Rekha Karthikeyan, India's first woman trawler, is proving women have what it takes to thrive in this male-dominated bastion. At the beginning of her journey, she was told all the cliches — that the physical and mental demands of working on a trawler vessel for fishing would always remain a male preserve.
After watching her husband struggle with his work, out in the sea, Rekha, a mother of four, decided to join him. She was not that courageous at first. But she believed in her husband and started setting off to the sea. “I was born in Koorkenchery, near Thrissur town. There are no rivers where I grew up. I don’t remember even going to a pond for swimming when I was young,” says Rekha.
She married Karthikeyan, who is from a family of fishermen from Engandiyur near Chettuva. “At times, my husband struggled a lot when his helper was not around. He used to go alone for fishing and that was very dangerous. So I thought of going with him. It was a sudden decision and I was very afraid at first. But one day, I decided to go with my husband and his helper in their vessel,” she says.
She always wanted to get a license for trawling and filed many requests but got rejected several times. “They said it is not safe and they underestimated the power of a woman. I was very sad that even though I go for fishing, they were not convinced enough to grant me the license,” she says.
In an event, the couple was honored by CMFRI, Kochi, as she is the only known woman who goes to the sea. In that event, Rekha spoke to Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers’ welfare Sudarshan Bhagat. On his orders, she finally earned the license in November last year and thus became the first woman to do so.
When she started fishing, she faced many objections from her family. But later she managed to convince them. She feels women are not doing this kind of jobs because of societal pressures. “I found that a lot of the guys have that stereotypical view of women even though they are young and have their own opinion about everything. They still have that old school mentality,” she says.
In her ten years of experience in fishing in the sea she has come to understand that this is a tough job and one has to prove one’s mettle to excel in it. More than the physical prowess, it is one's mental strength that matters. “We face lot of problems during fishing. Normally for a day’s work, we go more than 30 kilometers into the sea. A few years ago, our engine went off and we had to station in the middle of nowhere for almost six hours. We were lucky that day as the sea was calm,” she says.
Most of the time, luck won’t help you but Rekha and her husband narrowly escaped the destructive waves during Cyclone Ockhi.
Her husband Karthikeyan is in awe of Rekha, “I grew up around fishermen. As a child I'd go out on the boat with my grandfather and uncles. I was sailing before I could walk. I have seen a lot. But never have I seen anyone with this much willpower like my wife. Her decision to apply for the license and to sail with me was the result of our financial condition.” Their four daughters, Maya, Anjali, Deva Priya and Lakshmi Priya, understand and support their parents and make themselves ready for anything to ease their day-to-day lives.
“Our day starts by 3.30 am to 4 am in the morning. We set off to the sea off the coast of Chavakkad while our children are sleeping. Sometimes they come with us. They are not afraid of the water anymore. They are used to it and sometimes I feel like we are part of the sea,” Rekha says.
There are days they return home empty-handed. But everyday, Rekha and Kathikeyan continue to sail for miles in their fibre vessel.
