Skip to main content

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

By A Representative 

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.

Discussion

Dr Nivedita P Haran, retired additional chief secretary, department of home affairs, Government of Kerala, said it is common knowledge that there is poverty, violence, and lack of empowerment in Bihar. However, the shift in decision-making irrespective of the family's economic status leading to joint decisions in financial and family matters is a remarkable improvement. She further said, that the study shows that domestic violence is not totally linked to economic status, making it easy to handle.
She recommended Bihar Government officials to take the study findings and recommendations for setting specific targets of improvement through an action plan by respective divisions and taking input from the study in the upcoming budget preparation.
"Learn from states like Tamil Nadu, where the literacy was very low, high open defecation level, fundamental public health and immunization at its lowest level 30 years back, but within 20 years they have done immensely well", she suggested. "Literacy among the women is the significant empowerment, which decreases the incidences domestic violence, dropout from schools and increases girl child's, health and hygiene."
Bihar is one of the fastest growing states, but the growth which the state has achieved has not been able to transform into development
According to her, "Such studies are eye-openers and should put a sense of responsibility and more importantly a sense of shame among the public, and non-public servants, the cooperation of non-state actors need to happen in Bihar."
Mahua Roy Chaudhary, project coordinator, governance and knowledge management, Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society, Jeevika, shared facts on open defecation and pointed out that in 2014 only 30 percent of the household had access to toilets compared to study projections which depicts only 24 percent going for open defecation which is a huge change in five years due to pro-women government policies.
"We need to understand about the various government programs taken up by Bihar government exclusively for people, as Bihar government has also given Rs 1000 directly in the account of women for empowering them”, said Roy Chaudhary.
Prof G Sridevi, associate professor, School of Economics, Central University of Hyderabad, underlined that in India, the socio-cultural norms prevalent in rural areas have prevented women from having equal rights, access to education, access to land, and most importantly, not allowing to be part of the decision making at the household level.
Also, women's representation in decision-making as an elected member in panchayats is deficient, she asserted. Hence, women are always under-represented in various walks of life. Though economic empowerment and change in the societal patterns have made the women question the established norms, this has only resulted in increased domestic violence and atrocities.
"The gender gap report of 2020 indicates that it will take 95 years to close the existing gender gap in political representation. If we want to have economic parity and equality, it will take 257 years, which explains the kind of inequality existing within the society", said Prof Sridevi.
"Women at global-level represent two-third of the workforce in the health sector, but interestingly, there is a huge pay gap between men and women, considering the pay gap in terms of the Indian context. It is 35 percent compared to the global average of 16 percent", she added.
Prof Sridevi also underlines that although Uttar Pradesh and Bihar's per capita income seems to be a performer. On the contrary, they fail in providing equal access to resources to all the sections of society. She also focussed on providing access to education and strengthening self-help groups for providing equal access to resources to women.
Believed Prof Sridevi, "We need to address issues related to social inequality which will in turn automatically lead to a reduction in political and economic inequality."
Mr Braj Kishore Pathak, officer, Jeevika, Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society, State Rural Livelihoods Mission, Bihar, said that now females in Bihar have emerged as decision-makers. Migrant workers returned to Bihar were provided with adequate facilities during Covid-19 pandemic. Around 18 lakh ration cards were provided to households and financial support of Rs 1,000 per family to help the women workforce during the pandemic.
Prof Nalin Bharti, professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Patna, said, Bihar is one of the states which is very densely populated. He disagrees with the concept of a migrant worker. He elucidates his point by saying that countries like Japan and Singapore do not treat their own workers as migrant workers, unlike India. He believes migrant word dissociate one psychologically; he mentions Kerala's concept where workers from other states are called 'Guest Workers'.
"The pandemic has allowed us to rethink the concept of the migrant worker," he said, adding, "Bihar is one of the fastest growing states since many years, but the growth which Bihar has achieved has not been able to transform into development. The study shows that connectivity between growth and development is not up to the mark, and we need to dwell upon it."
Dr Arjun Kumar, director, IMPRI, pointed out there are around 10 lakh self-help groups in Bihar, and they need to be strengthened. He also mentioned that study focussed on the social group that has been excluded, which are casual laborers and rural women. He says the upcoming Bihar Budget and suggests the need for financial assistance of cash transfer of Rs 2,000 for marginalized people in Bihar and a smartphone to strengthen the development of Bihar.
"The pandemic was not only a public health crisis but also an economic crisis and its impact in creating a social crisis, thereby magnifying certain social problems should not be lost sight of. The pandemic has magnified certain problems such as economic, health, social, and gender-related issues. Let's address them", said Dr. Nivedita, adding, "Let’s make the Self Help groups, women groups in rural Bihar as the agents of change that can improve the face of Bihar.”
Mahua Roy Choudhury claimed, Bihar’s Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana is aimed at empowering ultra-poor households traditionally engaged in production, transportation, and selling of country liquor/toddy. The scheme covers the ultra-poor from SC/ST and other communities by diversifying livelihoods, capacity, building and finance access to finance.
“Such findings and recommendations are essential to design an inclusive, intersectional recovery program as we seek to build from the pandemic crisis,” added Dr Aparajita Gogoi, executive director, Centre for Catalyzing Change.

