The whole world knows the name of Draupadi of Mahabharata. Draupadi, a wife of the five Pandavas. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that whatever alms the Pandavas brought during their exile, Kunti, without even looking, ordered to distribute it equally among the five brothers. Following the mother's orders, the Pandavas divided everything among themselves. The same thing happened on the day when Arjun brought Draupadi to Panchal country by winning his swayamvara on his own strength. Kunti ordered the Pandavas standing at the door to distribute whatever they had brought equally. At that very moment Draupadi became the wife of not just one but five men. Draupadi continued to maintain the polygamous relationship throughout her life. Pandavas made a rule that every night Draupadi would go to one brother's room, his wife would give him happiness. More than five thousand years have passed since the Mahabharata. People say that Draupadi also went away with the Mahabharata, but Draupadi, who had five husbands, is still alive.
Even today, in the Jaunsari tribe of the mountains of Uttarakhand, there is a tradition of making one woman the wife of all the brothers, in which the women of the Jaunsari tribe are still suffocating. The women of Lakhamandal of Uttarakhand are still facing this evil practice. The custom of polygamy is still prevalent in the Jaunsari tribe in Lakhamandal. The wife marries one man in the house, but she has to maintain marital relations with all the men in the house. She automatically becomes the wife of all the brothers. He has to maintain relations with each brother and keep him happy. The role of a wife has to be played in his life.
Even today women of Jaunsari tribe have to become Draupadi. According to the senior people of Lakhamandal, the practice of polyandry is a big cultural part of our tribe. This is our identity. We can't leave it. The women of the tribe say that this custom is a bad custom for us. It has torn our social, personal, mental and family life apart. Polygamous women have to satisfy not just one but many husbands. One has to bear every responsibility for their nutrition. Till the end, the woman remains confused as to whom she should consider as her husband in the house, with whom she can share the joys and sorrows of life.
According to the 2011 census, there are only 863 females per 1000 males in the Jaunsari tribe. In the last several decades, the situation of sex ratio has worsened due to increase in cases of female foeticide. Sociologists say that the main reason for this practice being prevalent in these areas even today is the increasing sex ratio. Even today in these areas the number of women is very less compared to men. Due to low ratio of women, here boys do not get girls for marriage, hence one girl becomes the wife of every brother.
Actually, people of Jaunsari tribe consider Pandavas as their ancestors. Due to calling themselves descendants of Pandavas, polyandry i.e. having more than one husband is prevalent in this tribe. The people of Jaunsari say that the practice of polyandry is our offering to our ancestors, the Pandavas. Unless the practice of polyandry is practiced in our homes, life is considered incomplete, hence the practice of polyandry is imposed on women in a way. Women have to live with it even if they don't want to, from which the woman cannot recover. According to a report, this practice is still alive today among the people living in the areas around the Himalayas in Northern India and in the region of Tibet.
A major reason behind the practice of polyandry is the distribution of property and the disputes related to it. People believe that if every brother has his own wife and children, then their lands will be divided like common people. There will be a fight over property. If there is a woman in the house, the property will go to her children. Preventing fragmentation of agricultural land in the mountains is a big challenge. The Jaunsari tribe survives by farming and animal husbandry. To avoid division of ancestral property and animals, all brothers get married to one wife. People believe that having too many women disturbs the peace of the house. There should be a woman so that there is no discord in the house. This maintains love among brothers, because every brother's life revolves around a woman. Jaunsari call polyandry a fundamental part of their culture. These tribes sacrifice women's feelings to save their land.
The elders of Jaunsari tribe may believe in many reasons for adopting this practice, but somewhere this practice has become a big pain for the women of this tribe. Such pain, which this woman cannot tell to anyone. Every woman has to follow this tradition from generation to generation. In polyandry, the woman does not have the right to marry again, but the man has the right to marry one after the other. If a husband dies, the woman has to live as his widow. A woman plays two roles - married and widow - in the same life. A woman has to have relations with many men simultaneously, which is a big blow to her feelings. Whose wife a woman is cannot be decided until death. Children born to women also remain deprived of their real father throughout their life. If the wife lives with one brother, the other brother becomes violent, discriminatory and jealous, due to which the woman becomes a victim. In this way, there are many difficulties which Jaunsari women face.
Women also have to suffer a lot physically. They become victims of many types of sexual diseases. A research conducted in America revealed that children of women who have more than one husband are victims of emotional and physical abuse. Such girls themselves become victims of emotional abuse after seeing their mothers trapped in a life of polygamy. Negativity and fear arise in their mind regarding marriage. She considers this as rape. This practice is exploitation of women. According to research, among women in polygamous marriages, emotional distress is present at 86.8 percent, feeling of fear at 17 percent, lack of self-esteem at 58.4 percent and feeling of loneliness at 64 percent.
Many diseases like marital dissatisfaction, depression, feeling of hostility, feeling of doubt, stress, lack of self-esteem and loneliness are found in women associated with the practice of polyandry. Women of Jaunsari tribe are deprived of living a dignified life as mentioned in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which is a big example of gender inequality. These women are deprived of health, education and respect. The Uttarakhand government had recently said that after Diwali, it will call a special session of the Assembly and pass a bill to implement Uniform Civil Code in the state to ban the evils like polygamy and polyandry prevalent in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand will be the first state to do so, but till now the government has not considered it. The population of Jaunsari tribe in Uttarakhand is more than 1 lakh 37 thousand, who also vote. Despite this, till date no political party or leader has thought of giving freedom to these women from polyandry. Freedom from this practice is the need of the hour, on which we all will have to not only think together but also work.