The SEWA Constructions Workers Union – building up women and building Amdavad

On our second day in Amdavad Melanie and I met two organizers for the construction worker’s union at SEWA. One was Kapilaben, who had been a textile mill worker, but switched to construction when the mill closed in 1996. The second was Shobaben and we had a young lady, new to SEWA, named Khushvuben as our translator. The main problem faced by female construction workers is accidents followed by any reimbursement for medical expenses. Despite the fact that by the late 1990s there was already a national law concerning construction workers it was not implemented in Gujarat until 2003. The implementation was largely because of the efforts of SEWA members. In addition to creating the union in 1998 SEWA started an insurance program in 1999. That first year 1,100 SEWA members joined, paying a Rs. 52 premium. Of that group between three and four hundred received benefits of 100% of their medical treatment costs, and 50% of lost wages. In addition to the insurance program, SEWA has set itself up in such as a way that it can guarantee year round work for its construction workers. What I understood is that SEWA does this either by serving as the contractor for a construction site or coordinating with contractors to ensure that there is consistent work. If the women take SEWA up on this offer they make less money. As opposed to making Rs. 250/day with no job security they make Rs. 150/day with year-round job security.

Now, the construction worker union is, apparently, the largest, with 20,000 members. With so many members they take on the issues of discrimination that face female construction workers. These primarily are gender bias against any woman over the age of 35. There is also a bias against hiring any woman that is either pregnant or has small children. With SEWA working as the contractor or as the coordinator these biases impact the women much less. With their large numbers the union is also able to provide scholarship for the children of members. These scholarships start at Rs. 250 for elementary school and go up from there, covering collegiate education as well. The union also provides maternity benefits of Rs. 3,000. Last year four women were able to take advantage of that benefit.

Most of the women construction workers in India are unskilled laborers and as such usually work as headloaders – women who carry building materials on their heads, often up and down bamboo ladders. This work does not pay nearly as well as skilled work on a construction site. For this reason SEWA has established a training program so that the women can learn the skills they need to get better and higher paying jobs. We were lucky enough to get to see the training center with Khushvuben and Kapilaben. It was an incredibly inspiring place to go to. I was awed by how proud the women were of their work and training projects - and rightfully so. We asked if they would take a picture with us, but they only wanted pictures of them doing the work. They were learning how to do various mortaring jobs including removing old mortar, applying new mortar to walls, and building walls of brick and mortar. The training is 35 days long and we understand that while they are there they make Rs. 150 each day. At the end of the 35 days the top few students get selected to enter into a higher level of training to get even more specialized skills. According to Kapilaben SEWA has to work hard to get women into the program because rarely do they approach SEWA. Instead SEWA must go out and recruit women, after explaining the long-term benefits. I think this must be a challenge because for many it must be difficult to give up on Rs. 250 today because it can be so hard to think to the end of the week, let alone in the real long-term.

The growth in Gujarat and Amdavad right now has created an incredible opportunity for women to work, learn, earn, and save. Amdavad is India’s fastest growing city and it’s amazing that 20,000 SEWA members are helping to make that possible with their hard work.

Hanuman

For many years now Hanuman has been one of my all time favorite deities. Before I came to Delhi I was told that there was a huge Hanuman statue near where I would working. I was, naturally, very excited. Not only there the huge statue, which I can see from the metro each day, but it's part of a temple. Of course I went my first week here. I went on a Tuesday night and it was insanely busy. I found out later that Tuesday and Saturdays are the big, busy days at this temple. I was also told, a couple of weeks after going, that the temple is part of a front for the mob. I don't understand it completely, but apparently some gang opened the temple to keep their money looking clean - or at least safe from prying eyes. It's all rather strange and confusing, but it's still an awesome sight from the train each day.

Inside this temple there are lots of mirrored mosaics and altars with various deities. None of this was new to me, having visited Hindu temples before. What was new and strange were passageways in the shape of open mouths. For example, the entrance to the temple is up a ribbed ramp that is the tongue of a monkey, whose mouth you must walk through to get in. This monkey head is at the feet of the Hanuman statue. This is really odd - Hanuman is the monkey king and there's a body-less monkey head at his feet, serving as the entrance into his temple. Inside, there is another mouth entryway. This time it is the mouth of a serpent, complete with jagged and scary looking teeth, a la screeching eels from the Princess Bride. Looking through the serpent's mouth there is narrow passageway with a statue of another god, in a cage. From the outside it looked as though there was also a way to exit the temple through yet another mouth-door, but I wasn't able to find that exit.

