Inspiring Story Of A Woman Dressed As A Man To Raise Daughter In The Patriarchal Society

This is the story of S Petchiammal, who lost her husband to a heart attack when she was only 20-years-old. It has been decades since she has been disguising herself as a man to take care of her daughter.

S Petchiammal is 57-years-old and has been dressing up as a man for more than 30 years now. She belongs to Katunayakkanpatti village, Thoothukudi district, in Tamil Nadu. The place where she lived before Katunayakkanpatti had a strict patriarchal construct.

After her husband’s demise, she was left to raise her daughter all alone. In an orthodox society, she decided to change her looks so that she could become the breadwinner of her family.

Struggles of S Petchiammal

Image Courtesy: India Times

Having a patriarchal construct around her, it was hard for Petchiammal to find a job that could help her take care of her daughter. Village folks harassed her, leaving her no choice but to become ‘Muthu’ from S Petchiammal. She resettled in Kattunayakkanpatti about 20 years ago.

In an interview with The New Indian Express, Petchiammal said, “I lost my husband, Siva, just 15 days after the marriage. I was only 20 years old then, and soon I gave birth to Shanmugasundari. I decided not to marry again. But raising a child alone turned out to be difficult. I worked in construction sites, hotels and tea shops. But I suffered harassment at all these places.”

After facial sexual taunts, Petchiammal went to the Tiruchendur Murugan Temple. She changed her complete outlook by chopping her hair and donning a lungi and shirt. She named herself Muthu, and only her daughter, Shanmugasundari, and a few of her close relatives knew about her real identity.

How Did S Petchiammal Find Job?

Image Courtesy: India Times

According to the report in The New Indian Express, Petchiammal’s daughter is now married, but she does not want to change her attire. She said, “This identity ensured a safe life for my daughter. I will remain Muthu until I die.” In fact, her ration card, voter ID and Aadhaar card show her as a man named Muthu.

Sharing with The New Indian Express, she said, I did all kinds of jobs, from working as a painter, tea (tea for your every mood) master, parotta master to 100-day work." She used to save every penny she could to safeguard her daughter’s life and future.

Because of her age, she could not perform hard labour work anymore. Hence, she applied and received an MGNREGS job card only a year ago under her actual female identity, S Petchiammal.

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She also added, “I don’t own a house or have any savings. I can’t apply for a widow certificate also. Since I am too old to work, I request the government to offer me some monetary aid.”

The story of S Petchiammal is an inspiring one, but it also makes us reflect on the construct in our society. A woman and a mother had to hide her identity to escape sexual remarks blatantly thrown at her. People around her saw her husband’s demise as an opportunity to harass her.

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The New Indian Express has spoken to Collector Dr K Senthil Raj, and he assured to look into social welfare schemes to find if the benefits of any scheme could be extended to S Petchiammal.

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