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Dated : Friday, October 26, 2012 |
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Goodbye, Hello: Migrant India's brave new daughters
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A large number of women in India today are migrating alone for education. They move from small towns and even remote villages to metropolises like Delhi or Chennai, to study all kinds of courses. Once having adjusted to the urban milieu, and perceiving broader horizons, many among them are reluctant to go back to their places of residence and live as they once did
Preet Rustagi
Women have always migrated. But the change to note is that whereas earlier this migration was largely related to marriage or conducted as part of the family, now more and more women are also migrating alone.
The negative aspects of such migration are well documented. It is known that women’s labour is often exploited; that there are low economic benefits in the jobs they do; that the terms and conditions of such employment are not clearly laid down. But there is also a more positive aspect, which may not be very significant as far as proportions or numbers go, but is nevertheless important to highlight.
For instance, a large number of women in India today are migrating alone for education. They move from small towns and even remote villages to metropolises like Delhi or Chennai, to study all kinds of courses. Once having adjusted to the urban milieu, and perceiving broader horizons, many among them are reluctant to go back to their places of residence and live as they once did. They prefer to seek employment and pick out those social avenues that could entail a change of social perspective which, in turn, translates into different social outcomes – in the context of marriage, in the context of personal relationships, in the context of ways of life.
There are other developments too that are providing a fillip to migration in India. Take the present crisis in the agricultural sector. On the one hand, the costs of input have risen exponentially; on the other, an array of factors from variable weather conditions to degradation of land have resulted in declining returns for the farmer. This has seen men move out of agriculture in large numbers, leaving the women behind to tend to the farms and resulting in what we term as the feminisation of agricultural operations. Nowadays, women too are joining the men in such migration to urban areas.
In this context, a study I had done on women and migration, based on Census and National Sample Survey (NSS) data, was particularly interesting. The NSS data actually provides information as to how many women migrate and for what reason. Obviously, it revealed that a large section of female migration can be attributed to marriage and only a very small proportion, to work. While very few women report that they are going for work at the point of departure, a large number eventually does end up working. This shows that, to some extent, migration is giving women the opportunity of entering the labour market and increasing their public participation in a manner that they themselves could not have originally envisaged.
If we look at women’s employment again from the statistical point of view, the largest segment within the regular women’s workforce, especially in urban areas, is in the segment of domestic work. This is a peculiar and particular kind of pattern as far as women’s work is concerned. If one looks further at what this means for women, one comes across a very interesting scenario. Although a large number of studies view domestic work purely from the negative perspective in terms of lack of opportunities and rights, I tend to look at it more from the point of view of the potential for economic empowerment that domestic work offers to women. The fact that these women are actually able to go out of their homes creates opportunities that they otherwise would not have had, given their lack of education or access to skill developing avenues. In other words, domestic work allows for an easy entry into the work market.
We would generally tend to look at such work, from the women’s status point of view, as something quite demeaning and which entails a loss of social status. But once one starts earning money and contributing quite a substantial share to the household income, a new dynamic is set into motion. These women then begin to be seen as contributors, both at the family level and within the social context in which they are located.
From the surveys we have undertaken in the ‘jhuggis’ (shanties) of Delhi, for instance, a large number of women did report that they had at first concealed from their husbands and other family members the fact that they were working as domestic help. But some of them also reported how, subsequently, that once the nature of their work came out into the open, it was generally appreciated. Women also talked about the demonstration effect they had on other women. Some of these women where, in fact, in families that were going through immense economic hardships because of the poor avenues of employment that were available to the men and because the women themselves held the traditional view that leaving one’s home and working in somebody else’s would undermine their social status. Such notions were discarded once the benefits from domestic work came to be perceived.
Remember, also, that the very act of entry into the labour market enables a woman worker to interact with the world in a way she could not have done earlier. Even the perception of inequalities and injustices that mark her situation get clearer through this process, and some women are able to leverage their individual and collective strength to get a better deal for themselves. In cities like Mumbai, one sees the emergence of fairly strong domestic workers’ unions. As workers, the women begin to realise what they had missed out on in life, perceive what is feasible, what is available and form their own ideas about how they and their families could do better for themselves.
We find, for example, that these women tend to take specific and particular interest in educating their children, not just the boys but the girls, because they don’t want them to go through what they themselves had to experience. Such education ushers in generational change. We now hear of a maid’s daughter scoring the highest marks in a board examination, or getting into jobs that would have been impossible to access a generation earlier. So we are really talking of remarkable transformations.
