took place on the beach of Samanthanpettai, and a few in Nambiyar Nagar or in the harbor of Nagapattinam. A list of questions was composed in advance of the fieldwork. The questions were corrected and some questions were added after the first five interview, due to their relevance. I asked the questions and the questions were translated by the translator from English to Tamil. The answers of the respondents were translated by the translator from Tamil to English. I made short notations of the answers. An average semi-structured interview took 30 minutes, excluded from socializing with the respondent. After a shift of fieldwork in the village, the answers to the questions were elaborated on the laptop. The interviews were filled in Word Excel. The overview of the semi-structured interviews is set out in the appendix.

Open interviews

Open interviews were executed with key-informants. The participating key-informants were Annie George from the Bedroc NGO, a post-tsunami NGO, Subramian and a teacher from an education program for females designed to create awareness about the fisheries. Annie George was chosen as a key-informant due to her local work and involvement with the small scale fishery communities. Her interview took one and a half hour. Subramian is chosen as a key-informant due to his local research work together with J.M. Bavinck. His open interview was together with Anke and Fenna and took almost three hours. The teacher is chosen as a key-informant due to his knowledge about women within the small scale fishing communities and his elaboration on problems that occur among women within the communities. I wanted to know his opinion of the position of women within these small scale fishing community and why the education program was relevant for the women. This open interview was limited to an hour, due to the start of the lecture. Notations were made during the interview. I asked the questions to the teacher and the translator translated the questions to the teacher. The open interviews with Annie and Subramian were in English due to their sufficient

management of the English language.

Observations

Observations were done in the village, on the beach of Samanthanpettai and in the harbor of Nagapattinam. These observations were done to gain insights in the local culture and habits of the community. Observations on the beach of Samanthanpettai and the harbor of

Nagapattinam were used to gain insights in the process of fish trading and observing the position and role of fish traders on the beach. Observations were made from 7:45 am to 8:45 am due to the activities of fish traders in this period of time. This process is randomly

repeated in order to compare the observations for similarities and differences. After three observations from 7:45 to 8:45 on randomly selected days, I concluded this observation as a daily process among the fish traders in Samanthanpettai. The results of the observations are mainly used as the basics for the local context of the research. During the bidding, I asked the translator to translate the conversation between the fish traders and the bidding women. Notations and pictures were taken during the observations. The time was written down, together with the amount of women present, the activity of the women, the conversations

45 between the women, the price of a badge of fish and the role of men during the bidding process.

The research location

The research location centers in Samanthanpettai: there was preliminary work done in Nagapattinam harbor and Nambiyar Nagar. The introduction week was in Samanthanpettai, the observations were mainly conducted in Samanthanpettai as were the large part of the interviews. Three semi-structured interviews with fish traders were collected from the harbor of Nagapattinam. The fish market, located at the harbor, was observed. Due to limitations of the availability of the translator, Nambiyar Nagar was also included in the research with four semi-structured interviews were collected from fish traders and housewives.

Samanthanpettai village was used for semi-structured interviews with housewives and fish traders and the household surveys. Samanthanpettai beach was used for observations and semi-structured interviews with fish traders.

3.4 Research area and timeframe

The research has been executed in the village Samanthanpettai. A map of the village according to Google maps is shown in map 3.2. The course period took place from the 31th of March till the 12th _{of April 2014. The course was at the Anna University in Chennai. After}

the course on the 13th _{of April, five Dutch students travelled to Nagapattinam. Nagapattinam}

is the largest village in a radius of 25 kilometers with 161.172 inhabitants (Census of India, 2011). Nagapattinam is three kilometers away from Samanthanpettai. Nambiyar Nagar is 2 kilometers from Samanthanpettai and situated between Nagapattinam and Samanthanpettai (map 3.3 research area). This was during the summertime, with a temperature up to 40 degrees during daytime. We stayed in a house for four weeks together with five translators. The first week was exploration of the village. Conducting interviews with key-informants and respondents, making observations and collecting household surveys covered the second and third week. Week four completed finishing up the research period in the village.

3.5 Limitations

This research has a variety of limitations during and after the research period. Often local people were not able to speak English. Therefore, the help of a translator was required. However, information can be wrongly interpreted and misunderstood with a loss of

information by the translator and by the researcher. Questions can be misunderstood by the translator and information can be wrongly interpreted by the researcher. Due to a cultural barrier between the translator and the researcher, a risk of misunderstanding is present. In order to minimize the loss of information and incorrect interpretation of questions, the questions were simplified and a part was converted to closed questions. Second, there was a strong limitation in time management. The field work period was only four weeks. Within the four weeks, introduction to the research area, collecting household surveys, conducting semi-structured interviews with respondents and key-informants and making observations took place. There was a limitation in terms of openness to new influences and insights within the research. If the timeframe had been longer, more interviews could have been taken place and more trends could have become visible within the position and role of females in small scale fishery communities in favor of the research. The findings to the research question could be enriched with more insights, due to more in depth interviews with

47 respondents. More villages could have been visited and researched to complete the

conclusion of this thesis. In order to manage the time limitations, preparations were

expanded in the months before the field work. Recommendations for further research is set out in the conclusion.

