ISSUES & PROBLEMS OF WOMEN COTTON PICKERS IN SINDH

Transcription

1 ISSUES & PROBLEMS OF WOMEN COTTON PICKERS IN SINDH Baseline Study of Matiari District Sindh Community Foundation

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3 ISSUES & PROBLEMS OF WOMEN COTTON PICKERS IN SINDH Baseline Study of Matiari District Research By: Javed Hussain, Co Author: Jan Khaskheli Sindh Community Founda on

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5 Acronyms CEDAW: CNIC: CSOs: FDGs: HRCP: ICESCR: PILER: SPARC: SC: SCF: T&C: UC: UDHR: Conven on on the Elimina on of All formers of Discrimina on against Women Computerized Na onal Iden ty Card Civil Society Organiza ons Focus Group Discussions Human Rights Commissions of Pakistan The Interna onal Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) Pakistan Ins tute of Labor Educa on and Research Society for the Protec on of the Rights of the Child Save the Children Sindh Community Founda on Tex le and Clothing Union Council Universal Declara on of Human Rights Baseline Study of Ma ari District iii

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7 Contents o Forward vi o Summary 01 o About study 01 o Methodology 01 o Background and Literature Review 03 o Findings/Analysis 06 o Recommenda ons 13 o References 14 Baseline Study of Ma ari District v

8 Forward I acknowledge the support of a number of people and ins tu ons in developing this research report. Without their support this research was not possible to be complemented. In this regard I highly acknowledge the efforts of SCF team members Ms. Noorulain, Mr. Shakeel Ahmed and Ms. Khatul Faiz community women ac vist in arranging focus groups discussions with co on picking women in 20 villages. We are also thankful to Mr. Jan Khaskheli, journalist for his support in compiling the issues during the FDGs in rural areas. Along with others we are thankful to NHRF for suppor ng this valuable baseline study on the topic. Javed Hussain Execu ve Director Jan, 2014 Baseline Study of Ma ari District vi

9 Summary The research was aimed to analysis the socio-economic issues of co on picking women in Ma ari district of Sindh with the emphasis to develop the possible doable recommenda ons for their social and economic jus ce. A number of co on picking women are involve in co on picking during the July-Sep in district and they earn very low wages and their social and economic rights are exploited due to various reasons. The research went to analysis the factors of their socio-economic problem which impact their lives. The research was undertaken in 20 villages of Union Council Bhanoth of Taluka Hala of District Ma ari. The research provide a base for other researcher to go further in deep on various social issues of co on picking women and organiza ons to work for their social and economic empowerment. About Research Objec ves of the baseline To analyze the socio-economic problems of the co on picking women in Matairi district of Sindh province To envisage a set of recommenda ons for improving socio-economic status of co on picking women Methodology applied during base line Project document review Secondary Literature review Focus Groups Discussion Individual interviews of co on picking women and men Mee ngs with land growers Baseline Study of Ma ari District 01

10 Literature review Literature related to the labor rights and women par cipa on on in informal labor sector was reviewed through internet and receiving reports developed by various CSOs, civil society organiza ons namely SC, SCF, HRCP and PILER. Focus Groups Discussion 20 Focus Group Discussion were conducted with co on picking women. The FDGs were a ended by 350 women in 20 villages namely: o Jamal Dahri o Allahbux Bala o Miranpur o Bhanoth o Mari Muhammad Khan Individual interviews of co on picking women and men Individual forms of survey were filled developed and filled up. The ques oner was comprised on a number of ques oned related to their social and economic problems and wages as well. 50 women were interviewed. Mee ngs with men in the area Separately mee ngs were conducted with the men in 10 villages to know their percep on about the problems of co on picking women Baseline Study of Ma ari District 02

11 Background & Literature Review Pakistan is a country in transi on and country's major por on of economy is based on agriculture. In rural areas of Pakistan, women play a major role in agricultural produc on, livestock rising and co age industries and remain busy from dawn to dusk to supply food to men in fields, fetch water, collect fuel wood, and manage livestock. With respect to crops, women's par cipa on is par cularly high in co on, rice, pulses and vegetables. Rice and co on cul va on in Sindh and Punjab jointly account for more than one-third of women's annual agricultural ac vi es. It has been es mated that women account for 23.55% in co on areas. As the co on is one of the major cash crops of Sindh province of Pakistan. Pakistan's most important industrial and export sector, tex le and clothing (T&C) industry is based on women's shoulders. Women co on pickers, under the scorching heat, work in the co on fields of Southern Punjab and Sindh to harvest the raw material for T&C produc on. According to Labor Survey of Pakistan ( ), 70% of female labor force are engaged in agriculture and its allied fields and play very tough role like milking, feed and watch of the livestock. Their bri le bodies transplant rice crop in the burning month of May/ July. Likewise, co on grower's spray with poisonous pes cides to the crop; as women pick co on from sunrise to sun set, it develops allergies, their skin festers. They are always besieged by ailments and medico abnormali es and usually die untreated. The growers are not providing them facili es of hand gloves and umbrella. Neither government take steps to safe them.. However, the stakeholders including co on growers, industrialists, the Government as well as the larger public remain unaware of their plight. The co on pickers involve in co on picking on seasonal basis and get low wedges as compare to male co on pickers, so that women Baseline Study of Ma ari District 03

