Breast Tax of Nangeli

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This is the story of a woman named Nangeli that has become symbolic of the struggle against Breast Tax of Kerala, India. Nangeli was born in a village named Mulachiparambu in the year 1805. This village comes in the town of Cherthala in the district of Alappuzha, the central region of the state of Kerala. Starting from the 18th century, the women of lower Hindu castes were not allowed to cover their breasts. It was the order of landowning Brahmin king of the Kingdom of Tranvancore in the state. And if, the woman wanted to cover her breast, she had to pay the tax to the king as per the size of her breast inspected by the village officer. Apart from covering breasts, lower-caste women had to pay tax for just having breasts.