The last major limitation is that I did not live in the research village during the fieldwork. My residence was in Nagapattinam, three kilometers from the research area. This created a limitation on the available time I could spend within the research village. It was necessary that I leave the village before noon, due to the heath and before dark, in the late afternoon. This had influence on the bonding with the inhabitants of the research village and my grasp of understanding the social dynamics and cultural background of the fisher community Samanthanpettai. Nevertheless is the time that was spend within the village valuable for the research.

The limitations of this research have influence on the outcome of this thesis. It is possible that the results and conclusion cannot be generalized and are not completely representative for the research village. Nevertheless, some trends that are exposed by this research can be confirmed by other literature.

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4. Context of a small scale fisher community within

Tamil Nadu

The fishing sector is described as a different sector within economic development. Fishing has always had an important role within the local and international economy worldwide, because of the ‘common resource’ character of the sea (Thompson, 1985). The sea is not privatized and needs to be shared.

4.1 Cultural context of marriage and caste

This paragraph elaborates on the arranged marriage as described in the introduction. Within rural communities, distinctions between castes are visible. Ram (1991) considers fishing communities a rural community. The fisheries determine certain habits and influences the fishing caste. It is most common that males from a fishing family marry a female from a fishing family. When the female is pregnant, she lives with her family during her pregnancy. After delivery, she will move back in with her husband. There is a distinction in the small scale fishing community between two types of households: the nuclear family household and the joined family household. The nuclear family contains one or two generations, the joined family contains at least three generations. In a joined family it is common that the son gets married and stays in the house of his parents. His wife moves into the house and they raise their children together with the parents of the son. The nuclear family moves out of the house, as soon as the son gets married. The house contains only the parents or only the newlyweds with their children.

4.2 Fishing context Tamil Nadu

Fisheries in Tamil Nadu have a history of over 2000 years . The coastal zone determines the culture and habits within the coastal communities. The coastal zone of Tamil Nadu can be divided into four parts. The division is indicated in map 4.1. The researched village is indicated with the red spot. In the first, third and fourth area, there is one dominant Hindu caste within the fisher area: ‘the Pattinavar’. In the second area there are different social groups and different dominant caste‘the Parava’. This is due to the shared sea between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. The research area is within the three areas that are similar to each other: results of the research can be generalized to the three out of four different coastal zones within Tamil Nadu. Vivekananda and Kasim make a strong distinction

between small scale fishing sector and the industrial fishing sector. For these sectors, there is different national legislation. Trawler vessels (picture 4.2) indigenous to industrial fishing sector. These boats have large nets, which scrape along the sea bottom. These vessels navigate to 60 kilometers from the shore. National legislation for these industrial vessels include bans during reproduction time of fish. The small scale fishing sector consist of Fiber vessels (picture 4.3) and Kattumarams (picture 4.4). The FAO (2014) initiated a program for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries with guidelines for national policy making. By national legislation the first three nautical miles from the shore into the sea are officially preserved areas for small scale fisheries. Besides the preserved areas for the small scale fisheries, the periods of ban of fisher vessels within the sea are not applicable for the

51 small scale fisheries. In the small scale fisher community, Kattumaram owners are

considered the poorest fishermen. Fiberboat owners are generally richer than Kattumaram owners. Trawlerboat owners are considered the richest fishermen, however, they are not included in the small scale fishing community. The small scale fisheries are under pressure at sea and at the coast. As pointed out in the introduction, there is a strong economic growth within Tamil Nadu (UNIDOW, 2011). This creates a strong demand for energy. The coal power plants that are expanding, are planned at the coast for the use of seawater for cooling water. This puts pressure on the coastal communities. The pressure on the sea is from the industrialized vessels and other methods of fishing (Vivekanandan & Kasim, 2014). The present circumstances at the coastal zone require an increase in legislation and

management.

4.3 general description of the village

My research village is Samanthanpettai. According to the census, received from J.M. Bavinck, Samanthanpettai has 426 families, with 419 traditional fishing families. In total, Samanthanpettai has 1.872 inhabitants. The religion in this village is Hinduism, there is no other religion present in this village. Samanthanpettaiis a small scale fishing community with 58 Fiberboat owners, 44 Kattumaramowners and 8 Trawlerboat owners. From the 15th _of

April there is a ban on industrialized fisher vessels such as Trawlerboats for six weeks. Fiberboats and Kattumaram boats are excluded from this ban and are categorized within the small scale fishing vessels. This is due to the reproduction period of fish and the pressure that the Trawlerboats exert on the ecology of the sea. The fish stock restores partly during the ban on industrial vessels.

Samanthanpettai counts 4 local shops, a barber shop, a public school, a kindergarten, a hotel, two temples and a municipality building. Samanthanpettai has one unofficial leader: Thenasasu, 32 years old, Fiberboat owner. Observing the employment according to the census, the following information can be given: 294 women equating to 52% of the 569 adult females in the community are active in the fisheries. The borders of the village

Samanthanpettai given by the inhabitants are different from the borders, given by Google Maps. The borders according to the inhabitants are indicated in map 4.5. The land marks are pointed out on the map, according to the personal map created at location during the

research period by the researcher. The gathering point at the beach of Samanthanpettai is the point where the female fish traders assemble for the bidding process to acquire the for fish from the fishermen. The second gathering point is the point where the men of the village assemble in the afternoon. The public school next to the temple is a primary school. The secondary school and university are located in Nagapattinam. The second public school, indicated on the map, is a kindergarten established by international companies, such as Nokia. This is constructed as part of a development program. There are two temples in the village. There was a temple festival during the research period. This is a busy event in the village, where the local inhabitants gather around 7pm and pray and eat together in the temple.

During the period April-May 2014, there are three water days a week. Most of the houses do not have potable water. There are several water points through the village. Three times a week, in the morning, water comes out of the pipelines for the village. This process

continues for an hour. Women from the village gather around the water point with empty jars to fill up with water. One of the women guides the water into the empty jars. The other

53 women bring empty jars from the houses and return full jars back to the house. The water days were mostly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Friday is a special day for the women in the village. They collect the water in the morning and start a large clean-up after collecting the water. This includes brooming the front door, watering the sand around their house and cleaning inside the house. In the afternoon, the women go to the temple to pray. The early morning, from 6:30 am to 9 am and in the late afternoon from 5 pm – 7 pm is the busiest period of the day in the village. In the morning, the women prepare the food for the family and they bring the children to school. Most of the men are at sea around 3:30 and return at 7:30 am. In the late afternoon, the men gather in public places to hang around. The women cook the food in the late afternoon for the family.

4.4 Post-tsunami village

Samanthanpettai was seriously affected by the tsunami of 2004: 148 people died in this village. The Indian guru from Kerala Mata Amritanandamayi helped with the reconstruction of the village Samanthanpettai and surrounding villages by constructing 374 houses for the inhabitants (The Hindu, 2005). Picture4.6 presents the monument built for Mata

Amritanandamayi. This monument is on a square which is a central meeting point for people from the village. Around 6pm, mostly men gather around this monument.

The village Samanthanpettai can be divided into two parts: the old village on the seaward side of the railway track and the village on the land side of the railway track. After the tsunami of 2004, legislation of the coastal zone management changed in Tamil Nadu. It is currently prohibited to construct houses within a radius of 200 meters of the sea. On the right side of the village, no post-tsunami houses are constructed. The houses that survived the tsunami are still occupied. Houses which were damaged by the tsunami are desolated. The ruins of houses are still present on the seaward side of the village and sometimes used for other purposes, shown in picture 4.7. The land side of the village Samanthanpettai consist of post-tsunami houses. These are houses for people who lost their houses in

Samanthanpettai and for people who lost their houses in surrounding villages. Picture 4.8presents the houses built after tsunami by the Guru Mata. In the village, there are

separate neighborhoods for people from other villages whose houses were destroyed due to the tsunami and people from Samanthanpettai who lost their houses due to the tsunami. After the tsunami, the majority of the fishermen in the village claimed that their fisher vessel was destroyed. As a result, the quantity of Fiberboats doubled compared to before the tsunami. The construction of concrete post-tsunami houses and the addition of mechanized Fiberboats to the village, created wealth for inhabitants and increased the standard of living.

4.5 Threats for the community

Fishing can be a dangerous activity. Trawlerboats go up to 60 kilometers from the shore in the direction of Sri Lanka. Samanthanpettai is relatively close to the sea territories of Sri Lanka. If trawlers are caught by the authorities of Sri Lanka, the Tamil fishermen get tortured and eventually are killed by the Sri Lankan authorities. The conflict between the Tamil

fishermen and the authorities of Sri Lanka has a complex background. Sri Lanka has just come out of a long and severe civil war between the ‘Tamil tigers’ (people, originally from Tamil Nadu, India) who strove for an independent state within Sri Lanka. Currently, the territorial sea of Sri Lanka is threatened by Trawlerboats, owned by Tamil fishermen who are fishing in Sri Lankan waters. The ban of Trawlerboats by the Sri Lankan government made