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International Women’s Day: When hands that serve are raised in protest

March 07, 2020 11:18 pm | Updated 11:18 pm IST

The fight for an increase in honorarium and demanding better working conditions

A file photo of a rally by anganwadi workers from city railway station to Freedom Park to highlight their demands, including a hike in salary and medical leave, in January 2020.

For years, thousands of midday meal and anganwadi workers have been fighting for an increase in honorarium and demanding better working conditions. They have held numerous protests, boycotted work and marched to the capital from different parts of the State, making headlines even as they did so.

Behind these massive movements is the meticulous planning by some union leaders, mostly women. S. Varalakshmi, State president of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), said that she realised she had the qualities to be an activist nearly three decades ago when she joined the union at a factory she was working in at Kumbalgodu.

She began fighting for workers who were being laid off after their apprenticeship. Her fiery speeches and ability to multi-task, she says, worked in her favour and she soon began mobilising workers in the industrial area around her factory to unionise. Once she started working with CITU as a full-time member in 1994, she started working with garment, midday meal, beedi and anganwadi workers.

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She has participated in hundreds of protests, is named in six police cases and has been arrested twice, but there is no stopping, she says. “Mobilising such a large number of workers is a challenge. But when we are at a protest or begin a movement, the energy is infectious. It is enough to keep us going,” she says.

She has even attempted her hand at mainstream politics thrice, once successfully in a panchayat election.

Another woman who is seen at the forefront of the protests, particularly of the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, is D. Nagalakshmi of the All India Trade Union Centre (AITUC). Initially part of a women’s organisation in college, her activism dates back to 27 years ago. She later got involved with the trade union and has been the voice of several marginalised women.

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“Protest is the only way a society can change. There are lot of hurdles, but every time I am involved in a protest, I feel like it is a step towards ending women’s problems,” she says. She admits there may be times when a protest may not succeed, but they need to introspect and strategise better for the next one.

Asked why she did not venture into mainstream politics, she says, “That requires money and muscle power. but ultimately everything is political. If I am given the opportunity to serve people in this manner, I will venture into it.”

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