Renu Mallik
Renu Mallik, who is from Nainpur in Ward 11 of Dhangadhimai Municipality in Siraha, has been practising her traditional occupation of crafting bamboo goods and sanitation work to contribute toward supporting her family of 10 people. The Chhath Puja and weddings in the village cannot be completed without the koniya, dala, changiya, dhaki and pankha – bamboo utensils and household
goods – which she makes, but at the same festivals and ceremonies Renu and others from her community are considered untouchables and filthy. On top of that, the fact that the family doesn’t have its own land or other sources of income makes it difficult for them to obtain the food and clothes to survive.
Although Renu wanted to continue her studies, the weak financial condition and other problems in the family deprived her of further education. But she received support from her in-laws after marriage, so that she could
She wants to weave together her experiences, pains and sorrows, and her aspirations. She is curious about trying to understand her society from a fresh perspective, and in writing about it. She is learning to tell her own story, to analyse language, to use Google to search about topics which she doesn’t understand, and to create photo stories and video stories. She says that after the classes and interactions, she has let go of the fear in her heart, and that she has found a new courage to learn and hold a discourse.
Renu Mallik, who is from Nainpur in Ward 11 of Dhangadhimai Municipality in Siraha, has been practising her traditional occupation of crafting bamboo goods and sanitation work to contribute toward supporting her family of 10 people. The Chhath Puja and weddings in the village cannot be completed without the koniya, dala, changiya, dhaki and pankha – bamboo utensils and household
goods – which she makes, but at the same festivals and ceremonies Renu and others from her community are considered untouchables and filthy. On top of that, the fact that the family doesn’t have its own land or other sources of income makes it difficult for them to obtain the food and clothes to survive.
Although Renu wanted to continue her studies, the weak financial condition and other problems in the family deprived her of further education. But she received support from her in-laws after marriage, so that she could attend school, even if she had to wear a sari and keep the veil. In the course of studying the Nepali society, made complex by its diversity of caste, ethnicity and languages, she has seen how social ills like caste-based discrimination, violence against women, domestic violence, child marriage and the dowry tradition are so deeply rooted across rural and urban societies.
She wants to weave together her experiences, pains and sorrows, and her aspirations. She is curious about trying to understand her society from a fresh perspective, and in writing about it. She is learning to tell her own story, to analyse language, to use Google to search about topics which she doesn’t understand, and to create photo stories and video stories. She says that after the classes and interactions, she has let go of the fear in her heart, and that she has found a new courage to learn and hold a discourse.
Renu, who became mother to two children at a young age because of child marriage, strongly believes that one shouldn’t try to hide one’s caste, but rather one should take pride in it. One should engage in one’s labour and profession without shame. Labour and skills are to be sold in the marketplace, while one’s thinking must be continually refined. A person should become known not through one’s caste, but through one’s work and capability.
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