A woman from Tamil Nadu, herself as a man for 30 years to raise her daughter single-handedly.
Three decades ago, at 20 of age, she lost her husband to a heart attack 15 days after their wedding.
After she gave birth to a girl, Pechiyammal started to work, but faced harassment.
To raise her only daughter without remarrying, Pechiyammal decided to disguise herself as a man and became a man.
She cropped her hair and started wearing a traditional clothes and shirt to look like a man. Over the past three decades, she has worked in many places like hotels, tea shops in Chennai and her village. Everywhere she worked, she was called as ‘Anna chi’ (a traditional name for a male).
She was later referred as Hotel Master as she worked in hotel and tea shops.
Pechiyammal said: I did all kinds of jobs, from working as painter, tea master, hotel master to 100-day work. I saved every penny to ensure a secured life for my daughter. After days, she turned to be my identity, which in turn was mentioned on all documents, including Aadhaar, Voter ID and bank account.
Pechiyammal said it was tough initially. Keeping the safety of my daughter in mind, I decided to go through the trouble. Disguising as a man kept me safer at my work place at a time when I was travelling more to earn my livelihood. To make my identity real, I always occupied a seat only on men’s side in buses. I used a gents toilet. Although the government announced free travel for women in buses, I paid the fare, she said.
DESIRES FULFILLED
Pechiyammal, 57, is now content. My daughter is married, and I feel I have fulfilled all my desires. I wish to be remembered like this even after my death. I’ll spend the rest of my life like a man if I get a pension from the government. I’m ineligible for many schemes, she said.
Only a couple of people and Shanmugasundari, her daughter, knew about her struggles. She devoted her life to me. I hope she gets the allowance, said Shanmugasundari.
Patriarchy remains deeply embedded within Indian society, even though there has been some evolution. People have always fought their own battles to get rid of it. But could you imagine living a life in disguise for as long as 30 years? A 57-year-old Tamil Nadu woman, named S Petchiammal, disguised herself as a man for a time period of 30 years. Hailing from a village, the woman was only 20 years old when she lost her husband to a heart attack. This happened just 15 days after the wedding. The village had a dominant patriarchal society and to raise her daughter, she disguised herself as a man. This is because being employed was seen as a problem for women in the patriarchal society.
While speaking to The Indian Express, she explained how she had to become ‘Man’ after her husband passed away. She further explained how she was facing harassment and hardships while working at construction sites and tea shops. As a solution to this, she decided to go to the Temple and chopped her hair. She also changed her attire to a shirt and traditional clothes.
She said, We resettled at my village over 20 years ago. Only my close relatives back home and my daughter knew that I am a woman. I did all kinds of jobs, from working as a painter, tea master, hotel master to 100-day work. She saved all the money that she could to ensure a safe and secure life for her daughter. She adopted gents name as her identity, which went on to be mentioned on all of her official documents, including Aadhaar, Voter ID, and bank account.
Even though her daughter is married now, the woman is not ready to change her attire. She believes that her changed identity ensured a safe life for her daughter, therefore, she wants to remain as ‘Man’ until her death.
A similar story is known from a different part of the world-that, of Afghanistan’s Nadia Ghulam. Nadia, who has gained international fame, fooled the Taliban outfit by disguising as a boy for 10 years. Despite being a girl, she moved around without a hijab. She was a citizen of Afghanistan and when the Taliban first came to power, she was denied the right to study or work. Therefore, to take care of her house, Nadia had to live a lie that threatened her life every moment.
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