Addressing Discrimination and Violence against Women in the Garment Industry

Delhi-NCR

While the garment sector provides livelihood opportunities to a whole range of labouring poor, the labour regime employed in the sector also builds on many pre-existing social marginalities and vulnerabilities and in the process, reproduce them. The labour contractors in the garment sector often use patriarchal stereotypes and prejudices to control and dominate women workers. Many of the relatively higher paying jobs are not available for women, as they are not considered as fit for ‘manly work’. In an average garment factory, there are seven departments – fabric store, cutting, sampling, production, washing, finishing and packaging  and within each department, there are 60-65 different categories of work. Among them, women workers are employed only in 3 departments, viz – thread-cutting, handwork and machine operation. In some factories, women supervisors are occasionally employed in thread-cutting department or as checkers.  But in all other departments, and especially in more ‘respectable jobs’ – such as - managers, supervisors, line-in-charge – women are hardly ever employed, a fact noticed even in government reports.  Even in those global companies which boast of better labour standards, discrimination continue to exist and women workers are kept out of the most of well-paid positions.  Women workers in the garment sector also face higher instances of sexual harassment and sexual violence. Women garment workers are often seen as “loose women” which increases their vulnerability, both in the workspaces as well as the neighborhoods where they live. Sexual harassment and violence in the workspaces in the hands of the supervisors also negatively impact the work performance of the woman workers.

With the support of Terre des hommes, Germany-India Programme, CEC initiated a Centre for Labouring Women (CLW) in Kapashera in December 2019, with these challenges in mind. CLW has been working towards enhancing the awareness of women workers and adolescent girls about their rights, legal provisions and entitlements. Male workers and youth are also being trained about gender sensitivity and the trade union members are being capacitated to take up the concerns of female workers and articulate them in the form of demands. By building leadership of women, the project also seeks to increase the participation of women in trade unions, as well as the social and economic life in the neighbourhood. The project addresses (through workshops and awareness campaigns) the various regressive social practices and values that invisibilise women’s contribution, produce adverse gender stereotypes and encourage violence on women. The project seeks to ameliorate the situation by producing evidence based research into the lives of women garment workers, with especial emphasis on their experiences of various forms of gender discrimination and sexual violence. The overall objective of the project is to positively impact the lives of working women and girls in the garment sector in Kapashera colony (adjacent to Gurugram Industrial Area) of India by enhancing equality, agency, skills, choices, leadership and participation of women in the social and economic life. The project works towards bringing down gendered division of labour within the workspace and ensuring safe work environment for all.

COVID-19 and Relief Work:

CEC has been playing a crucial role in providing relief measures to the women garment workers amidst the ongoing pandemic. Various relief measures such as providing information of nearby hunger relief camps, government relief packages, registration for e-coupons, ticket booking, distributing dry ration kits and hygiene kits by collaborating with different organisations etc. are being undertaken by the members of CLW.