The movement from a rural to an urban setting – no matter what the job at the other end is – unleashes many significant developments in a woman’s life. Most notably, it somewhat loosens the hold of social conventions and compulsions. In rural India, the hierarchies of caste and religion, family traditions and norms, dictate everything from inter-personal relations to the broader social milieu. Given the deeply entrenched feudal social structures, one cannot do certain things even if one is educated and has very different perceptions about whom one would like to marry and what one would wish to do with one’s life. After all, even going with the husband to see a movie in a rural setting is sometimes difficult to envisage.
In a study undertaken in NOIDA, a city in the National Capital Region, a large number of women workers who had migrated from rural regions of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar actually said that they are now able to articulate many things they could not have done earlier – even with regard to tabooed subjects like their own sexuality.
So clearly the urban milieu, with all its problems and frustrations, does entail a kind of freedom for the woman migrant. It provides her with some space to do things her way and imagine a new life for herself.
(Women’s Feature Service) |
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What we eat may affect what and how we think
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Scientists are ultimately searching for new ways to treat diet-related disorders while raising awareness that diet and obesity affect mental as well as physical health.
Being obese appears to affect cognitive function, requiring more effort to complete a complex decision-making task, according to researcher Timothy Verstynen.
Brain images suggest that when people skip breakfast, the pleasure-seeking part of the brain is activated by pictures of high-calorie food.
Skipping breakfast also appears to increase food consumption at lunch, possibly casting doubt on the use of fasting as an approach to diet control, revealed study by Tony Goldstone, MD, PhD.
A study in rats suggests they may be able to curb binge-eating behaviour with medication used to keep substance abusers clean and sober, said scientist Angelo Blasio.
Amidst growing concern that diet-related metabolic disorders such as diabetes impair brain function, an animal study by an Indian origin scientist Rahul Agrawal reported that a high-sugar diet may affect insulin receptors in the brain and dull spatial learning and memory skills. But omega-3 supplements may at least partially offset this effect.
Evidence from a rat study suggests that a new compound under development to treat compulsive eating disorders and obesity may be effective at blocking a specific receptor in the brain that triggers food cravings and eating when activated by “food related cues,” such as pictures or smells, irrespective of the body’s energy needs, according to Chiara Giuliano.
“These are fascinating studies because they show the brain is an often overlooked yet significant organ in an array of dietary disorders,” said press conference moderator Paul Kenny, PhD, of The Scripps Research Institute in Florida, an expert on addiction and obesity.
“Many of these findings have the potential to lead to new interventions that can help reduce the ranks of the obese, helping those who struggle daily with dietary decisions reassert control over what they eat,” Kenny added. (Agencies) |
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Disability won't stop these girls
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When Ruma Roka set up the Noida Deaf Society (NDS) in 2005 she knew that educating and empowering the hearing impaired to find worthwhile employment was a top priority. But she also wanted to draw attention to the issue of educating the deaf in India. “Teaching the deaf here means making them capable of speech. The deaf can’t hear and so even if their voice boxes work perfectly they can’t produce proper speech. They have very limited vocabularies to start with. Yet, year after year, they are expected to sit in classes that teach them as if they can hear. They are then expected to regurgitate answers learnt by heart during exams. What purpose does this serve?” she questions.
While researching for education options for this special group, Roka realized that sign language was not encouraged and that it was the quality of resources that kept this category of disabled people in menial jobs without any prospect of developing their inherent talents. “In India, 63 million deaf people miss out on crucial skills because of a lack of resources. The approximately 500 government-aided schools we have in the country have a very oral approach and don’t encourage sign language,” she reveals.
Understanding the way the deaf learn is an important component of teaching at the NDS. “The deaf mind thinks differently. They learn through context,” explains Roka. “There is no direct translation of subjects here into sign language. We have to create a context and translate it into sign language that will help them understand the content. They are visual learners,” she added. So NDS developed India’s first visual vocational training course for the deaf. It uses a combination of words, video and pictures to help students learn. “Remember, their whole perspective of the world is through their eyes. It’s devoid of sound and that can be very limiting,” elaborates Roka.