Another bizarre feature of this temple is in the large statue of Hanuman. It is possible to see, from street level, that behind Hanuman's hands there are two figures in his chest. These are supposed to be Rama and Sita, of the Ramayana, sitting in Hanuman's heart. According to certain websites on Tuesday and Saturdays at 8:15 am and pm the arms of the statue open to reveal Rama and Sita. I have been unable to confirm this, but I hope to try before I leave.

Not too far away there is another Hanuman temple - this one apparently legit. This one is within a stone's throw of Connaught Place, or CP, a central shopping, eating, and hotel area. This Hanuman Temple was much more in keeping with other temple I have been to - no 100+ foot statue here. The temple is in the middle of a small market area. Inside the temple there are altars with the various Hindu Gods. There is also a lingam-yoni, which represent the male and the female, the fountain of life and the source of all that is. In addition, there was a statue of Nandi, a sacred bull associated with the God Shiva, as is the lingam.

Because Hanuman is an avatar of Shiva it is not surprising to see them in the temple, though at first they seem out of place. So many years have gone by since I studied Hindu cosmology that at first I thought the Shiva lingam was oddly placed in the temple, but as I pulled the cobwebs off my recollections of my first-year Religions of South Asia class it all started to make sense.

When we went there were others there doing puja. I went to go observe and try to get a better sense of what was being done. One of the two men behind the altar motioned me over and gave me a tilak - colored dot between the eyebrows that gives protection and a blessing. He also gave me blessed temple sweets. I was very interesting to see and hear. There were many clanging bells because Hindus believe that bells make the om sound.

SEWA in Gujarat

As previously mentioned I recently took a trip to the state of Gujarat to visit the original offices of SEWA. It was in the Gujarati city of Ahmedabad (also known as Amdavad) that Ela Bhatt started SEWA in 1972 when she became aware of work women were doing, within the informal sector, during the labor unrest at the local textile mills. At the time Ela Bhatt was working for a textile labor union, but she ended up starting SEWA as a subsidiary union. A few years later SEWA struck out on its own. In the years since SEWA has become a real force within India as one of its largest unions and an important women's organization.

Because it's been there much longer SEWA is much different in Gujarat than it is in Delhi. In Gujarat the successes are highly visible, particularly at the SEWA Bank, but more about that below.

I went to Ahmedabad with Melanie, a fellow IU student and also an intern at SEWA. We started our journey on an overnight train in Third Class. We arrived a little road (or rail) weary, but excited. After checking into our hotel and getting lost a little bit we found the SEWA offices and met Binaben, the national coordinator for SEWA. Her job seems to include working on policy efforts and coordinates with the various states where SEWA is active. SEWA is active in 9 of the states in India.

(Just a note that you'll notice that the names of everyone we met in Ahmedabad ends with -ben. This is a suffix in Gujarati that means "sister." In SEWA everyone is addressed using either that suffix, or for the men -bhai, the male equivalent.)

Binaben explained that there are, in total, 123 trades represented by SEWA. This is so much bigger than we were aware of from our work in Delhi. Not only has our work only related to street vendors, but we were also told on our first day that SEWA in Delhi only works with four different trades – street vendors, construction workers, home-based workers, and domestic workers. It’s amazing to think that, in addition to those professions, SEWA is working with another 119 trades.

