The World Tamil Conference held on 12 November 2022, in Wellington, New Zealand, emphasised unity and solidarity. The one-day event, organised by the Aotearoa New Zealand Federation of Tamil Sangams (ANTS) Inc, saw a gathering of experts, and their lectures inspired almost 300 attendees. “The participation of orators from Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia New Zealand, and Sri Lanka bodes well for the purposes and objectives of ANTS Inc. “We have been working to organise this inaugural Tamil Conference since its inception three years ago,” said ANTS Inc president Raveen Annamalai.
Tamil Language
Tamil is a Dravidian language and has survived as a spoken language for more than 3500 years. It is spoken primarily in Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry of India. Tamil is the official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore and is recognised in Malaysia, South Africa, Fiji, and Mauritius. In 2004 Tamil was declared a classical language of India after meeting the three criteria of having ancient origins, an autonomous tradition, and a significant collection of ancient literature. World data states that Tamil is the mother tongue of around 87.7 million people globally.
Tamil Conference 2022
There were three sessions at the Tamil Conference 2022, and it opened with a lecture series themed Empowerment. The third speaker of the session was Kokila Annamalai of Singapore. Kokila Annamalai has been involved in progressive movements in Singapore for the past thirteen years. She campaigns against poverty, violence, dictatorship, capitalism, and various forms of oppression. Kokila initiated the Transformative Justice Collective and Workers Make Possible movements in Singapore. She is associated with many marginalized communities and works for their self-determination. Kokila firmly believes that the best way to bring about social reform is to put forward the collective strength and voices of the marginalized. Kokila spoke on Gender Equality.
Gender Equality
Kokila started her speech with an intense question “Who controls our bodies? Capitalists, who make employees ‘bleed’ for profit? A government that subjects us to harsh laws and dictatorship. Bigots, who use morals to oppress? Conservatives who resort to violence as a result of cultural ignorance? Husbands, who feel their wives serve their health? Parents, who say that their child will grow up correctly if he or she is beaten? The culture that continues to judge our looks, clothing, habits, complexion, and weight? Or does the body belong to us?” She then queried if the body that is bound to feelings, pleasure and imagination can emanate power and experience liberation. She added that feminism explicated how her body is a prisoner of society and that it was her LGBTQA+ community that led her to liberation. Kokila said that the rainbow community peers are the ones who taught her to unabashedly explore her identity, self-esteem, pleasure, love, lust and most importantly individuality. She started her lecture by saying “I’m not here today to talk about why society should accept the rainbow community. I intend to make you think about what the majority of society can learn from us. The outcasts, the underdogs, are always a mirror of society.”
Rainbow Community depictions in Tamil literature Kokila highlighted that the rainbow community concept is not something new to Tamils. She explicated how literature, folklore, dramas, and even temple sculptures depict the LGBTQA+ community. She reminded attendees how in many families, there are photos of baby boys dressed as girls and how boys are addressed using female pronouns and females using male pronouns. She reminded the audiences that each one has both masculine and feminine energies.
Gender liberation includes men
The conference reiterated the need to see gender equality past the male/female binary and have a more inclusive approach. Kokila said that “our fight should extend beyond equal rights. If we want women to have all of the rights that males have, we are being short-sighted. We should strive for absolute gender liberation and sexual freedom. Currently, all genders, including males, are disabled, exploited, and dominated in various ways.” She added, “We need a society that celebrates the bravery of women and the gentleness of men. Respect, rights, and protection should be afforded to sex workers. We should not just appreciate women, but also femininity in all of its forms.”
Good touch, bad touch
Kokila said that sex education in schools is very important. She said that media platforms should be forward-thinking about issues related to sexuality. She hopes for a society where a child who has concerns about their body or sexual urges, can speak to their parents or teachers without fear: a society which accepts and supports those who have sexual issues or are facing sexual harassment without judging them. “We need a society that stops saying kiss uncle and instead asks the child if they want a kiss,” she said. She ended her speech by saying “let us reclaim and liberate our bodies from dominance.”
Aotearoa New Zealand Federation of Tamil Sangams Inc
Kokila Annamalai was a speaker at the Tamil Conference 2022 organised by ANTS Inc. ANTS is a national organisation, comprising eight full members, including the Wellington Mutamizh Sangam, Auckland Tamil Association, Taranaki Tamil Association, Canterbury Indian Tamil Association, Tamil Sangam Waikato, Dunedin Tamil Society, Tamil Association of New Zealand and Then India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam Wellington. Its mission is to synergise member organisations and other like-minded entities to build capabilities and make Tamils global citizens.
Malini Yugendran is an Indian Newslink correspondent based in Auckland.