12 co on pickers earn low income from this hard labor. Most of these women are literate belong to very poor rural families with no exposure, lack of bargaining power, lack of networking with other co on picking women and human rights organiza on in case of viola on and exploita on of the rights of labour women, are contribu ng factors of their low earning from co on picking. Furthermore, they work in very cri cal unsafe environment while picking co on, their heath safety measure are not proper followed, they are not aware of the laws, legal protec on and labor rights, economic jus ces, and not organized into groups. They have very poor bargaining power. This pushes them to inequality and poverty. The Ma ari, Sanghar and Ghok districts are the major contributor in co on producing district in Sindh and more than 5000 rural women are involved in co on picking, so there is need to address this issues with very effec ve advocacy ac ons to create access of rural women to economic jus ce and need to educate and build their capaci es on various laws, rights awareness on economic and labour within country and there is need to organize them into groups, build their capaci es for leadership to address the issues of co on picker women in the area and collec ve bargaining to be part of the mainstreaming social ac vism of women economic rights and jus ce in country. SCF has iden fied 120 more villages for expanding the exis ng advocacy interven on for women economic rights and jus ce at large scale in three co on producing districts of Sindh. SCF has already such extensive experience of advocacy on human rights, needs funds to address this very cri cal issue related to protec on of women rights and economic rights. The Interna onal Covenant on Economic, social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (1966), enumerates socio-economic rights as including, but not being limited to, the right to educa on, health, housing food and water, work, social security, an adequate standard of living, a healthy environment, and the right to development. This treaty also notes that all socio-economic rights must be guaranteed without discrimina on (ar cle 2). Similarly, CEDAW deals with socioeconomic rights through a non-discrimina on lens that supports women's groups advoca ng for socio-economic rights as a means of eradica ng discrimina on based on gender. Women in Pakistan o en experience discrimina on and /or lack of access to educa on, health service and other inalienable rights that results in limi ng their opportuni es for economic survival. As Pakistan is one of the signatories of The Interna onal Covenant on Economic, social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (1966) and UDHR so the prac cally very few ac ons have been taken for women empowerment in Pakistan but s ll the women development is not addressed with the context of social and economic rights fulfillment. Baseline Study of Ma ari District 04

13 Local Context In Sindh province of Pakistan the social composi on is agrarian and feudal s ll, so women are being deprived of their rights, honour killing, domes c violence, restrict mobility, strict mind-set for women are hurled in women empowerment in this province, through this province have much urbanized popula on and areas but in the remote rural areas and typically agrarian districts have very rigid environment for women and restrict them to exercise all social and economic rights. As the Sindh province of Pakistan is very rich in agriculture and most of the popula on's livelihoods depend on agriculture economy in terms of formal and informal labour and as tenant. Women also involved in agriculture labour along with male family members. Women are also involved in co on picking in rural areas but their budgets for picking are not equal as compare men. Due to lack of awareness and knowledge about the market rates of co on and right they are unable to exercise their rights to nego ate with land lords for equal and maximum wedges as other labourers involved in informal o informal labour have increased wedges as the infla on and markets needs and trends are changed. The co on picking women are not organized as other labour groups are organized and nego ate their rights with policy makers for their economic jus ce and protec on of rights of equal wedges despite of any gender discrimina on. This is because the co on picking women are season al laborers so the labour policy in Pakistan does not cover this group of labourer as a laborer for social security benefits. There is need to hold advocacy for inclusion of the co on picking into the labour policy. They have poor bargaining power to fix the rate of the wedges for picking co on with the local land lord. They are applying very poor prac ces of safety measures while picking co on so they have lot of health hazards. Mostly the women involved in co on picking are non-muslim and not literate so they are much vulnerable to the economic exploita on. They are also vulnerable of sexual harassment and many incidents are reported There is lot of need to create awareness of their human and economic rights and laws and economic jus ce and organize them into group and develop leadership to nego ate their rights collec vely. As the co on is one of the major cash crops of Sindh province of Pakistan. Pakistan's most important industrial and export sector, tex le and clothing (T&C) industry is based on women's shoulders. Women co on pickers, under the scorching heat, work in the co on fields of Southern Punjab and Sindh to harvest the raw material for T&C produc on. She added that they are responsible for the industry's successes and growth but s ll they remain poor themselves in many terms as their wages are extremely low, weak bargaining power and working environment which involves excessive use of poisonous pes cides thus making them highly vulnerable against severe health hazards. However, the stakeholders including co on growers, industrialists, the Government as well as the larger public remain unaware of their plight. The co on pickers involve in co on picking on seasonal basis and get low wedges as compare to male co on pickers, so that women co on pickers earn low income from this hard labour. Most of these women are literate belong to very poor rural families with no exposure, lack of bargaining power, lack of networking with other co on picking women and human rights organiza on in case of viola on and Baseline Study of Ma ari District 05

