Source: The New Indian Express
“G.Santhiya, a 22 year old Dalit woman, was driven to suicide after facing caste based harassment at work, when she complained about being forced to work extra hours by her supervisors, Mani and Chitra.”
On November 9, 2019, G Santhiya, a 22 year old Dalit woman from Nagamalaipudukottai, ended her life by consuming pesticide shortly after she returned from work. She was a tailor at a garment factory in Kappalur. The production manager and supervisor of the factory named Mani and Chitra (caste unreported) had allegedly forced her a few days before this to work extra hours by insulting her and saying that she did not work well. She had complained to their supervisors about this. In retaliation, they had allegedly started harassing her, and calling her by her caste name in front of the other workers in order to humiliate her. Unable to tolerate the shame and humiliation, she committed suicide.
G.Santhiya initially faced abuse of her rights as a worker by her superiors at her workplace. Using humiliation as a weapon, they attempted to exploit her labour beyond what she was being paid to do. After she sought recourse from her workplace, they retaliated by inflicting casteist abuse on her. This was an attempt at blaming the victim for her own exploitation, creating a hostile work environment, putting her in her place through humiliation and shame, and intimidating her about the possible future harassment and abuse she would face from not just her superiors but also possibly from her upper-caste peers. The distress caused by this victim blame at her workplace pushed her to take her own life.
References:
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2019/nov/13/three-booked-after-dalit-woman-ends-life-in-madurai-2060976.html
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2019/nov/13/three-booked-for-abetting-suicide-of-woman-in-madurai-2061146.html