The NDS today has grown since its first classes began in a two-bedroom flat given by Roka’s husband. Run on donations of philanthropic organisations, it teaches children for free. NDS has branches in Prem Nagar, Delhi, as well as Hissar, Haryana, but they are the proudest of their 500 and counting students who have been hired by leading multinational and other companies like Mphasis, Barista and the Taj group of hotels.
For Roka, keeping her students motivated is as important as training them to join the workforce. “The deaf are not blind but everyone else around them seems to be blind to their needs as human beings,” she shares, adding, “Parents would say that their deaf child was like a stone around their necks. They are rarely made a part of family decisions. Girls, of course, have it the worst. Parents never stop trying to get them married off, taking huge loans and giving dowries that are well beyond their means. No thought is paid to how they will handle the pressures that come with relationships like marriage.”
While presently there are not many girls enrolled, the NDS doesn’t give them conventional options like embroidery or craft classes. They are treated like any other student and are taught computers and communication skills. Usha Kumari, 26, a graduate of NDS, is today a part of the Security Team of Vivanta, of the Taj group of Hotels. She learned the Indian Sign Language and communication in English and honed her computing skills at the institute. This young woman, who had no future after her secondary school education, is now a proud contributor to her family’s income. Like her, Gayatri Devi, 28, another student, is now employed as part of the Housekeeping Team in the Taj Mahal Hotel in the Capital. The NDS assisted her to polish her communication skills and more importantly helped her define an identity of her own.
Seeing her economically independent had made Gayatri’s father happy. He says, “Gayatri is living a respectable life, something that I never believed she would be capable of.” Roka, of course, would like to see many more parents of disabled girls show such positive change in attitude. To increase the number of girls in NDS, she is looking to mount a campaign for their enrolment.
It is never easy explaining to many who come to NDS that they are capable of more. “I started with five students,” recalls Roka, “And they taught me that the deaf were cut off from mainstream jobs because they didn’t know English and didn’t have any computer skills.” Roka is thankful that her neighbours never complained of her many students coming to attend class in the building. “But then the deaf don’t make any noise,” she smiles.
It takes about a year-and-half to get a student completely job ready. NDS uses visual aids to teach and instructors who are deaf themselves because they can understand the needs of their pupils best. They also hold sessions for corporates, explaining how the deaf would be great value adds to their companies. “The deaf rarely leave the companies that hire them,” says Roka. “This loyalty factor is so valuable.” A tie-up with NIIT helped NDS source computers as well as teachers who teach graphic designing and desktop skills. Today, their desktop courses are certified by NIIT.
Roka doesn’t know why she chose this category of students, but the urge to teach children who had little access to schools was always strong. “When I wanted to learn the Indian sign language I couldn’t find any information,” she remembers. “People were very surprised when I went to the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute For The Hearing Handicapped to learn the Indian sign language. I had no deaf child, relative or friend. In my class of five, I was the only one who had come just to learn. There is a huge gap here that must be addressed fast.” Finding teachers suited to teach her students was also tough. “Some of my students later trained to teach here,” she says. They have a vibrant volunteer programme where people from many different areas come in to contribute their bit.
Roka plans to work on creating more digital-based learning material for improving English literacy and increasing computer access in the future. She asserts, “Communication and computers will help my students show the world their true strength.”
( Women’s Feature Service)
Paromita Pain |
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Body' position in bed 'reveals personality traits'
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The position you choose while sleeping reveals a startling amount about your personality, a body language expert has claimed.
Robert Phipps has identified four positions and says the foetal – most favoured by worriers – is by far the most common and almost 58 per cent adopt it and sleep with knees up and head down.
According to Phipps, the more we curl up, the more comfort we’re seeking.
The second most common position is the log - a straight body, with arms and legs by the side, apparently indicates stubbornness and they can wake up stiffer than when they went to sleep.
The 25 per cent of us that are a yearner - arms stretched out in front - are either chasing a dream or being chased.
Yearners are their own worst critics says Mr Phipps, always expecting great results. They wake up eager to face the challenges of the day.
Freefallers – face down, arms outstretched – make up 17 per cent and feel they have little control over their life.
Physically this is the least comfortable position.
Phipps’s survey asked people to record their most common sleeping positions, with some naming more than one.
“A good night’s sleep sets you up for the following day and our sleeping positions can determine how we feel when we wake,” the Daily Mail quoted Phipps as saying. (Agencies) |
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