An open letter

Anganwardi Worker ICDS-Scheme

HE Governor J&K

   

I am writing this letter on behalf of the scores ofAnganwardi Workers working in different projects of the Kashmir valley. Therecent order issued by the state administrative council regarding thedisbursement of honorarium of Anganwardi workers through Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRI’s)  is highly unjust.This shows the insensitivity of administration towards the women work force whodespite being highly educated will now remain subservient to those who aremostly illiterate and educated. These Sarpanch and Panchs who are mostly localshave started threatening Anganwardi workers about their authority over them. Iwould like to share one of my experience of such an authority, few months backa Panch from my village came to my Anganwardi centre and asked me about thefunctioning of the centre and in a very aggressive tone told me that you arenow under my supervision and now I will decide about your honorarium, whetheryou will get that or not. Not only this, he also went on saying that every dayyou will be required to collect nutrition from our office. I could assess fromthe tone of his voice what he was trying to convince me. And, I really feltpitiable, that how the authorities are subjecting us to the political pressuresas well as to an array of other vulnerabilities. Till time, we have just heardabout the sexual harassment at workplaces but the Anganwardi workers somehowwere safe from such harassment. But imposition of such orders will made thisworkforce highly vulnerable to a number of harassments such as sexual abuse,psychological problems, and political pressures.  The Anganwardi centres are unlike otherinstitutions and there is every possibility of any untoward incident becausethese centers are run by the workers and helpers and both are females. Thesemembers are mostly locals and being neighbors they will show much authority andwhat in local language we usually call hamsaai zidd.  Besides, these members are not much qualifiedto check our registers which are maintained as per the Management InformationSystem (MIS) for which workers have to undergo a specialized trainingprogramme.

 Differentgovernments, from time to time have come up with the number of programmes tosafeguard the rights and dignity of women and to help them to live a dignifiedlife. Women empowerment which has been the at the heart of every govt.programme has also failed to provide women a safe and secure place in India.One can see the Anganwardi workers protesting every month, may, it be the harshwinter or summer. The Anganwardi workers have become the soft corners ofsubjugation. The authorities should try to look into the issues of theseworkers instead of the imposition of such orders. Last year this workforce wason streets for the months together to get their honorarium revised but all invain. No doubt, the honorarium was revised but it was just a disguise. Thehonorarium was revised from the existing 3600 rupees to 5100 rupees.  Many schemes such as PMMVY, Poshan Abhiyanetc were launched by the central govt. for the well-being and upliftment ofwomen and children and all these schemes were merged with ICDS-scheme. And itwas only for this reason that the honorarium was enhanced.  With the introduction of these schemes, theworkload of these workers quadrupled who were now required to keep theircenters functional and at the same time ensure the implementation of otherschemes as well.  It seems that theseworkers are not working as employees but as bonded laborers who are bound toaccept any order at any time. May, it be the election duty, pulse polio duty,yatra duty, examination duty or any other duty they have to remain at theforefront of any duty. How can an employee handle so many jobs?  Is a matter to ponder over?

From the last days together the Anganwardi workers acrossthe state are on the streets against the said order. How pitiable is it thatwomen are forced to hit the streets day in and day out? What sort of democracyis it, where at the one side laws are being enacted to safeguard the rights ofwomen and on the other orders are being passed to subjugate women and deprivethem of their rights?  With theimposition of such orders the workers lose faith in the system and becomedisinterested in their jobs. The authorities should look into the genuinedemands of these workers and should take immediate steps to resolve theirissues in order to ensure the proper functioning of Anganwardi centers. If, theauthorities are really interested in the ground implementation of these schemethe committees should be framed at the concerned official levels instead of theimposition of these orders. The authorities should also revise the honorariumof these workers after every two or three years to benchmark it with themounting inflation and also keeping in view the increasing demands of theworkers as is the case with other jobs. The fundamental right of equal pay forequal work should be for all and not just for few. Let, Anganwardi workers alsolive a peaceful and dignified life and save them from the psychological traumathey are facing at the hands of every authority. After all, they too arehumans.

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