SEWA cared and continues caring.......

DREU CITU, DREU CITU, screamed a lot of red banners in Kerala, my son then aged  five commented angrily ‘What’s this DREU CITU up to! What does ‘He’ WANT,!!

At that time I too was under the impression that Trade Unions were a nuisance, what  did they want, what was their agenda. And then I went to SEWA in Ahmadabad on an assignment as a Portuguese translator. 

At the SEWA Conference I learnt about a sector of people called unorganized labor, these were the people I took for granted, these were the people I barely glanced at. And these included so very many people, the roadside hawkers, the  people who rummaged the garbage , I looked at them with distaste, such dirty people, the mobile vendors with their pushcarts, and so many people selling little things on Bombay trains.

And then came SEWA a Labor Union.  SEWA tries to organize these marginalized workers  and to see that they are provided with the full benefits that regular workers enjoy. 

But the most important aspect for SEWA is that all these workers, vendors should be treated with respect and dignity. Yes I wept, when I heard how those illiterate women started their own Bank! Who would give illiterate women any loans, they have no collateral and did not even know how to sign. 

This Bank the first of its kind in India, was started by women like Chandaben who said

"We may be poor, but we are so many. Why don't we start a bank of our own? Our own women's bank, where we are treated with the respect and service that we deserve."

They started a BANK!! It is a story of grit, determination. and passion. 

My stint at SEWA was an eye opener because I now  look at people differently. I now know  how hard people work, sometimes for very small salaries,. How much even small amounts of money mean to the mobile vendors with pushcarts. And how everyone needs to be respected 

 Do you care how these women live? Are they just a bunch of illiterate women? 

But SEWA cared and continues caring.......... 

Recently I went to Cividep for a Session of interchange of Ideas, four women from Nicaragua who belonged to a Union called MEC (Maria Elena Cuadra) came to Bangalore for interchange of ideas with the Garment and Textile Workers Union which deals with Garment Workers in Bangalore, the focus was of course the Rights of Women in the workplace and different aspects of a Woman’s life. This time unlike at the SEWA Conference I had a great deal of time to interact with the Nicaraguans on a personal basis, one in particular, Teresa astounded me, her grit and determination to get out of the slums, educate herself all this when she has four small children. Their poverty appalled me, a staple diet of beans, rice and a small bit of cheese is what they can afford at the moment, food prices in Nicaragua are so high that meat of any type is a distant dream.

Nicaragua a Catholic country prohibits legalized abortion but allows Family planning by other methods. As they do not get proper education about these other Methods of Family Planning; their only recourse is Abortion which of course is prohibited. So the slums are full of young pregnant teenagers and orphans. On discussion with the Garment Workers here in Bangalore they realized how women who have the same life style as they do, the same wages as they have, (did I ever know that Garment Workers work for around 2.5$ Dollars a day around 106.00 Rupees a day?) managed to have only 2 children because they planned their families so very carefully with very rare abortions. They also realized that 61% of Garment Workers in Bangalore were single mothers bringing up their children single handed just like in Nicaragua, some of course have help from their extended families and those who did not, managed it somehow.

A concept in India called Self Help Groups (SHG) teaches Women a great deal about Finance. This is a simple process; a group of women consisting of maybe 20 or more members pool in a sum of Rs.100/- per month for each member. They then open an account in a Bank and when required give out Micro loans at a rate of interest of 2% as compared to the high interest rates at the banks. The Nicaraguans were however appalled at the concept of Dowry, they felt women were sold as objects to the highest bidder, a mere commodity

Life for Women Garment Workers is difficult, long hours of work sometimes with no overtime, abuse from the employers, sometimes sexual abuse, hardly any leave and if you do not belong to any Union you can be asked to leave at any time. In Nicaragua they battled long and hard for Equal Wages for Men and Women, in this age of Globalisation with techies earning millions and not knowing what to do with their money did we think there are women like Teresa, Connie, Yashoda and Hema who budget so hard and have to think of every penny they spend.

That should be an eye opener for us too! In this age of inflation.