Our first day there we were scheduled to see the SEWA Bank. In fact, we attended the Annual General Meeting of the SEWA Bank. We had not been told ahead of time that it was going on, but Binaben mentioned it and gave us directions for how to get there. I thought it would be a small meeting of ladies discussing the bank. I sure was wrong. We got to the location and it was a theatre, filled with women. There must have been over 300 in attendance. When we first arrived there were various women going up on the podium to share their experiences with the SEWA Bank and its various services. Luckily, a woman, Shruti, who works at Friends of Women’s World Banking – India, was sitting near us and told us what the women were saying. The women included a third generation SEWA member, community organizers who provide education about loans, and a woman discussing how taking out and repaying a loan not only helps the individual, but also the collective because it is their bank. Finally, there was a women who got up to talk about a government policy against giving loans to people over the age of 55 and she and the Managing Director of SEWA, Jayshreeben Vyas, talked about how the SEWA Bank would determine who should get loans and that loans would be given to anyone who the bank thinks is able to repay it regardless of age.

After the testimonials there were elections for board positions. The women serve on the Board of Directors for three-year terms and they are allowed to serve up to three terms, or nine years total. Each of the 15 members of the board represents a different trade and is elected by the workers in that trade to represent their interests in the management of the bank. The women were very vocal in assenting, nominating, and voting for their representative. Renanaben was directing the process and she was also quite rousing. I’ve only seen her twice, around the office, so it was fascinating to see the spirited coordinator in her. She was great! Once all of the board positions had been filled the event ended with the entire theatre singing the SEWA song. I’ve hear about a dozen women singing it in various documentaries, but hundred of women all joining in song was very moving to witness.

After the Annual General Meeting was over we met up with Palaviben, who works at the SEWA Bank. Her job, at least in part, is to do financial literacy trainings. She gave us a lot of information about the bank. She told us that since its inception in 1974 it has a variety of services it offers its members. It started out as just a savings bank, but now it provides micro-credit, -pension, and -insurance services as well. There are also a variety of savings schemes so that the women can save for a house, for a special occasion, or even to buy gold and build their assets. SEWA Bank also provides non-financial services, according to Palaviben. These include financial literacy trainings, ATM access to funds, and business counseling training sessions. She also took us to see the Innovation Centre for the Poor that is housed in the bank. At this center the women can get information about saving money on electric bills. There is even a wall of various light bulbs with a voltage meter to show the women how different bulbs could save them money. The center also encourages women to do simple things like unplugging mobile phone chargers when the phone is charged and keeping windows open during the day to use natural light to do work by rather than using electricity. It’s really impressive how SEWA not only works with women throughout their life cycle, but helps them to save money in small ways also. SEWA really sees both the big and small pictures. It’s really inspiring to be a small part of an organization that is helping women in so many ways and making a real difference.

Before I went to Ahmendabad the thing about SEWA that I found most inspiring was the bank. I was so impressed with how the women got together and within a fraction of the anticipated time were able to save enough capital to start their own bank. These were women who often had to work today, to eat today, but they saved and started a bank in order to take more control of their financial destiny. By having their own bank they can take loans out there rather than having to use money lenders. The money lenders sometimes would charge more than 100% interest for a one day loan. The SEWA bank gives loans at 1-2% interest. This past year shareholders in the bank made 9% interest on their savings. Can you imagine finding that interest on an account in the US?! After actually seeing what the bank is involved in I was even more inspired that I had been based on what I'd been able to learn before. My favorite moment in visiting SEWA in Gujarat was one morning when Melanie and I were sitting outside the bank. A small group of women were walking towards the bank, very colorfully dressed. The were laughing and smiling, and seemed light on their feet. Each carries a small bag that presumably had the money they were going to deposit at the bank. It seemed to me that they had had their lives lifted up. The empowerment that SEWA offers its members was physically evident in them - they walked with confidence, power, and joy in their lives.

Updated Map - Ahmedabad locations added! (and future ones too!)

See here an updated version of my GoogleMap. I've added information about places we went in Ahmedabad on our visit to the original SEWA location. It was completely inspiring seeing SEWA there and we were able to squeeze in some great Ahmedabad locations.

I also added a key and pins for both confirmed and possible future destinations.


View Summer in India in a larger map

Gujarat Trip

I spent that past few days in Gujarat visiting the original offices of SEWA in the city of Ahmedabad. It was an amazing trip - inspiring, exhausting, and breathtaking. I cannot wait to share more about it, but for now just the teaser. While I was there I visited the SEWA Bank (and it's Annual General Meeting), got to see women in a construction worker training facility, meet part of the legal team, see Ghandi's Ashram (from which he began his Salt March), and visit some amazing temples and mosques. Once I've got more of my work for this week under my belt I'll start posting about all these!

