Women Workers Help Line


WWHL & INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

After 1980 home based work has increased rapidly in the world especially in South Asia. Pakistan is one of those countries where a large number of women are engaged in home based work. These women are the most unprivileged part of the society. They have no social and legal recognition of their work. They are working in isolation and have no rights as workers by law. These workers need support to forge their struggle to claim their rights. That would only be possible when they will organize themselves in form of their own union.

2009
International Women's Day: Women Workers Help Line celebrated the International Women Day on 8^th March, 09 in Punjab (Lahore, Kasur, Faisalabad, Multan, Toba Tek Singh, Shiekhopura), Balochistan (Quetta) and North West Frontier Pakistan (Mardan) with great enthusiasm. PUNJAB Lahore Home based women workers staged a protest demonstration to address their demands from Mehfil Auditorium to Press Club. They protested to end violence and all kinds of discriminatory customs and laws against women. They chanted slogans “ meri mehnat, mera sarmaya, thekedar kahan se aya”, “ kamtar ho na havi ho, aurat ka haq masawi ho”, “Decent work, Decent wages”, “End Contract system” and “ Provide social Security to home based workers”. Before rally Women Workers Help Line celebrated International Women Day with full enthusiasm and spirits on 8^th March, 09 and organized a seminar. More than 1500 home based workers and social activists gathered in Mehfil Auditorium. The home based workers put forth their demand for Social Security Cards. Speaking on the occasion General Secretary Women Workers Help Line said Bushra Khaliq there are about 20 million Home Based Workers working in Pakistan, out of which 12 million are women. The informal sector in Pakistan, particularly with reference to home-based female workers, had expanded at a fast pace due to the inflow of rural migrants, which caused a shortage of job opportunities in the modern urban sector, both for the rural migrants and urban dwellers. Many of the home based workers work in the sector of stitching, embroidery, shoe making, leather work, dry fruit peeling, jewelry making, decorative and bangle making. Almost every women working in these sectors are earning only 15-50 Rupees per day against 12- 16 hrs of laborious work. These women are the most unprivileged part of the society. They have no social and legal recognition of their work. They are working in isolation and have no rights as workers. There is no authentic data available about the size of home based workers. Macroeconomic conditions are inducing women to work informally to meet day-to-day expenditures, irrespective of their wish to work. They are working in their homes or in other premises of their choice, but not in the workplace of the employer, for remuneration that result in a product or services as specified by the employer. Women working at home are much more socially and economically exploited than those working outside. Being invisible in country’s economy they contribute a lot but till now Government of Pakistan has not made any policy or program for home based workers. Being ignored by the Government but considering themselves strengthen home based workers all over Pakistan had made first ever union in the history of Pakistan. They have improved our collective bargaining skills and empower to claim for our rights. Rozina Saif (Home Based Aurat Workers Union, Chairperson, National Committee) said Government must provide social security benefits to home based workers. She urged the Government to provide education scholarships to their children, health security, and old age benefits. On the International Women Day she presented the demands of home based workers which are as follows: The Government of Pakistan ratify ILO Convention 177 Government must provide social security to home based women workers Government must end contract system, provide pension facility and scholarship for their children. Register them as workers and accept their work/ labor legally. Announce minimum wages and working hours for home based women workers. Provide them safety and health regulation for home based women workers particularly those workers engaged in hazardous work. Implement Labor Laws on home based women workers. End Violence against women Abolish all discriminatory laws and customs against women Farooq Tariq (Spokesperson Labor Party Pakistan) said capitalist system and middle man culture must end now with all discriminatory laws against women. He said Musharraf Government sacked the former Chief justice Iftikhar Chuahdary because he was going to take important legislation in black and white. He condemned the Peoples Party Government as it laid to people. He urged the women to take part in politics and fight for their rights. He believed that all girls must attend school until they had at least