14 exploita on of the rights of labour women, are contribu ng factors of their low earning from co on picking. Furthermore, they work in very cri cal unsafe environment while picking co on, their heath safety measure are not proper followed, they are not aware of the laws, legal protec on and labour rights, economic jus ces, and not organized into groups. They have very poor bargaining power. This pushes them to inequality and poverty. The Ma ari, Sanghar and Ghok districts are the major contributor in co on producing districts in Sindh and more than 5000 rural women are involved in co on picking in the Ma ari district only. Issues and Problems During the discussion and mee ng with co on picking following issues and problems were iden fied Co on picking women have no rights awareness, labour rights and poor understanding of market trends and systems Poor bargaining power Less know how and prac ce of accoun ng book keeping Low and unequal wedges Poor precau onary measure adopted during co on Picking Co on picking women are not organized Lack of literacy Lack of confidence Vulnerable to sexual harassment Viola on and denied of women and economic rights Poor say in decision making within family Not recognized in labor policy as a labor Lack of networking with other co on picking women and human rights organiza on in case of viola on and exploita on of the rights of labor women Findings/Analysis Quan ta ve Analysis Through the data collec on through ques oner following analysis has been developed regarding social and economic problems of the co on picking women: Social problems were analyses through following indicators: o Illiteracy o Lack of protec on o Unorganized o Lack of rights awareness Baseline Study of Ma ari District 06

15 Through this analysis illiteracy is the major social problems of the co on picking and the lack of protec on during field is the second major problems, while organizing into groups fourth major problem of the co on picking and lack of awareness of their social and basic human rights is also their major problem and leave impact on their lives. Economic problems were analyzed through following indicators: o Low wages o Poor access to livelihoods o Lack of market informa on/trends /wages Lack of rights awareness Unorganized Lack of protec on Responses Illiteracy The chart of responses shows that the low wages and lack of the market informa on are the major economic problems of the co on picking women, while the poor access to livelihoods is the second major economic problem that most of the co on picking women don't do any alternate labor work and few number of the women engaged in other informal and seasonal labor work so the access to sustainable livelihoods is major problem of respondents. The economic problem leaves an high impact on their lives. Lack of market informa on Poor access to Livilihoods Responses Low Wages Baseline Study of Ma ari District 07

16 Qualita ve analysis Women co on picking workforce is being deprived of minimum wages, fixed by the government The families are mostly trapped in to debt net because of unavailability of proper record of loans, which farmers get. Farmers are not being informed about the product and its value Farmers are always kept in dark from the process of product, its value and expenses, which some mes put them trapped in debt They are share cropper, but usually they are being given only smaller por on of grains and deprive them of their share from cash crops Children are malnourished There is no concept of vaccina on of children and women Farmers are unable to realize to enroll their children to schools Parents have jus fica on that since they do not have permanent village how they can enroll their children in schools, in result all the children join their families in work to contribute They are unaware about the pes cides usage They cannot challenge the authority of landlords to get proper right from crops share Women have poten al to raise their voice and challenge the authority, but since they have tradi ons within family they are reluctant Descrip on of issues Farmers in the target area of UC Bhanoth live under the makeshi abodes, which usually they build themselves. They are living temporarily and do not enjoy the right to build shelter permanently. These people are like migrants, shi ing families from one place to the other in search of be er living. The reasons of migra on they describe is that since there is no system of keeping record of wages and get product value these farmers face exploita on at the hands of landlords because of unavailability of laws and systems. According to informa on collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) in their villages and fields, landlords never tell them how much product they achieve seasonally and how much share they deserve. They say one thing that the debt they get increases manifold, which trap them for years and they are unable to return the same. Co on picking women are crying against the exploita on by certain landlords, as they are not being paid proper wages. During a series of mee ngs with community women, especially those living in different villages of Bhanoth union council, Ma ari district it was observed that there is no check and balance on the part of government func onaries to safeguard the rights of poor women workforce. Peasant women sharing experiences realize the fact that their males work half me and only supervise the work, otherwise it is women's responsibility to complete field work, from co on picking to other work like removing extra grasses from crops. They cut grass for their animals and take care of children at home. Due to living without basic facili es and being poor these people do not take care of their children, whose Baseline Study of Ma ari District 08