Getting Around Delhi

There are a number of ways one can get around in Delhi. There are taxis, which vary widely in quality, and there are buses, which I doubt I'll ever take. There's the new Metro system, but I'll discuss that another day. Then there are rickshaws. There are two varieties - auto and cycle. A great number of people take rickshaws, particularly autos. I take at least two a day in my commute to work. One day, on the way home I took a video from inside one for those of you who've never had the pleasure to get an idea of what it's like. Of course this video doesn't convey the key elements - the heat, the fumes from all the other vehicles around you, the often present fight over the price, and the noise of horns and engines and, as you'll hear, sometimes the addition of lovely hindi tunes.

Anyway, check out my first ever edited video for a sample of what rickshaw rides are like.

The Gurdwara Bangla Sahib (A Sikh Temple)

On Sunday I went to the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib with my friends and fellow interns, Melanie and Ross. I had seen pictures from the day before, when two other interns visited, but the scene that awaited us was a bit different. It had been quite and not crowded when the others went. We arrived to masses of people at the Gurdwara for a religious ceremony. I am not sure if it was a holy day or just that Sundays are the big day for going to worship in the Sikh faith.

Either way it was an incredibly cool experience. The architecture was beautiful, the people were warm and welcoming, and the ceremony we observed was fascinating. We waited in line under a canopy to enter the Gurdwara and then filed in the line up to the front, or rather the center. In the center of the Gurdwara there was a platform surrounded in gold and covered with a canopy. On the platform sat a man, who I assume was the leader of the ceremony. Off to the side were three musician-singers. The religious music they were making was beautiful to listen to.

When I finally reached the front of the line I took my cues from the others around me and prostrated myself in front of the fence that surrounded the platform area. I also made a donation as so many of the Sikhs were doing.

Not only was it fascinating to see and participate in the ritual – ritual studies was my focus in my undergraduate studies of religion – but it was fascinating to see a new type of temple. In studying religion it is inevitable that the symbolism and architectural choices when creating temples, churches, or any other kind of holy site are discussed. I’ve always found the choices that religious communities make about what their physical, spiritual space will represent very interesting. I’ve read that the golden domes featured on Gurdwaras are meant to represent an inverted lotus flower as a symbol of the pure life Sikhs aspire to lead. That to me is as interesting as the boat symbolism that is found in many churches to link back to Noah.

I’d like to go back when it’s quiet and not so busy to have the opportunity to speak to someone about the site and the Sikh faith as the others had been able to do. When they visited the day before us someone had approached them to talk about the Gurdwara and Sikhism. They came home with pamphlets and enthusiasm for the religion. I am very pleased to have witnessed the ritual, but I’d also like to learn more about what I saw. I think I will go to Amritsar one weekend so perhaps the opportunity will arise then.

As we left we encountered a man I assume is a Nihang – a member of the semi-official warrior-monk class of Sikhs. He was dressed in indigo robes and turban, an orange scarf, and carried a spear. We all took pictures with him. Speaking of pictures, Melanie and I had our photos taken with many families as we left as well. They were particularly keen for photos with us holding their babies. I think I was photographed holding five different babies! I was not prepared to be such a spectacle. I don’t mind in the least having my photo taken, or holding babies, but I never thought so many people would want their picture with me, or even to just say hello and shake my hand.

Pictures/Map

I am going to put some photos up here too, but for those of you not on Facebook here's the URL for my Facebook photo album of India pictures. Even after I get some up here there'll always be more there.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150201883498807.312015.520893806&l=a8479e9052

Also, here is the link to my GoogleMap again, in case anyone wants to see all this on the map:

http://maps.google.co.in/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=213482590054461975451.0004a5188f2bff9635170&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=12

Initial Reactions Upon Returning to India

This is something I wrote in the journal I must keep as part of my course work associated with this internship. It's 5-6 days old now, but I thought I'd share because I write about how different India seemed when I arrived from how I remember it.

