HUMAN RIGHTS

On January 17th, students of the Purvi Dilli Nagar Nigam Prathmik Vidyalaya in East Delhi, received a voice message on WhatsApp, instead of the usual worksheet or online lessons. “Namaste Bachchon… aap kaise ho?” began Vibha Singh, principal of the school. She went on to tell them that the teachers were not able to send the worksheets because they have not been paid their salaries for many months. “Because the government has not paid us salaries for many months, we are on strike,” added Vibha. “You know, don’t you, that if there is no salary it is difficult to manage…

'Abhi koi Randi ya Dhandhewali nahi bolega, Izzat milega ," says Anita Thapa, a sex worker in Pune’s Budhwar Peth. Anita was reacting to the latest National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommendation designating sex workers as 'dignified workers' of society. On October 7th, the NHRC issued a 11-page advisory recognising sex workers as informal workers, making them eligible for the various Central and state benefit schemes. The advisory titled 'Human Rights Advisory on rights of Women Context of COVID-19', includes a recommendation that sex workers facing domestic abuse from partners should be identified and reported. Check the detailed advisory here. The…

“Ab to dus rupaye wala customer bhi chalega, kam se kam chai aur pav to khane ko milenge is lockdown mein (Now, even a customer who can pay ten rupees will do. It can get me some chai and bread at least during this lockdown),” says Beauty Biswas, a sex worker at Kamathipura, Mumbai’s notorious red light district, located virtually at the centre of the city.  The coronavirus pandemic has severely affected the sustenance of these women in Kamathipura. The area is home to about 4500 -5000 sex workers, who have been rendered jobless and penniless since the lockdown was clamped.…

There's much work done in society on a regular basis that remains unrecognised or even taken for granted, until one undertakes to do it in his own hand. That's something each of us has experienced over the last three months of the lockdown, as we have had to do all household work in the absence of our domestic workers. Having washed utensils at least thrice a day, swept floors every day, washed clothes and cleaned toilets, perhaps we will now be goaded into some serious thinking about what we can do for the people who silently perform these chores, almost…

Kumari (name changed), a nurse at a reputed government hospital in Chennai has not been able to feed her child for over 10 days now. She had been exclusively breastfeeding her infant boy till weeks back, but these days she has to leave instructions with her husband on what to feed him and the lullabies to sing in her absence. She then leaves for the hospital, only to come home after 14 days.  A lactating mother, Kumari has a tough and choiceless job ahead: 12-hour long shifts for five days at a stretch, attending to COVID-19 positive patients and to…

COVID is not a worry for Rajamma, a domestic worker living in the quarters given by her employer residing in a high-income neighbourhood of Bengaluru. Wearing a mask, she steps out every evening to buy essentials for the family that has employed her for 15 years now. Her daily shopping is mostly for vegetables and fruits while groceries are bought online and home delivered. Rajamma and her husband take care of the entire household work, which includes sweeping, mopping, folding clothes, drying and arranging washed dishes, cooking two meals and generally ensuring that her employer’s home is running smooth. Her…

On an endless stretch of National Highway 58 (NH-58), a batch of over 200 migrant workers, arriving all the way from Ahmedabad are intercepted at the Rajasthan borders. The officials manning the borders, who are short-stocked on testing kits or thermal screening devices are insistent that the ‘returnees’ produce ‘Health Certificates’. The repeated claims of the migrants, including women and elderly, that they are natives of the state are insufficient to secure them safe passage back to their homes in South Rajasthan. Since the nation-wide lock down on March 24th, the reverse-migration of semi-skilled and unskilled workers ‘on foot’ --…

The first day of the month usually excites working people as they look forward to their salaries, but like so many other things, COVID-19 has changed that too. A large number of people are dreading the commencement of the month, as they are not likely to receive their salaries, even as they have to pay their rent, utilities and other bills. Primary among them are domestic workers, many of whom have already lost their jobs as a fallout of the coronavirus outbreak in the city. It is a fact that most gated communities and responsible resident welfare associations in Chennai…

After three days of hell on earth, Day 4 of the Narendra Modi decreed 21-day lockdown brought some relief to the thousands of migrant labourers in Kaushambi, a part of the NCR, but in Ghaziabad district of UP. These migrant labourers from distant parts of UP in Kaushambi had been left in the lurch. Those who could had started to walk back to their homes, 700 km away. Till finally on March 28th, after a major debate on why a government that can bring home Indians stranded abroad cannot send its migrant workers home, the government relented and started limited…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கடும் வெயில் கொளுத்தும் ஒரு மதிய நேரம், வெள்ளை, காக்கி உடையில் தன் வாகனத்தை ஜெமினி பாலம் அடியில் நிறுத்தி விட்டு, தலைக் கவசமின்றி வாகனம் ஓட்டிய ஒரு இரு சக்கர வண்டி ஓட்டுனரைபோக்குவரத்து காவலர் இடைமறிக்கிறார். தேனாம்பேட்டையில் பத்து கி.மீ தூரம் தொலைவில் வெவ்வேறு இடங்களில் போக்குவரத்தை சீர் செய்யும் பணியில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ள 48 வயது சி.பழனி ஈ3 தேனாம்பேட்டை காவல் நிலையத்தில் உதவி ஆய்வாளராக உள்ளார். தமிழக முதல்வரின் இல்லம் மற்றும் அஇஅதிமுக அலுவலகம் அருகே உள்ள இந்த சாலையில், போக்குவரத்து நெரிசல் மிகுந்த SIET சந்திப்பு, தேனாம்பேட்டை சிக்னல், ஆள்வார்பேட்டை என கட்டுப்பாட்டு அறை சொல்லும் இடத்தில் போக்குவரத்து சீர் செய்யும் பணியில் இவர் ஈடுபடுகிறார். இதற்கு முன்னர், ஐந்து ஆண்டுகள், பாண்டி பஜார் சிக்னல் அருகே இவர் பணி புரிந்துள்ளார். எட்டு மணி நேர பணி நேரத்தில்,பல குடும்ப விழாக்களுக்கு…