P. Sainath

large_01-S009-16A-AF-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women-and_gathering_their_lives_lfLC2A8.jpg

medium_01-S009-16A-AF-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women-and_gathering_their_lives_lfLC2A8.jpg

small_01-S009-16A-AF-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women-and_gathering_their_lives_lfLC2A8.jpg

thumbnail_01-S009-16A-AF-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women-and_gathering_their_lives_lfLC2A8.jpg

01-S009-16A-AF-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women-and_gathering_their_lives_lfLC2A8.jpg

The panel is part of <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/sainath-womens-work-exhibition/">Visible Work, Invisible Women, a photo exhibition </a>depicting the great
range of work done by rural women. All the photographs
were shot by P. Sainath across 10 Indian states between 1993 and 2002.
Here, PARI has creatively digitised the
original physical exhibition that toured most of the country for
several years.And gathering their lives She’s been up since 4:30 a.m. And, an hour later, is picking
 
 tendu
 
 leaves in the Surguja forest in Chhattisgarh. At this moment, thousands of Adivasis like her are doing the same thing across the state. Whole families work as units to pick the leaves, used for making
 
 beedis .
 On a good day, her six-member family may earn up to Rs. 90. They could earn more in the best two weeks of the tendu season than they might in the next three months. So they’ve got to make the most of it while it lasts. In six weeks, they will need a new survival strategy. Almost every family in this belt is out in the forest now. Tendu is very important to the Adivasi economy.

So is the picking of
 
 mahua
 
 flowers. Or tamarind collection. Or
 
 cheronji
 
 and
 
 sal
 
 . In some parts of the country, Adivasi households depend on non-timber forest products (NTFP) for over half their income. But what they get is a tiny fraction of the product’s value. In Madhya Pradesh alone, such produce is worth at least Rs. 2,000 crores annually. 
 Exact figures are hard to come by, with the enclosure of forests by the state. But NTFPs are worth over Rs. 15,000 crores nationally. 
 The Adivasi woman and her family get little of that. For them it means survival. And it might not be enough even for that. Middlemen, traders, moneylenders and others make the real money. But who collects, processes and markets the NTFPs? The rural woman, mainly. She gathers the bulk of such forest produce. Including medicinal herbs that are already a multi-billion dollar business globally. While that business booms, the lives of the woman and her family decline. The networks that exploit her labour ensure that.

The more forest lands are degraded, the tougher her tasks get. The longer her treks and working hours. As poverty grows within Adivasi communities, so does their dependence on NTFPs. And so too, her responsibilities. Women doing this kind of work in Odisha walk three to four hours a day. Their workday stretches to 15 hours or more. Millions of poor Adivasi women in the country play a major role in keeping their struggling families afloat this way. In the process, they face harassment from forest guards, merchants, police, hostile administrators and often, unfair laws.
 The women putting together the brooms are in Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh. Lots of Adivasi households in that state get well over half their income directly from the sale of non-timber forest produce. Many among the non-Adivasi poor too, need NTFPs for survival. The woman in Bundelkhand in Madhya Pradesh is versatile. It’s not just pots and pans she makes and repairs. That’s the family business. She also makes ropes, baskets and brooms. She manages an astonishing collection of products. That too in her area, where the forests are almost gone. She also knows exactly where to find certain kinds of clay. Her knowledge and workload are amazing; her family’s condition, appalling.

Visible Work, Invisible Women: And gathering their lives (Panel 6)

புலப்படும்  பணிகள், புலப்படாத பெண்கள் –  அவர்கள் வாழ்க்கை முறையின் கோர்வை (பகுதி 6)

ଦୃଶ୍ୟମାନ କାମ, ଅଦୃଶ୍ୟ ମହିଳା: ଜୀବନ ସଂଘର୍ଷ କାହାଣୀ (ପ୍ୟାନେଲ୍‌ ୬)

కనిపించే పని, కనిపించని మహిళలు: జీవితాలను కూడగట్టుకోవడం (ప్యానల్ 6)

ಕಾಣುವ ಕೆಲಸಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಕಾಣದೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು: ಬದುಕನ್ನು ಒಟ್ಟುಗೂಡಿಸುವ ಯತ್ನದಲ್ಲಿ (ಪ್ಯಾನೆಲ್‌ 6)

দৃশ্যমান কাম, অদৃশ্য নাৰী: জীৱনটোলৈ বুলি পাতবোৰ যতনে তুলি (৬ নং পেনেল)

ദൃശ്യമായ ജോലി, അദൃശ്യരായ സ്ത്രീകൾ: ഉപജീവന മാർഗ്ഗങ്ങൾ (പാനൽ 6)

ਕੰਮ ਹੀ ਕੰਮ ਬੋਲੇ, ਔਰਤ ਰਹੀ ਓਹਲੇ ਦੀ ਓਹਲੇ: ਤਿਣਕਾ ਤਿਣਕਾ ਸਹੇਜਦੀਆਂ ਆਪਣਾ ਜੀਵਨ (ਪੈਨਲ 6)

দৃশ্যমান কাজ, অদৃশ্য নারী – ‘সঞ্চয় যত যত্নে ধরে রাখি’ (প্যানেল ৬)

દેખીતાં કામ, અદ્રશ્ય મહિલાઓ: લણતાં, વીણતાં, ચૂંટતાં, કરતાં એકઠાં જીવન (પેનલ 6)

काम ही काम, महिलाएं गुमनामः सहेजतीं घर और अपना जीवन (पैनल 6)

दिसणारं काम, न दिसणाऱ्या बाया – आयुष्य वेचताना (पॅनेल ६)

کام ہی کام، عورتیں گمنام: سنبھالتیں گھر اور اپنی زندگی (پینل ۶)

Surguja

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Visible Work, Invisible Women: And gathering their lives (Panel 6)

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit