Home-based women workers have to face enormous hardships and discrimination as they always remain vulnerable to exploitation at the hands of elements who take undue advantage of their weaknesses.
A documentary film titled, 'Home-Based Women Workers-Sharing Experience,' was screened at the inaugural session of the three-day long roundtable on gender mainstreaming through legal reforms to sensitise the participants on the wretched condition of county's working women. ' All the working women are not documented as majority of them work at their homes, local industrial units or in the remote areas of the country,' the documentary revealed.
The film featured two 12-year old female child engaged in preparing 'Agarbatis' (incense sticks) in a very miserable and unhygienic atmosphere. They normally prepare four thousand agarbatis per day and get only Rs 25 for per thousand agarbatis bundle. They have to be very cautious in counting of bundles. as even if they miss a single agarbati in count, they would loose money on each bundle.
The film featured a woman and her daughter engaged in sewing towels. They got the work from a local mill owner who pays them only Rs 35 per 100 towels. They have to use their own sewing thread and repair the sewing machines at their own. 'If we ask for enhancing labour, the owners would threaten us of removing from the job,' they said adding that they blatantly tell us to find another job if not satisfied.
The women working in cotton fields and some local mills also complained that men and women were not paid equally for the same work and were not even paid overtime by the owners.
However, the film screened that women working in some established factories draw their deserved salaries to feed their families but deplored that there were very little opportunities of this kind and most of the women have to face the hardships in getting proper pays on time and real wages against what they do.
Further, they also have to face transport problem, as there is no separate transport facility available to them, even the portions in buses dedicated for women remain occupied by the men. Featuring many other related problems of working women, the documentary is the question mark for the society and challenge for the policy makers to address these issues and rid the working women of these unfavourable conditions and ensure them their due rights.