Status study of Thiruvananthapuram women

Priests, particularly Catholic priests, are a class who are drilled fiercely a decade or more by keeping them on knees to view everything so unwearyingly that they could even laugh loudly at funerals and suppurate silently at weddings.   The Status study of Kerala women fish vendors done by the Catholic priest S. Ignatius tells a story in this line.

The priest S Ignatius, the secretary of TSSS (Trivandrum Social Service Society) in his study found that among women fish vendors in the State capital sexuality remained a taboo topic, and discussion of sexuality within families does not happen. According to him these women remain largely ignorant of different options for contraception and have poor sexual hygiene. Menstruation is considered impure and not even discussed, so adolescent girls grow up with little knowledge of their own bodies. More interesting findings are: only 24 percent of the women in the study could tell what happened to the female body during menstruation and only eight percent of the women used sanitary pads. Barely 21 percent of the women understand sexuality before they were married.

There is a character called “Kurathi Kalyani” in S L Puram Sadanandan’s fames drama “ Kattukuthira”. Kalyani tells: “when she needs sex she would fume some oyster (kakka) and breathe in the burn”.  As the topic of study of father Ignatius is interesting he will be the most sort person for several invited talks on status study of Thiruvananthapuram women.  Unquestionably the Catholic priests practising celibacy need a way out for their sexual urge.

K A Solaman