Abstract
Feminist scholarship has shown time and again that women’s labour influences rural economic setup and livelihood. The present study focuses on the precarity of women handloom weavers at Sualkuchi, Assam. This paper identifies the workplace and household challenges faced by women weavers and highlights their struggle for livelihood with the help of a qualitative approach. The study finds that economic necessity, poverty, lack of education and large family size are major reasons that compel women to join the handloom industry for livelihood. Women weavers are exposed to occupational health risks, which led them to a vicious debt cycle. Besides, unhealthy work environment, low wages and unpaid household work make women weavers more vulnerable. In addition, socio-economic constraints prevent women weavers from holding decision-making roles and place them at the bottom of the hierarchy compared to their male counterparts. These challenges must be addressed to empower the women weavers.
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Reshmi (2022). Precarity Among Women Workforce in the Handloom Sector at Sualkuchi, Assam. In: Patel, V., Mondal, N. (eds) Gendered Inequalities in Paid and Unpaid Work of Women in India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9974-0_15
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