IMPRI survey: 72% Bihar casual workers reported they were jobless during pandemic

High levels of female poverty, low female literacy and work participation rates, and high maternal and child mortality, indicate the extent of gender inequality in India. Women in rural parts of the country attend to their regular household care and other domestic activities (assumed to be feminine duties) and work in farms, either as paid or unpaid workers and caregivers.
Moreover, there exists the phenomenon of out-migration from states like Bihar to other more developed states, due to lack of local livelihood opportunities. These circumstances, combined with poor socio-economic indicators, accentuate rural women's vulnerability – VillageMakers – and the Covid-19 pandemic is compounding these.
The Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi, with the support of Centre for Catalyzing Change's (C3) Sakshamaa Initiative, conducted a telephonic time-use survey in rural areas of the state of Bihar. The survey was conducted during September and October 2020, and covered all 38 districts, hearing from 1,039 VillageMakers in rural Bihar. It uncovered the extent to which domestic violence, child marriages, and unpaid work for women, were exacerbated during the Covid-19 lockdown due to restrictions in physical movements and increased loss of livelihoods.

The Covid-19 pandemic has magnified women's vulnerabilities. As we seek to rebuild from the twin health and economic crises brought about by this pandemic, it is incredibly critical to ensure the active involvement of VillageMakers in decision-making within their families and households and the planning and implementation of programs that aim to impact their lives positively.
They are among the hardest hit by this pandemic, but they will also be the backbone of rebuilding efforts if their involvement and leadership are leveraged for economic recovery. Foregrounding women's voices is crucial to creating an equal environment that will help withstand further crises.
Findings of a rural telephonic-survey conducted by interviewing total, 1,039 women VillageMakers from 38 districts of Bihar from September to October 2020 were discussed at a an IMPRI webinar held on January 29, 2021 conducted by IMPRI, in association with the Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3), New Delhi.
Study findings:

• Around 11 percent of the respondents were illiterate, and 40.7 percent of salaried respondents were graduates and above.
• Around 13 percent of the respondents reported open defecation, which included 27 percent of casual laborers.
• Around 84 percent of salaried respondents used LPG as their cooking fuel in contrast to only 37 percent of respondents engaged in casual labour.
• Around 58 percent of respondents had a healthcare facility within 2 kilometers of their residence.
• Among respondents who owned land, almost half had marginal holdings, and one-third had smallholdings.
• Around 30 percent of the respondents were engaged in casual labour.
• Close to half of the households had a yearly income of less than Rs 50000, and 53 percent of the respondents said that their family was in debt.
• Around 57 percent of the respondents reported that men's financial decisions were taken by men and 7 percent by women.
• Around 55 percent of respondents reported that domestic violence against women is common in their village.
• Around 47 percent of the respondents reported that they had observed untouchability based on caste in their community.
• Coverage of different government schemes is far from becoming universal, and lack of awareness and eligibility are the two major impediments.

Impact of Covid 19

• Around 72 percent of the respondents involved in casual labour said that they were unemployed during the pandemic.
• Three out of four respondents reported that migrants have returned to their village.
• Three out of four respondents reported having received benefits from the government's relief package during the lockdown.
• About 50 percent of the respondents felt an increase in care work at home during coronavirus pandemic.
• More than 50 percent of the respondents felt deprivation in access to medical assistance, vegetable, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.
• 72 percent of the respondents reported wearing masks as the primary precautionary measure taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by washing hands.
• 47 percent of the respondents reported being anxious or worried during the pandemic, mostly due to fear of losing the job.

Key policy takeaways

• Investment in basic structure to strengthen access to sufficient and affordable water, sanitation, and electricity supply to rural and remote areas supports women's productive and unpaid care and domestic work.
• Opening of Aganwadi centers in a phased manner to ensure the feeding and vaccination program for children and pregnant women. Distribution of IFA's to adolescent girls without any gap.
• Extension of Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Yojana benefits of providing food grains and staples for another quarter to help poorer households.
• Providing each identified needy person a dollar a day (around Rs 2,000 per month) to ensure that the poorest sections of the population can fulfill their dietary requirements.
• Providing smartphones to ensure continuity of access to remote farms of education for the children, making families vigilant about the spread of Covid-19 and to enable smooth transfer of digital payment through welfare schemes to their bank accounts.