In patriarchal India, gold is often a woman’s best friend

A recent survey showed that Indian women now own a staggering 11% of the world’s gold reserves. At 24,000 tons, this is more than the gold reserves of the other top five gold-holding countries (see chart). What’s with us and the yellow metal? Why this obsession for sona? Do we really love it the same way Bappi Lahiri does? Is the attraction for shiny gold ornaments nothing more than a childish desire to impress neighbours and make a statement?

The answer’s not so simple. Gold isn’t just about decking up in shiny ornaments. It is a woman’s most trusted security blanket, perhaps the most acceptable and legitimate form of property women possess in a patriarchal set-up. The industrious, hard-working women of the Koli community (we live close to one of the oldest fishing villages in Mumbai) wear all the gold they possess on their person. When asked why, they said, "If our homes get swept away due to flooding, all that we have stored inside the house will be gone. We wear our hard work on our body. Our gold has saved us through calamities like the tsunami. We only trust gold, as it can be easily sold in an emergency."