achieved a matriculation degree. Supreme Court Labor Lawyer, Asmat Kamal addressed the seminar also. He said laborers and women in third world are severely exploited by the capitalism. By law women have equal rights to men but unfortunately women are not aware of it. Women have equal right to form unions and get equal wages to men at workplace. There is no discrimination among men and women according to 1973 law and Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By law there is no middleman system in Pakistan either, he said. Riffat Maqsood (Senior Vice Chairperson WWHL) said women in third world countries are severely exploited by the capitalists adding that it was necessary to abolish the middleman system from Pakistan. She urged the Government to provide social security to all labors especially home based workers. Azra Shad (Chair person WWHL) acknowledged the participation and struggle of women for their rights. She said women in informal sector are exploited by middle man adding that they are not paid enough for their work. She said Government must provide social security benefits to these workers and issue social security cards to them. Sheikhupura Women Workers Help Line organized a meeting to celebrate the International Women Day. Information Secretary of Home Based Aurat Workers Union, Tabinda Morad said home based workers contribute 60% in country economy but their recognition is not visible at any platform. They work from dawn to dusk but their wages are low to such extent that cannot meet their daily life food expenses. Finance Secretary of Home Based Aurat Workers Union, Kazeez Fatima said it is the time to raise voice for our rights. International Women Day is celebrated on 8^th March in whole world to commemorate the struggle of women and address their issues. We are dedicating this day to home based workers and their struggle for their rights. Multan Women Workers Help Line organized a meeting to celebrate the International Women Day in Multan. General Secretary Punjab of Home Based Aurat Workers Union said on the eve of international women day home based workers want the Government to take serious attention towards our issues. She said in Multan there are hundreds of women involved in embroidery work, souvenirs making, embroidery on Multani Khussa (shoes), thread and 'Aar' work costumes and glazed earthen pottery. Women work 14-16 hours a day and earn only 2000-4000 rupees monthly. She urged the government to provide social security to home based workers. Kasur WWHL organized a meeting in Kasur on the occasion of International Women Day. Speaking on the occasion Senior Vice Chairperson WWHL Riffat Maqsood said discrimination against women is visible in every field of life. 73% of women in the countryside labor in the rural economy, but no official report ever mentions their contribution. Women workers are cited as 23% of the total work force, but rural agriculture women workers are not included in that figure. In the textile sector women workers are 35% of the total work force. Nearly 3 million women are working as domestic servants and 10 million are engaged in home based work and get anything between 20-40 rupees per day. These workers have no fixed working hours and time off in the week. Women workers in the private sector work 12 to 16 hours a day without any break. Compared with male workers, female workers get 40% less in wages. General Secretary- Punjab Home Based Aurat Workers Union (HBAWU), Aasia Afzal said that home based women workers are severely exploited by the middle man and contract system. Women mobility is so much restricted that they cannot take part in any activity outside. We at the platform of HBAWU urge the Government to ratify ILO C-177 implement the labor laws on home based workers also and provide social security benefits. Toba Tek Sigh Women Workers Help Line organized a seminar to celebrate the International Women Day in Toba Tek Singh. General Secretary WWHL Bushra Khaliq addressed from the seminar and said over 10 million women workers in Pakistan are engaged in Home-Based Work in sectors like garment, bangle making, shoe stitching, embroidery, carpet weaving, dry fruit picking, jewelry, leather products, steel scissors, mobile covers and prawn shelling. Though their contribution to economy is 60 percent still they are the most unprivileged part of the society. Their incomes ranged between Rs 10 to Rs 50 (less than one dollar) a day despite the fact that they worked between 12 to 16 hours. They have no social and legal recognition of their work. Working in isolation, they have no rights as workers by law. Long working hours, poor working conditions and family pressure badly affect their health. She said legal recognition should be given to home-based workers across the country and they should also be provided with facility of social security besides granting pension and stipends to their children. The government should also apply rule of minimum