00:00:03:08

SUNANDA

My mother also worked as a maid, she cleaned other people’s houses. She worked until she was 70 years old.

00:00:14:02

India is the fourth fastest-growing economy, and the seventh largest in the world.

00:00:23:00

It will soon become the most populated country in the world, with more than 1.5 billion people…

00:00:26:22

… Half of them are women.

00:00:33:14

WOMEN AT WORK. A film by Laura Seoane.

00:00:38:21

NARRATOR

According to the International Labour’s Organization, women’s participation in the Indian workforce has dropped down to 27%. This means, less than a third of Indian women in working age are employed. And, what is more surprising, despite the unstoppable growth of the Indian economy, this figure has been declining for the past 12 years. So, how can an economy grow sustainably when half of its working population barely participates?

00:01:08:22

NARRATOR

I went to meet Mandakini Surie, senior program officer at the ASIA Foundation who specialises in economic development and women empowerment.

00:01:17:18

MANDAKINI SURIE

Women in India are working a large percentage of India’s agricultural workforce is actually women led, right? But a lot of that is on farm activities, you know, women work as farmers, as marginal labourers, where incomes tend to very low: it's a very hand to mouth sort of existence.

A lot of it has to do with access and opportunities: for example, if you look at rural areas amongst poorer households… You know, even if girl children have been able to go to school, very often the economic imperative to work is very strong: they need to contribute to their households, the husband is not able to work so women become the breadwinners. So it is not a choice: it is economic necessity, you know? Having to support the household.

00:01:58:11

NARRATOR

It is estimated that around 80% of Indian workers, both male and female, are employed in the informal economy. This means they have no contract, legal protection or labour rights, which raises safety and security concerns that affect the access of women into the workforce.

00:02:17:20

NARRATOR

More than two thirds of the Indian population live in rural areas. Here, agriculture and construction dominate female employment.

00:02:27:12

SAILILA

My name is Sailila, I’m 50 years old… I think I’m 50… Oh, I am 47, I was not sure…

I used to work in construction as a painter, with a group of women, but then the men came into the job and we had to change our work, as it is not good that men and women work together.

00:02:40:17

SAILILA

I used to work in construction as a painter, with a group of women, but then the men came into the job and we had to change our work, as it is not good that men and women work together.

00:03:00:15

NARRATOR

Sailila earns 150 rupees, about three dollars a day, working on a construction site. With that money and what her eldest daughters bring home working as domestic help they maintain their family of 7 members. Her husband works as a blacksmith, but he spends his money on alcohol and does not bring anything home.

00:03:21:16

SAILILA

When it was only us women at work, we would split the money equally. Now, the men keep the money and give us what they want, much smaller part than we used to get. I’ve tried to find another job, but I can’t. I have strong pain on my joints, this work is very difficult for me. That is why my daughters had to quit their studies and start working, because I was sick, and we needed money.

 00:03:49:24

NARRATOR

In India, like other developing nations, women often take the less qualified, lower paid jobs. They work hard, long hours for scarce salaries and without any security: if they fall sick or have an accident, they won’t get paid.

00:04:05:08

SAILILA

In my family, nobody had access to education, so we have always worked in construction. But now my older daughters are saving to enroll on a course to become seamstresses and find a better job.

I will have to continue working as long as I live…

00:04:27:19

NARRATOR

In some areas of rural India, women are starting to fight back and are organising themselves to reclaim their rights to work and have financial independence.

 It’s the case of the small village of Bhalapatti, in Andhra Pradesh. The Sanghams, or women’s associations, offer women a safe environment to discuss their problems, share their doubts and seek help and support.

00:04:53:01

FARMER WIFE

At the beginning, men would not allow us to create the Sanghams. They would say: “Why do you want a Sangham? Why do you need to work?”.

They only think about themselves, they don’t think that women can work and earn their own money and be independent.

But after some time, they finally accepted.

00:05:19:16

FARMER HUSBAND

Both of us take the decisions about the money together.

