The Bonda Women-Swearing by the roots part 1

In a world that is full of stories about empowerment of women, a different type of women resides in our midst. Even as women strive to conquer one male citadel or the other, border Indian States like Andhra Pradesh and Orissa have contrasting tales to tell. Women, most of them tribals, enjoy a unique social status, which the more-conservative or orthodox visionaries may not have come across in their lifetime.Bonda women have empowerment of a rare kind. On that count they can be taken as the perfect parameter to decide upon the status of women in the great gender-war of one-upmanship.Often, they are the ultimate decision makers within the family. This is made possible because they have a greater participation than men in day-to-day economic activities. These stem from deeply rooted Bonda cultural practices and customs. However, the uniqueness is not something one could be proud to flaunt around. On the contrary, the overly dependence on women tells the tale of hardship, poverty, working donkey hours and handling economic issues that even the men of the family would scorn at.