Comments

TRENDING

The curious case of multiple entries of a female voter of Maharashtra: What ECI's online voter records reveal

By Venkatesh Nayak*  Cyberspace is agog with data, names and documents which question the reliability of the electoral rolls prepared by the electoral bureaucracy in Maharashtra prior to the General Elections conducted in 2024. One such example of deep dive probing has brought to the surface, the name of one female voter in the 132-Nalasopara (Gen) Vidhan Sabha Constituency in Maharashtra. Nalasopara is part of the Palghar (ST) Lok Sabha constituency. This media report claims that this individual's name figures multiple times in the voter list of the same constituency.

Spirit of leadership vs bondage: Of empowered chairman of 100-acre social forestry coop

By Gagan Sethi*  This is about Khoda Sava, a young Dalit belonging to the Vankar sub-caste, who worked as a bonded labourer in a village near Vadgam in Banskantha district of North Gujarat. The year was 1982. Khoda had taken a loan of Rs 7,000 from the village sarpanch, a powerful landlord doing money-lending as his side business. Khoda, who had taken the loan for marriage, was landless. Normally, villagers would mortgage their land if they took loan from the sarpanch. But Khoda had no land. He had no option but to enter into a bondage agreement with the sarpanch in order to repay the loan. Working in bondage on the sarpanch’s field meant that he would be paid Rs 1,200 per annum, from which his loan amount with interest would be deducted. He was also obliged not to leave the sarpanch’s field and work as daily wager somewhere else. At the same time, Khoda was offered meal once a day, and his wife job as agricultural worker on a “priority basis”. That year, I was working as secretary...

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857  By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman*  Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

Govt of India "tarnishing" NGO reputation, dossier leaked selectively: Amnesty

Counterview Desk Amnesty International India has said that a deliberate attempt is being made to tarnish its reputation by leaking a dossier, supposedly made by investigating agencies, to media without giving it access to any such information. The high profile NGO’s claim follows a Times Now report about proceedings launched by investigative agencies, including Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the rights body for “violations” of rules pertaining to overseas donations.

How AMU student politics prioritises Islamist ideologies rather than addressing campus-specific concerns

By Yanis Iqbal*  In his recent piece titled "Unmasking the Power Struggles of Soqme Teachers Behind the AMU Students’ Agitation," Mohammad Sajjad, professor of modern and contemporary Indian history at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has  has approached the recent  protests against fee increases at AMU with a skeptical eye. He portrays them not as a pure, student-led reaction to financial burdens, but as possibly intertwined with deeper institutional rivalries. While recognizing that the university administration faces ongoing demands from the government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) to boost self-generated revenue via fee adjustments, he highlights a key shortfall: neither the administration nor the protesters have shared clear, comparative data on fee structures or their rationale.

Proposed Modi yatra from Jharkhand an 'insult' of Adivasi hero Birsa Munda: JMM

Counterview Desk  The civil rights network, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JMM), which claims to have 30 grassroots groups under its wings, has decided to launch Save Democracy campaign to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra to be launched on November 15 from the village of legendary 19th century tribal independence leader Birsa Munda from Ulihatu (Khunti district).