00:05:30:20

FARMER WIFE

Our daughters have good jobs and are married, but they married when they were 23, because we know it is not good that they get married too young.

Life is hard, we would not be able to survive with only one salary, that is why we both need to work. Otherwise it would not be enough. It is good that we can work together.

00:05:51:00

NARRATOR

The Sanghams have taught these women about their rights, and it has also educated them in how to save money and run the household budget. Through these associations they also have access to microloans to start their own businesses. 

00:06:07:02

NAGALAKSHMI

My name is Nagalakshmi, and i have been a member of the Durga Sangham for the past ten years.

I saw that women were benefiting from it, and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to buy animals, have my own business and be independent.

When I was young, I never dreamt that I would own anything.

00:06:38:23

NARRATOR.

Nagalakshmi now owns her own business, which has transformed the family’s fortune, allowing her two daughters to study and become school teachers.

00:06:48:06

NAGALAKSHMI

I want that my children, when they are older, will have a good job and will be independent. I want them to study and have a good education, because I have suffered a lot for not going to school. I don’t want them to go through the same. 

00:07:01:16

NARRATOR.

The incorporation of women to work has not brought the disasters that many predicted; on the contrary, it has meant prosperity for the whole community. Women taking control of their lives, their money, and providing for their families has transformed this small village.

00:07:19:00

MANDAKINI SURIE

When we talk about gender norms in India, when we talk about women’s… Issues around women's security, safety, empowerment, those are structural problems that have deep-seeded roots in society, in culture and you have to be able to address it through public awareness, through education…

I mean, if you look at women in India today, you’ve got a number of women in high positions in the Government, you’ve got… in the private sector, many of Indian banks are led by women… We have fighter pilots, we have now three women who are training to be fighting pilots in the Army…

00:07:55:20

MANDAKINI SURIE

You have sports persons who are women, who are making international news… I mean, those are hugely inspiring role models. And I think social change is something that happens very slowly.

00:08:06:20

NARRATOR

Change happens slowly, but it is already taking place. Throughout the country, thousands of initiatives are taking on traditional gender roles, and encouraging women to actively take control of their lives. In New Delhi, the AZAD Foundation is trying to push that change: through their Women in Wheels program, they train resource-poor women to become professional drivers.

00:08:30:00

NILANJANA

Professional driving is understood as a skilled profession, and a masculine domain. Women, obviously, can't drive, that’s the whole idea. By virtue of challenging these gender roles in the labour market, somewhere women will also start challenging gender roles within their homes and their communities.

00:08:50:00

TEACHER

“I can earn more than you”

00:08:52:24

NILANJANA

Also, this sort of profession gave them an income that was much higher than what they earned in other kinds of professions like domestic work, like care work and so and so forth… So that also gave them a tremendous sense of confidence and a status in their family.

00:09:08:20

NARRATOR.

Women's economic empowerment has a huge impact on issues around marriage age, violence, and reproduction age... Although there are no official data, women who are more financially secure are less likely to face domestic violence issues.

00:09:23:19

NILANJANA

In fact, last year we organized something called a flash-mob, you know dance and everything, and so many trainees for the first time performed publicly and, I think, that was a tremendously empowering experience for them.

00:09:41:07

NILANJANA

We’re out on the road, in front of a public, speaking, dancing, and you know, this is, this is a sense of liberation for them.

00:09: 51:00

NARRATOR

Kavita and Padmani are both from Delhi and have been enrolled in the program for a couple of years.

00:09:57:13

KAVITA

In the classes we learn about road map reading, communications, first-aid,  self defence, gender...

00:10:03:16

NARRATOR

But they also learn about sexuality, health, gender, patriarchy and their legal rights as workers and as women.

00:10:12:16

KAVITA

Gender class is very interesting, I learn about my legal rights. I was very unaware about the rights that I have as a woman.

00:10:18:18

PADMANI

With my first salary I will buy something for my family.  I am really looking forward to it, because then I will not depend on anyone else. 

