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Empowering
Domestic Workers
It is a workforce no middle-class urban dweller can do without – domestic
workers. In Bangalore, for instance, an army of about 500,000 low-paid
women workers, equipped with no special skills, keeps the city going.
Almost 25 per cent of this workforce is made up of girls between 10 and 16
years of age who, after dropping out of primary school, accompany their
mothers to work and soon end up as workers in their own right. Earning a
measly sum of about Rs 300 for part-time work and Rs 1,000 for full-time
work (1US$=Rs48), these workers have not been unionized to demand better
working conditions. In fact, according to reports, even the proposal to
include domestic workers under the Minimum Wages Act is running into rough
weather due to opposition from employers who maintain that affording
domestic workers is already expensive and fixing a minimum wage would lead
to further 'harassment'.
Organizing domestic workers is an uphill task, as Stree Jagruti Samiti, a
women's organization, has found out. Starting with a demand for a weekly
holiday, the Samiti has encountered difficulties in organizing the
domestic workers under one umbrella, mainly because they do not see
themselves as a homogenous group.
The domestic workers are also conscious of the fact that theirs is a
surplus market and that they can be easily replaced as their jobs do not
call for special skills.
Mobilizing adolescent girls among the domestic workers has been even more
difficult. The government does not recognize child labor, so child
laborers cannot be unionized. However, the situation for domestic workers
may improve if the proposed Karnataka Unorganized Workers Welfare Bill
(2001) is enacted and implemented.
Meanwhile, the Stree Jagruti Samiti has taken on the onerous task of
empowering adolescent domestic workers in the slums of the posh Jayanagar
area in south Bangalore. The Samiti, which has been working with the
unorganized sector for over 20 years, has been tackling not only issues
like dowry and wife battering, but also community problems like
sanitation, water and ration cards.
In the course of its work, the Samiti came in contact with domestic
workers, particularly young girls. Working with these girls was refreshing
in that they had open attitudes towards caste and socio-cultural customs
like, for instance, the traditional segregation of menstruating women. The
older women, on the other hand, tended to have a more rigid mindset.
Although these workers presented a united front on community issues, when
it came to social issues like marriage and dowry, the group generally
followed the diktats of their own communities. Says Geeta Menon, Secretary
of the Stree Jagruti Samiti, "We shifted our focus to children and
adolescent girls because they were more open to new ideas." And thus was
born the Chaitanya Yuvathira Sangha (CYS), meaning 'awakening among
adolescent girls'.
According to Menon, adolescence is a crisis-ridden period of change for
any teenager but it is even more traumatic for girls from the backward and
impoverished sections of society. There is a dilemma about the 'new world'
that they aspire to be a part of and anxiety over their position in their
own clan and community. The role of CYS is one of bridging this divide by
empowering the girls and creating a sense of leadership among them.
CYS has been in existence for three years and targets girls in the 12 to
18 years age group. In addition, it runs 'Chaitanya Shalai' for girls aged
between 10 and 12 years who are school dropouts. Chaitanya Shalai is a
non-formal school that the children attend in the evenings after they
return from work, some as assistants to their mothers and others as
full-fledged workers. The Samiti ensures that they are given some
nutritious food like 'Sundal' (boiled pulses) or an egg at the end of the
classroom session.
Classes are conducted six days a week and the choice of the syllabus is
left to one of the adolescent girls who is provided with inputs at CYS.
She draws a small stipend and is helped by a paid supervisor. The stipend
adds to her sense of worth and helps in building leadership in the
community – one of the main objectives of the Samiti. The students are
given exposure to elementary English and Mathematics and attempts are also
made to increase literacy levels in Kannada, the local language.
Besides this, the experience is enriched by storytelling and 'Just A
Minute' (JAM) sessions where the girls are asked to narrate their
experiences or speak on any topic for a minute. Those interested can also
avail of embroidery classes to increase their options when it comes to
finding means of earning money. Chaitanya Shalai also extends
supplementary tuition for girls continuing with their formal education -
no mean task for school dropouts.
Says Tamilarasi, one of the girls in CYS, "I feel independent because I
can read the signboards on buses without asking for help and even do
accounts." Many of the girls say that they were very unhappy when their
parents pulled them out of primary school and sent them to work instead.
One girl quotes her parents as saying, "Of what use is education? If you
work, we can clear our debts and have another income in the house." For
all these girls, Chaitanya Shalai has been like an oasis in the desert of
their dreary lives.
Becoming a part of the teaching staff is in itself an empowering
experience. Says Rosy, a member of CYS, who is now a teacher in her area,
"Earlier, I used to be intimidated by neighbors and others. Now I have
gained the confidence to speak up and can share my problems openly with
others. I am in charge of my own life."
Putting to use their newly learnt skills, members of CYS conducted a
survey on sexual harassment, the findings of which were released on
International Women's Day this year. Though the survey's accuracy in terms
of numbers might be a subject of debate, there could be no doubting the
sincerity of the girls in following the guidelines, nor the confidence
with which they were able to speak up on a sensitive and taboo subject
like sexual harassment.
Girls from CYS are also taken on local educational trips, which include
visits to the planetarium and museums, besides attending meetings on
issues that concern them like domestic work and child labor. They are
also encouraged to stand up and express their views at such meetings.
Yet, there is also opposition from community leaders who have to face
uncomfortable questions from these dynamic girls. Many mothers, too, are
not very happy about the transformation in the girls and their
unwillingness to conform to old established patriarchal values.
And what can be a better testimony to the success of the Chaitanya
Yuvathira Sangha than such opposition?
– Melanie Kumar
May 26, 2002
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By arrangement with
Womens Feature Service
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