17 lives are always under threats due to lacking proper nutri on and health care. Their children did not have proper warm clothes to avoid effects of bi ng cold in the wintering season. In some cases even they live with animals inside the wide makeshi abodes. Despite the fact the area is close to the River Indus, many villages do not have potable water. Underground water level is declining and people have to suffer, traveling long distance to fetch potable water for drinking. About canal water, these people have close experiences, saying about years back they used to get water from watercourses for domes c needs and for animals. But now they believe it is unsafe not only for human consump on but for their animal too. Hence they do not take risk to take their animals to watercourses. Community's background with their origin Majority of co on picking women visited by the team belong to low-caste Hindu minority, Bheel, Kolhis and Menghwars. They live with families together in each village, work for the same landlord as sharecropper. These villages are ordinary se lements and mostly are not registered with the Revenue Department. Despite being hardworking, these people do not have permanent village, which they claim to have a safe place and live permanently. Hence, whenever feel insecurity or face annoyance by landlords they shi their families a er three five year period to the other fields and stay there for some years as labourer. The loss these families experience is destruc on of educa on of their children, as they are unable to con nue educa on. Families being poor are seen always ready to move to other landlords, believing they are not safe in terms of ge ng proper wages. But as always they are trapped again and again because of vicious circle of debt of landlords. Wherever they live, they do not enjoy access to potable water, health, sanita on facili es and live a pathe c life. During the mee ngs they informed that the people of landlord have tradi onal method of keeping record verbally, which always exploits them. They cannot say how much the share of crops they have a er harves ng. In case of challenging the authority of landlord to have proper system they face displacement. That is why shi ing families from one place to the other is common phenomenon for them. It was also observed that even they cannot keep their worship places safe, because of uncertainty. Family strength in terms of members Each family comprises of 7 15 and in some cases more than that. The reasons might be different for these families. But the irony is that they do not have access to vaccina on of their children and women during pregnancy. In this situa on they are vulnerable to face diseases and health related problems. They told during the FGDs that they have to pay more price in case of emergency, because there is no health facility close to their locali es, especially at nigh me. Baseline Study of Ma ari District 09

18 Debt Net These low-caste Hindu minority families have old tradi ons to get loan in the name of treatment of their loved ones, weddings and in case of emergency, like deaths, which some mes exceeds the limit and they are trapped in to debt net that goes for years and genera on to genera on. The SCF teams while visi ng these people asked the reason to understand the situa on and suggest if they may control on their own and avoid ge ng loans unnecessarily. But it was observed that it is the faults of landlords, who show willingness to trap them for, con nue exploita on through offering loans. The other reason is that since there is no system of keeping record these people are unable to return the amount of loan. Diseases related to co on-picking Since spray of pes cides is a common understanding of landlords the co on pickers have to pay its price in the shape of inflic ng in many diseases. For example, the women told the SCF team that years back the situa on was not like they are experiencing today's in terms of skin problems. Usage of pes cides is exceeding, which even affect the life of farmers and the nature itself. They said there are strange insects which they never seen earlier in crops and they turn vic ms of its bites and s ngs. These poisonous insects are causing some health problems, which they cannot guess. It was learned that skin ailments, Asthma, Allergy are common health problems among the women workforce. In case of snake bite they are unable to take the vic m to health facility. In such a situa on even landlords do not offer help to them for proper treatment. Women workers said landlords are seen in hurry to pick even immature co on, which some mes needs a few more days for natural process. This prac ce affects the human body, specially their hands and arms. According to women the causes of these diseases can be linked with usage of pes cides, unavailability of safety measures, introduc on of GM Seeds etc. For example, it was observed that there are no safety measures for women. They do not have masks or hand gloves, while picking co on so they may avoid such problems. Otherwise, despite being illiterate these women are ready to adopt this prac ce to avoid such diseases. But, landlords themselves need awareness to introduce such prac ces and provide equipments. They point out that especially during summer crops pes cides affect their life. In winter it is less dangerous. But again they say if they have masks and hand gloves to avoid its impacts on their health. During the discussions unaware young males pointed out that some of them have swallowed drops of poisonous pest just to check, whether it could be fit to kill insects or not. But they survived. A er this experiment they claim these pes cides are impure. In this horrible situa on, when these unaware young farmers take risk just to taste pes cides, nobody is there to educate them how they are taking such horrible steps, because in case of its result landlords will not be responsible to take them to hospitals or compensate. Baseline Study of Ma ari District 10