00:10:27:10

NILANJANA

We often think of women from poorer communities, from resource-poor backgrounds as basically victims, and I completely do not agree with that idea. Because I feel there is a huge potential there, there are a lot of aspirations, a lot of dreams, lot of strength, lot of courage, and a lot of skills in them.

It’s just that you need to, sort of, say “yes, you can do it”, and offer a platform, offer certain structures, and they’ll make it big.

00:10:58:14

NARRATOR

It is in the cities where the economic boom is more evident; each year, millions of people arrive from the poor rural regions to the metropolitan areas, looking for work and better opportunities.

More and more of them are women.

Also, it is where the urban middle classes, the most benefited from the economic growth, live.

00:11:20:05

MANDAKINI SURIE

Many women, particularly when they move into urban centres, are not necessarily pursuing the economic opportunities that perhaps they wanted to, or they chose to do, but are actually dropping out. I think a lot of it has to do with social norms around women's work. There are concerns around the implications of women's work on family, on patriarchy, on family honour, on childcare…

The challenge really is for urban women to challenge that notion… It’s a challenge for them, but they also need to be able to contest those norms if norms are going to change.

00:1!:54:12

NARRATOR

I find that young women in cities are already challenging those norms, whether they have the support of their communities or not.

My friend Aditi is an example of a new generation of women who are challenging gender norms in India.

00:12:12:02

NARRATOR

Her decision to follow a career as a voiceover artist created a family crisis that lasted years, until she was finally able to show her professional success to her parents. But it hasn’t been an easy journey...

00:12:29:09

ADITI - VOICEOVER

“Hurdles. Uninvited obstacles in the race of every girl’s life. The first one was my grandmother. ‘Stop running around in shorts!’

00:12:45:00

ADITI - INTERVIEW

I mean, he doesn’t understand it’s ambition, it’s to reach at a certain level. I never thought I would do TV ads, when I began. I never thought I had the potential, so… It’s a big deal for me.

00:12:54:03

ADVERT - VOICEOVER

“Girls these days are becoming smart very fast”.

00:13:00:08

ADITI - INTERVIEW

Initially, when I began my career, people would be like: “Why are you bothering working so hard? You can just find a rich guy and marry this whatever person”. If somebody makes a stereotype, tells me something, even my dad or anyone, relatives… I just, I want to push… I think I’ve reached so far because of pushing myself again and again: “No! I’m not gonna fall on those stereotypes, I want to do something, I want to do something with my life”. So, it’s like: “Ok, fine, do it, like go ahead, no problem”. But as soon as the time to their agenda, which is marriage… then my agenda has to take a back seat.

00:13:35:18

MANDAKINI SURIE

In urban cities you find this funny tapering off trend where, you know, women will enter workforce until a certain age but, but once they hit their late twenties or early thirties, when they get married or they have children, they just drop out of the workforce.

00:13:49:08

NARRATOR

The Indian Government has recently tried to address the issue with measures such as the increase of maternity leave from the current 12 weeks to 26 weeks. It is still to show when and how this will come into effect, but the reality is that these measures won't affect a big majority of the working women: those who work in the informal economy.

00:14:12:23

SUNANDA

I've been doing this job for 28 years, and now I earn 5500 rupees a month working in 4 different houses. My day starts at 3:30, I do my prayers and then I cook breakfast for my husband and my 2 younger sons, and wash the clothes. I then do tea and at 7:45 I come to work. At 10 I go back home to get water, and then go back to work for another 2 hours. Then I have my lunch, nap for 1 hour and in the afternoon go back to work until 5:30.

00:14:46:00

NARRATOR

Sunanda is now 50 years old. She grew up in Mahalaxmi, Mumbai, with her 6 brothers and 2 sisters. Her father got her married at the age of 14, and she got her first child when she was just 16.

00:15:00:10

SUNANDA

So after marrying, my husband lost his job so we had no money. After I got pregnant when i was 16, he got his job back but the salary was not enough so i had to take a job working as a maid in a house.

