A large percentage of India’s population is engaged in informal employment. They do not have access to the same facilities, wages, security and other amenities as the formal workers. The discrimination is even more when it comes to women in an informal economy. This is also called grey economy.
Most of the women from marginalized communities have no other option than to get involved in manual labour. This impacts their health adversely because the working conditions in manual work are often very poor and unsuitable. Women get affected more because they also have to do household work like cooking, cleaning and taking care of the house after this manual work. This has deteriorated the quality of life of women from marginalized communities and affects the society as a whole. Mr. Ramesh Lakhulal Chaurasia, the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Chaurasia Mahasabha wants to uplift all women who want to achieve their true potential but haven’t been able to do so because of many limitations.
The women’s wing of the Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Chaurasia Mahasabha has been working actively to ensure that more initiatives are started where women are brought together and educated in a way that they can find skill-based work rather than just manual labour. Skill development camps are organized for free where interested women are invited and taught different skills like stitching, weaving, small cottage industry work or work related to trade and business. More women are now eager to enter jobs where they can use their skill or knowledge. This has enabled them to earn more money and to elevate their living conditions.
Tackling a larger problem from various ends
“The initiatives of the organization are not just limited to work and employment. Women’s health is often ignored in many sections of the society and this is one of those things which affect the whole society in general. If women are not healthy and suffer from illnesses, they will not be able to find work or take care of themselves or their families. The organization therefore conducts regular health awareness camps where women’s health experts are invited. They guide women so that they can have more awareness about general health and nutrition. Women are taught about the importance of right nutrition, mental health and hygiene. These are some of the most important aspects of women’s well being which are ignored, but not anymore. We are trying to uplift the section of society which has been discriminated against for a long time. It is time to empower them because it is the condition of women which describes the success of a society.” – Mr. Ramesh Chaurasia answered when asked about the motivation and the initiatives of the organization.
The Importance of a separate Women’s wing
The women’s wing of the organization is called the Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Chaurasia Mahila Mahasabha. It is a pan India organization which acts like a thread which binds women together and helps them achieve their goals. The members of the women’s wing ensure that they can be of help to all women from all sections of the society. However, their focus is more towards women from marginalized sections of all communities because it is the women from these sections who are most prone to malnutrition, domestic violence, abuse and mental health issues. We talked to a senior member of the women’s wing of the Mahasabha about her story and how the organization works. She had valuable and inspiring information to share. She said, “Being a woman, I know what we have to endure especially if we come from an economically weak background. I had to struggle a lot earlier on in life because we had a large family. I along with my mother, were conditioned to put ourselves last. I was fortunate to find guidance through education and teachers and that is how I managed to rise up beyond my circumstances. This is how I am able to work on welfare schemes for women who need a hand to climb up the ladder of social and economic limitations. Our organization gives a hand to all those women who have dreams of a better life and who want some support to get better health, education and employment. We are doing some good work and we plan to continue doing it.”
