Submitted by Veronica Villa on
The Indian Fisherwomen Assembly took place in Thiruvananthapuram 5-6 November. It was the culmination of a series of workshops organised by the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), along with other fisher people's unions, in an effort to implement the 2017 World Forum of Fisher Peoples’ (WFFP) General Assembly’s decision to have more women’s representation in fishworkers’ unions.
The assembly was a first of its kind, hosted by the women of Theeradesha Mahila Vedi (TMV) and Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation (KSMTF), and attended in solidarity by other women’s movements from across India, including from the National Alliance of Domestic Workers, National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM), All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), All India Centre for Trade Unions (AICTU), Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and Food Sovereignty Alliance (FSA).
This meeting made history, bringing together women from India’s coast, forests and hills, and from cities, towns and villages, to weave a common platform where they can commemorate and strengthen their collective struggles. It challenged the narratives of the patriarchal state and capitalist actors who have distorted the historical identity of traditional fisherpeople, invisibilized women’s labour and exploited marine resources for their own benefit.
The Fisherwomen Assembly also debated the social injustices of caste, gender, labour and religion. Women leaders from across the country stated that women have been in the forefront of every struggle, and highlighted the struggle it took for women to be recognised today. They called out the global institutions of capitalism which accentuate the destruction of marine and coastal life rather than alleviating the socio-ecological problems faced by communities. During the assembly, November 5th was declared International Fisherwomen Day as recognised by WFFP.
Kaveri Choudhury, who attended the Assembly for ETC Group said:
“The assembly, attended by women leaders from across sectors marked a shift in India's socio-ecological justice movements. Women leaders challenged the political spaces that had historically been occupied by men by acknowledging the historical contribution of women in movement struggles. It is envisioned by the women leaders that this process will not only impact the movement but also the state’s definition of “fisherfolk” which still does not recognize fisherwomen”.
The women's assembly demanded that the government stop the rapid expansion of dangerous industrial corridors, including nuclear transmission corridors and military corridors, in coastal areas. They also denounced the drastic impact of sea pollution on the health of fishing families; the intensified attacks on their livelihoods, labour rights, rights to fair prices in markets and rights to compensation in cases of natural disaster; and the trivialisation of the loss of lives at sea.
The Assembly of Fisherwomen of India was one of hundreds of events that paved the way to the Global Assembly of Fisher Peoples subsequently held in Brazil 14-24 November. The Global Assembly discussed the so-called blue economy, ocean grabbing and the climate crisis in the light of the struggle for food sovereignty.
Josana Pinto, a Brazilian fisherwoman representative of the World Forum of Fisher People people, interviewed by Esti Redondo (Biodiversidad, sustento y culturas no.123), argues against the absurd separation between land and water, between fishing and planting:
“I always emphasize the importance of artisanal fishing in food sovereignty as a culture, as a tradition, as a way of life, as healthy food. How many communities in Brazil and in the world survive directly from small-scale fishing, a millenary culture! We also produce healthy food. Those of us who fish also plant and harvest.
At the FAO Committee on Fisheries we wanted to talk about the various concepts that artisanal fisheries represent; but they took artisanal fisheries off the agenda to talk only about large-scale aquaculture to potentially solve the problem of hunger in the world.
We say the following: we are not concerned about quantity, we are concerned about quality, because we do not only want to eat, we want to feed ourselves and feed ourselves with healthy food. We don't want large quantities of fish if it is poisoned, we want good quality fish on our tables.
We affirm that there will be no food sovereignty if the State continues to destroy our rivers, continues to burn, continues to poison the soil, and continues to poison the water. Artisanal fishing food sovereignty will only remain strong as long as our territories are recognized and we continue to produce healthy food in an artisanal way instead of being captive fish breeders”.
With the Fisher People’s mobilization, we see women of coastal communities taking the lead in discussing worrying trends such as sea-grabbing, the blue economy, the unscientific development of coastal areas, the industrial monoculture cultivation of seaweed, and the industrial breeding of marine species just as in the feedlots of the pampas and savannas.
For fisherwomen, food sovereignty should not only happen on land, but also in the oceans.