It makes me feel very proud that i have raised my family, and my sons are now proud of me working hard for them. I paid for I spent 2 lakhs for my oldest son's wedding and also took care of the delivery of his child.

I hope that my granddaughter, Sakshi, will not have to work like I did, and that she will study until she is 18. Then she can marry, not like in our times, when we used to be married at 11 or 12, and she will have a better life.

00:15:53:10

NARRATOR

The World Economic Forum estimates that globally, women work 39 days more than men every year. This means that although men do more paid work, women still spend more of their time doing unpaid domestic labour.

According to the global index, India tops the gender gap in unpaid work: here, women spend up to 10 times more than men performing domestic duties like cooking, cleaning, or looking after children and the elderly. These are all essential activities for societies to function, but they are not valued as they should be.

00:16:28:23

MANDAKINI SURIE

It’s kind of assumed, within Indian society and culture, that taking care of the house, taking care of the family, taking care of the child, is just what you do, as a woman, and it is not work. But it’s actually an immense… If anyone has ever done those three things, and women around the world do them, it is a lot of work. And most of it is unpaid, i think women don’t get the recognition that they deserve for that work. In an economic or non-economic sense, it’s critical.

For instance, women in rural India walk hours and hours to get water. If you were to put a monetary value to it, it would be immense, in terms of number of hours walked, per year, or days actually, it’s tremendous!

00:17:07:11

NARRATOR

There are also examples of women who are overcoming these traditional, patriarchal ideas. They want to work, but they don’t want to choose between their careers and having a family.

00:17:19:16

NARRATOR

Lekha is 25, and has finished her Masters in computers engineering. She's been working in Mumbai for the past year.

00:17:27:16

LEKHA

Not working was not an option.  I had to have a career, whatever it would be… There was no question of I won’t be working when I’m older…

I see very well-educated families, people who are very well to-do in terms of money, they earn a lot, they’re very broad minded in general, but when it comes to things like marriage, or whether their daughters should have a career, whether they should, you know, pursue further studies, they have very old school values. And unless that changes, no amount of policies, and no amount of access to education, access to jobs will really change anything.

 00:18:06:14

NARRATOR

Lekha is conscious of her privilege and has been lucky enough to receive the support of her family. This has allowed her to choose a career that she likes, and that’s made her financially independent.  

00:18:18:00

LEKHA

I totally find that work empowers me, the fact that I earn my own money, as well as the fact that I’m doing some, you know, productive work for some company, my work makes  a contribution somewhere, both those factors. But definitely I want everything: I want the family, I want a good marriage, I want kids, at the same time I want a career, I want success, I want to earn my own money.

00:18:45:20

NARRATOR

India’s population is estimated to have an average age of 29 years old by 2020.

This is a new generation of young women, with better access to education, to technology, with more opportunities to decide about their future…

00:19:05:00

BACKGROUND

Video credits: FeminismInIndia / Youtube

00:19:09:10

NARRATOR

On the 21st of January of 2017, the same date as the historic Women’s march in Washington D.C., women in more than 30 Indian cities and towns marched through the streets, taking up public spaces and claiming their rights, and their space in Indian society.

00:19:26:00

NILANJANA

There are lot of women out there who are non-conformist, they are looking for options, they are looking for platforms where they can realize those non-conformist ideas, and dreams and aspirations.

00:19:38:05

NARRATOR

The groundwork has already been laid: now, it’s time for all Indian society, to get behind them and support their demands.

As history has shown us, no country can grow and progress without the participation of women.

But India is already being transformed: and it’s these young women that are leading the change.

00:19:58:00

BACKGROUND PROTEST

“Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”

00:20:01:22

Directed by Laura Seoane

Produced by Laura Seoane & Kevin Jones

Edited by Laura Seoane & Kevin Jones

Sound by Kevin Jones

00:20:10:00

THANKS TO:

The ASIA Foundation

Fundación Vicente Ferrer

Azad Foundation

Feminism in India