wages level for these workers and ratify ILO Convention 177. Labor laws should also be applied on these workers, they demanded. She asked for elimination of discriminatory laws against women. She said that the union would serve as a national-level platform for over 10 million home-based working women of Pakistan. She said the number of women workers in Pakistan’s work-force is on the rise, but this is not reflected within the labor movement because there are very few women in the trade unions. The male-dominated unions are not showing any interest in recruiting female members into the unions. Male-chauvinist union leaders discourage female workers. One of the participants Tahira said in Toba Tek Singh there are few factories and we discourage to work at home. She urged the Government to establish industrial zones in Toba Tek Singh so that the women also get employment and break the exploitation involved in home based work. NWFP Mardan On the eve of International Women Day Women Workers Help Line Mardan Office organized a seminar in Mardan to claim the Social Security Benefits to home Based Workers. Home Based Aurat Workers Union President Shehnaz Begum said that home based workers are the most exploited section of the society. And it is a hall mark in the history of Pakistan that home based women workers have made their own union to address their rights. Vice President of HBAWU, Farzana said it is the right time to make collective efforts through the platform of union. He urged the government to fulfill all their demands, ratify ILO C-177 and recognize home based workers as worker. General Secretary, WWHL-Mardan while addressing the occasion said WWHL supports the working women in informal sector especially home based workers to struggle for their rights. We will continue our struggle till the Government do not pay serious attention to our issues and make some solution. BALUCHISTAN Quetta Women Workers Help Line organized a seminar in Quetta, Balochistan to celebrate International women Day. General Secretary National Level Committee of Home Based Aurat Workers Union, Jamila Baloch said in Balochistan women are facing multilateral exploitation as the society is in the hold of religious extremists, patriarchal society, involvement in home based work because women mobility is restricted. said home-based work is an increasingly important source of employment worldwide. She said that it is estimated that there are over 100 million home-based workers in the world, over 50 million home-based workers in South Asia and 10 million in Pakistan. The number is quite larger than the figure mentioned as the Government do not have statistics about it. On the platform of the Home based Aurat Worker Union she presented the charter of demands of Home based workers and urged to take immediate measures to provide social security benefits to home based workers.
2008
On the occasion of world’s women day, WWHL organized and devotedly contributed in a seminar and rally, under the supervision of Ms. Azra Shad (Chairperson WWHL) at Mahfil Auditorium, Lahore. Seminar was named as “Strong Women, Stronger Democracy”. More than two thousand women and men attended the seminar and participated in rally. The women demanded an instant removal of current political setup, outdated traditions, discriminative laws against women, inflation, Musharraf’s Dictatorship, non-legacy and terrorism. They also wanted real democracy for the economic and social prosperity of the women of Pakistan. A lot of banners were hanging in the auditorium with the captions of women’s political, social and economic rights such as “Adlia ki Bahali, Aurat ki Khushhali”, “women strong, the democracy stronger” and “Haaye Haaye mar gai Mehnghai”. On this occasion, Bushra Khaliq (Secretary General WWHL), Advocate Rabeea Bajwa, Riffat Maqsood, Azra Shad (Chairperson WWHL), Amna Masood and Farooq Tariq (Labour Party Pakistan) also addressed the participants. They said that today the women are very strong and we can see their effective participation in all the areas of life. They told about the importance of this day and appreciated the way women are contributing in bringing the change in the society. They said that today it is not possible to make progress without women participation side by side with men. In one of largest mobilization of working women in form of a rally (in Lahore) in connection with international women day on March 8, 2008, women demanded the end of Musharraf regime and to make the women an effective representative in the politics of the country. They also shout slogans against the dictatorship and demanded the urgent release of the missing people in Pakistan. They said “we will not tolerate a regime of stick and bullet”. They were carrying banners and play cards like “Strong Women, Stronger Democracy”, “Go Musharraf Go” etc. Ms. Bushra Khaliq also addressed the rally and motivated them to be strong and become ready to bring the change in the society.

