GENDER RIGHTS AS CONJECTURED FROM FOLKSONGS OF UTTAR PRADESH.

This paper is based on an empirical study of women's folksongs of Uttar Pradesh. Folksongs are a rich source for understanding the place of women in Hindu society. The significance of these folksongs lies in their suggesting and hinting at themes, rather than directly addressing them, women sing what they often cannot talk about. Folksongs deal with women's common wishes, unfulfilled desires, hopes, disappointments, unexpressed emotions, and their reactions to their social environment. These voices also highlight rural women?s relationship with land, and their own perceptions of significance of independent land rights in their lives.Women would not answer direct questions but freely sing about labor practices and rights to land. This paper highlights the very important safety-valve function of these folk songs in which women are afforded an opportunity to express their bottled-up feelings and their longings in a socially acceptable form.