My initial reaction to the past five days of being in India is that this does not feel like India the way I remember it. There is even some disappointment in that reaction. I never expected New Delhi to feel like Varanasi and yet I find myself wishing it did in some ways. Varanasi was my first impression of India and in learning about it and experiencing it seemed so India to me. By contrast New Delhi feels part India, part international, which of course it is. I am finding myself having to reconcile the only part of India I ever really got to know with the reality of what India is. It’s both a struggle, but I think also very important to tear away the romanticization of India as old, breathing in ritual, and on sensory overloaded. The last is one of the most drastic differences for me. Varanasi and Sarnath were overwhelming in large part because my senses had never been used so much. I remember Sarnath had this incredible smell of burning wood that was ever present. In Varanasi the sounds of prayer, begging, vehicles of all kinds, and the cows were the constant soundtrack. In contrast New Delhi doesn’t smell much at all. It of course has its smells, all places do, but it lacks the smell I associate so deeply with India. I am excited to learn about this other side of India and get to know it, but it was certainly unnerving to arrive to a place that seemed so different from what I was expecting based on prior experience. More than anything I just need to get out and start seeing Delhi for what it is. It is my plan to take on that task with as much of my spare time as I can.

Photo is from the roof of the guesthouse where we are living. We are in a ritzy and quiet neighborhood that houses some of the smaller embassies. It's very different from Sarnath and Varanasi.

Peaches!

As much as I love Indian food – it is my favorite in the world – I do not love all aspects of my diet here. Even more troubling to me than the absence of salad – half of what I eat when it’s hot out – is the lack of fresh fruit on offer at the guesthouse. Yesterday I was delighted by the banana I bought in Patel Nagar, on my way to work. Today I was even more delighted to find peaches. Nothing says summer like a peach. It was a bit of a chore to peel and cut them at SEWA, but it was the best snack a girl, suffering from a touch of food homesickness, could ask for.

New appreciation for rain

I now understand why there are festivals and celebrations and rituals to celebrate the coming of the monsoon in India. While the monsoon has not yet arrived it did rain in Delhi over the night. Leaving for work this morning it was like a different city. It is not only much cooler, but the dust and air pollution have dissipated quite a bit. Most auto-rickshaw rides are replete with breathing in all sorts of dust, fumes, and mostly cloud upon cloud of diesel fumes. Obviously there is as much diesel exhaust being put out there today as yesterday, but the rain has made such a difference. Even during really hot summers back home I never really appreciated how much relief rain can bring. Now I do. Tomorrow it's supposed to be back up to 112 degrees, but for today I am enjoying a little break from the intensity of the heat and looking forward to the monsoon.

Speaking of auto-rickshaws I'll try to take some photos from inside one on my ride home tonight. For those of you who've never ridden in one it's a real experience - sometimes harrowing, but always interesting.

Now that I am over my little bout of sickness I will also post some other photos from this week - work and the Hanuman temple on my commute home.

Map

Check out the map I have created. It'll show certain places I am visiting and give a sense of Delhi spatially.

First few hours in New Delhi

Not much to report yet, but I made it. Given all the delays various members of the group had to deal with it's a bit of a miracle that 8 of the 9 made it, and so did all the luggage. This evening our ninth person will join us.

The guest house where I am staying is very nice. So far my favorite part is the roof. It's completely covered in grass and has plants along the edges. I was up there around 6 this morning to look out on the city. Not too much to see from here, but nice to get out in the sunlight while the temperature is still reasonable.

In a few hours we start our day by taking care of some basics - first thing first, cellphones.

I'll be sure to post more interesting information and even better pictures soon!

Nearly there.

Greetings.

Tomorrow I am leaving for New Delhi. I am very excited, a little nervous, and dreading the 15+ hour flight.

On Monday I begin an internship with SEWA-Bharat. SEWA is the Self-Employed Women's Association. I will be working at the national headquarters. SEWA does a number of things, but primarily it is a trade union for women working in the informal sector of India. For example, members include street vendors, embroiderers, and rag pickers. I am really excited to be working with this organization. I look forward to writing much more about it.

For now I must do some last minute packing, but at least this blog is now up and running. I'll be updating it frequently so please check back in!

Louise