19 CNIC Issue The main problem these people face is that they do not have easy access to get their Computerized Na onal Iden ty Card (CNIC). About this, they argue that whenever they reach certain offices for process officials si ng there ask them to provide complete documenta on, which they could not understand what the officials need. For instance, they say we have names registered in voter lists. We have address we can produce. But despite these all they always harass us and push many to go back without ge ng CNIC. It is because they are feared they might be forced to leave abodes. Majority of the low-caste families do not have CNIC for ge ng facili es. The above men oned problems are very interrelated to each other, means if they are not literate they are unable to manage their accounts of the days of their lab our, they are unaware about their rights. Because of the poor bargaining power and nego a on skills they are compelled top wok on very low edges by the landlords and contractors. Due to organiza on fixing of rate differ group to groups and denied of the proper rates of wages and collec vely they are unable to hold land lord bonds on various facili es during the co on picking. Due to unawareness and poor precau onary measures during the co on picking they are vulnerable by the effects of poisonous pes cides and are effected asthma. Due to unawareness of their rights and poor social and economic background they are threatened by the male members/laborers and some me by the land lords and contractors and cases of sexual harassment are increased. They are not vocal to share their issues and problems. In most of cases they do not get jus ce and safe environment and Baseline Study of Ma ari District 11

20 conduc on during the co on picking hours. The collec ve pla orm is not available for them where they can link up with media and other labour rights and human rights organiza on to get back support in case of viola on of their rights and their voice is not heard by the policy makers. The labour policy in Pakistan s ll does not recognized co on picking women as a labour so all these factors and problems lead denied of social and economic jus ce to co ons picking women in the area and out them in vulnerable so that their social and economic rights are violated. SCF Ini a ve SCF team is organizing co on picking women into groups Awareness-raising on economic rights, labour rights is another ini a ve so they may know their rights These women are being informed about the advocacy ini a ve with policy makers and way of campaign to protect their right They are being sensi zed to have permanent and regularise village to live with tradi onal dignity They are being mo vated to understand the effects of debt, which their males get and pushing the en re families in to the vicious circle They are being taught how they can raise their voice and what they can achieve through their courage These groups will be introduced to other networks working in the areas to strengthen their voice for common rights They are being taught how their voice could be stronger to get their rights and live a safe life Suggested ac on Rights awareness on social, economic and labor rights and mobiliza on Organizing co on picking into groups and networking with ac ve and mainstreaming labor rights organiza on in Sindh and Pakistan Develop nego a on and bargaining skills and confidence Leadership development training Advocacy for policy formula on and pro farmer legisla on for co on picking women Linkage building of co on picking women groups with other labour rights organiza ons and human rights advocacy groups, media Sensi zing civil society organiza ons, media and labor rights organiza ons on issues Possible Value addi ons As most of the co on picking women are non-muslims so through this project minority rights will become protected and minority's voice will be mainstreamed to exercise their rights and will contribute in developing leadership capaci es of women to combat injus ce Baseline Study of Ma ari District 12

21 Recommenda ons Rights awareness on social, economic and labor rights and mobiliza on be ini ated Organizing co on picking into groups is needed and networking with ac ve and main streaming labor rights organiza on in Sindh and Pakistan Develop nego a on and bargaining skills and confidence through training programs. Leadership development training is required for collec ve bargaining on finalizing the wages. Advocacy for policy formula on and pro farmer legisla on for co on picking women Linkage building of co on picking women groups with other labour rights organiza ons and human rights advocacy groups, media Sensi zing civil society organiza ons, media and labor rights organiza ons on issues Policy formula on and pro-farmer legisla on is needed for this informal sector laborers Baseline Study of Ma ari District 13

22 References o o o o Website of Ministry of Labor Informal Sector Labor in Pakistan PILER booklet Co on picking - Pakistan & Gulf Economist: Problems faced by women co on pickers discussed - DAWN.COM on-pickers-discus Baseline Study of Ma ari District 14

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24 The Norwegian Human Rights Fund Supported by: Norwegian Human Rights Fund -NHRF Sindh Community Foundation Information and Resource Development Center- IRDC B-14 Model Town near Chandio Goth Qasimabad Hyderabad Sindh Pakistan Tel& Fax: URL: sindhfounda