Shali, from Guirim, begins her day at 5.30 a.m. She sells coconuts in Mapusa market. She buys them at wholesale rate and sells them at market rate, thus earning 5-7 rupees on each coconut that she sells. She also sells seasonal flowers (mogra aati) to earn some additional money. Kanta, hailing from Kumbharjua, starts her day much earlier, at 4.30 a.m. She takes the first bus to Panaji from Kumbharjua. She buys local vegetables and loads her ‘patlo’ (cane container) in the same bus now going back from Panaji to Kumbharjua by 7 a.m. One can see her in the bus engrossed separating her vegetables, sometimes making ‘chudi’ (tying together) of vaal (local vegetable) or other times making garlands of marigold flowers. She sells it in Marcela market. Luizin, from Ribandar, now married in Curca, sells fish in Panaji market. She drives her activa scooter. She began selling fish along with her mother when she was barely 13 years.
Then they sold the fish catch which her father got every morning venturing into the sea in his canoe. Now her husband is also a ‘raponkar’. She carries the fish catch on her activa scooter to Panaji market to sell it.
The common thread among all these women is they are examples of women in informal sector. They share many things in common. Most of them have entered this occupation more out of compulsion than choice. Working hard throughout the day, they earn a living for themselves and their families. Some of them are sole bread earners for their family. They contribute to the Goan economy in their own little way, but this contribution is so subtle that it often goes unnoticed. And though they may be working under the illusion of self-employment or being ‘entrepreneurs’ they are not the masters of their time, labour or enterprise. They lack the internal grievance mechanism, which exists in organizations (provided under Vishaka Judgement). There is no women’s cell or grievance or in-house complaints committee either to address their grievances or to conduct preventive activities. There exist entrenched patriarchal attitudes and cultural practices which don’t favour these women. Also women venturing in areas, which are exclusively male domain, leads to power politics. All this results in increasing hardships for these women and often leads to violation of their rights.
Violation may involve anything from threatening behaviour, physical contact and advances, sexually coloured remarks, and psychological abuse includes verbal threats, rebuke, deprivation, discrimination, obstruction, degradation and humiliation. Women are more vulnerable to violence when they go out for work. Range of problems arises from the continued identification of women with domestic work. Therefore when issue of women earning their livelihood arises, violence against women becomes a non-issue or issue of low priority.
These women go through various hardships. Personal interviews conducted by the author reflected that their lives are full of experiences to narrate. They lack the basic infrastructure, i.e. safe drinking water, proper toilet facilities, protection from sun/rain, protection for their goods, proper transport system, etc. Most of these women carry their own drinking water from home, umbrella for shade, and bhakin (wooden stool) to sit to sell their goods.
They are often hapless when some municipality workers/ police personnel/ sarkari babu just picks their goods like packet of dried fish, or Kokam packet, or take an extra mankurad mango and walks away with it without paying. Sometimes even bus drivers take away vegetables, or cucumbers and these women have to keep mum as they have to travel by same bus every day with their goods. The customers who are the ‘maibaap’ also may use double meaning language thus insulting their sexuality. Some male customers even point fingers to their character. They also have to face the wrath of male counterparts in the same profession. Lack of sufficient finance is a chronic problem. Some women opined that when they work outside, they are vulnerable both at work place as well as at home. At home men may feel threatened and abuse their wives. However, there were also others who argued that women’s work outside home and their earnings have empowered them, which has reduced domestic violence rates to a large extent.
A strong observation made was that these women are determined to carry on with their jobs. They may not have institutionalized mechanism to put forward their grievances, as it exists in organized sector, but they act as support system to each other. That fierce competition which exists in organized sector which turns a friend into a foe is hardly seen among these women. They are more than willing to help each other and even mind each other’s business as they take tea or lunch breaks during the day.
Though most of these women have entered this occupation more out of compulsion rather than a choice, this has led to overall socio-economic empowerment of these women. In fact it is heartening to see some of them driving bikes, some doing transactions with banks, most of them comfortably using mobiles and some of them even carrying out their business on mobiles! These women need to get due recognition for their ‘squirrel’s share’ in progress of Goa’s economy.
The state should recognize the contribution of these women to Goan economy, their social and cultural significance, and take the onus of providing them with safe and respectable working conditions.
(The author is Associate Professor in Political Science, Government College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Khandola, Marcela – Goa)