2007
In one of largest mobilization of working class women in Lahore in connection with international women day on 8th March 07, women demanded peace and workers unity. They demanded better wages and equal rights. Over 1200 women participated from Kasur, Lahore, Gujranwala, Toba Tek Singh in a rally from Mehfil auditorium to Shimla Pehari Chowk Lahore chanting slogans of women for peace and workers unity. They raised slogans against military regime and said we will not tolerate a regime of stick and bullet. They were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans e.g. decent work decent wages, implement ILO convention 177 that give rights to home based workers, No to Hadood Ordinance, Repeal discriminatory laws, Equal rights for women, Power to the women, introduce social security policies for home-based workers. Rally was organized by Women Workers Help Line (WWHL) in connection with international women day. The participants of the rally were raising full-throat slogans against the anti-worker policies of Mushraff regime and in favor of their demands. Despite repeated efforts by the police to stop the rally, the participants kept on marching, braving their way to Lahore Press club. They made a brief sit-in in front of the press club where WWHL chairperson Azra Shad and general secretary Bushra khaliq addressed the participants of the rally. They said home-based women workers are being exploited by the middlemen, traders through neo-liberal policies. Women are contributing to national economy in big way but they have been kept marginalized by the anti-worker policies of Mushraff regime. But, they said, these women are conscious about their rights and that is why they have taken the streets to secure their just rights, they added. They made it clear that the government would be compelled to meet women workers demands. Speaking on the occasion Farooq Tariq from Labour Party shed light on how this day came to be observed. "It dates back to 1820. On March 8 that year women in tailoring sector in Britain first went on strike for better working hours. And they got it. He also added that women workers are working under tough conditions and are denied their basic and labor rights by the traders and factory owners. He said the contractors and factory owners must provide social security cards to the home-based women workers. He urged the government to repeal the Hudood Ordinance and meet the demands of women workers in the informal sector. Earlier speakers at a seminar on “Home-based women workers and their rights” organized by WWHL, stressed the need for peace and unity among women workers. Among those who spoke on the occasion include Justice (Retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal, Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan, Mehboob Ahmed Khan, Farooq Tariq and revolutionary poet Baba Najmi. Justice (retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal speaking on the occasion said the incidents of violence against women are on the rise and there is a dire need to provide legal security to women against violence of all sorts. For the purpose government must go for legislation on this serious social issue. She urged the women not to remain silent on the atrocities committed against them and forge unity among their ranks to wage struggle for their rights. She condemned the redundant and anti-women traditions like; marriage with Holy Quran, Wani and honour killings. She urged the women workers to organize themselves in order to get their rights. Tahira Mazar Ali Khan addressing the jam-packed auditorium said women workers are highly marginalized and they are being exploited by the capitalist forces. They can get their rights only if they are organized and unionized, she opined. She said women want peace and they are against war mongering. She urged the governments of India and Pakistan to refrain from issuing statement fanning war hysteria. A solidarity message from president All India Progressive Women Association, Sri Lata Swami was read out, in which she urged the women of Pakistan and India to wage joint struggle against feudalism and capitalism. In her message she also urged the governments of Pakistan and India to stop policies promoting war culture. In one of largest mobilization of working class women in Lahore in connection with international women day on 8th March 07, women demanded peace and workers unity. They demanded better wages and equal rights. Over 1200 women participated from Kasur, Lahore, Gujranwala, Toba Tek Singh in a rally from Mehfil auditorium to Shimla Pehari Chowk Lahore chanting slogans ‘women for peace and workers unity’. They raised slogans against military regime and said we will not tolerate a regime of stick and bullet. They were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans e.g. decent work decent wages, implement ILO convention 177 that give rights to home based workers, No to Hadood Ordinance, Repeal discriminatory laws, Equal rights for women, empower the women, introduce social security policies for home-based workers.

2004
Women Workers Help Line organized a seminar on Hudood Ordinance and women rights at WWHL office. Around 120 women from all walks of life attended the seminar. The issues like denial of equal wages and rights to workingwomen were described in detail. Speaking at the occasion women rights activists urged the immediate repeal of Hudood Ordinance. Azra Shad, Bushra Khaliq, Riffat Maqsood, Jalvat Ali and Faroq Tariq spoke at the seminar. International Women Day Rally After the event of seminar in connection with women Day WWHL took out a big rally under the main banner of Repeal Hudood Ordoinance from Press club to Faisal Chowk. More than 500 women participated in rally. The police at Egerton Road prevented the rally. After the refusal of police to allow taking out the procession, the participants dispersed peacefully. The participants were holding placard and enchanting slogans against all discriminatory laws against women.

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