These seven women have shattered another glass ceiling. With their distinctive skills, they have created a unique identity for themselves and dictate terms in the domestic trade of the fish catch that arrives in the Kakinada harbour.
Conquering another male bastion, these women have become successful “women auctioneers”, whose task is to conduct auction of the fish meant for the local market. The Kakinada harbour, thriving with nearly 600 registered fishing boats, has 65 auctioneers, including these seven women.
“We charge ₹10 or ₹20 for our service of conducting the auction of each bunch of fish. At the end of the day, the daily income is not less than ₹200. The trade completes within two hours everyday,” Patta Padmavati told The Hindu .
In her 50s, the renowned woman auctioneer and a widow, Ms. Padmavati had earned the skills of conducting the auction to earn a promised income to run her family. She had managed to perform the wedding of her two girls from the income earned from the job over the years.
“In the auction, the owner of the fish expects a lucrative price for his catch and the buyers offer bid as low as they predict. My task is to attract more buyers for the catch for which I conduct the auction. It’s no smooth affair as it involves money and is associated with the resale value of the fish in the market,” says Ms. Padmavati.
The seven women auctioneers — Chekka Dhana Lakshmi, Venkata Lakshmi, Devi, Nallamma, Kameswari, Ganga and Ms. Padmavathi — belong to Janadipuram village near the harbour. All of them are non-literate and belong to the fisherfolk community.
The women auctioneers say that women who sell the fish in the nearby villages attend their auction. They are their immediate prospective buyers. They compete among themselves to offer the best price at which they also could also earn some income.
