CHALLENGES TO EMPOWERMENT: SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND NUTRITIONAL DISPARITIES AMONG TEA ESTATES’ REPRODUCTIVE WOMEN WORKERS OF CACHAR DISTRICT, ASSAM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i4.2024.4061Keywords:
Women Empowerment, Cachar Tea Estates, Reproductive Women Workers, Socio-economic DisparitiesAbstract [English]
Women’s empowerment highlights the conditions of women regarding their health, social and economic, and decision-making power. Barak Valley is a Bengali-dominated region known as the southernmost administrative division of Assam. The current research focused on women’s empowerment among reproductive women workers in tea estates based on their socio-economic conditions and health status (nutritional status). Tea plantation workers belonging to marginalised and migratory groups took part in tea production and made tea famous as a drinking beverage. The British planters brought pride to the people of Barak Valley by introducing tea production in 1855. The study was done on the three tea estates of the Cachar district with 592 reproductive women workers in the tea estates (15 to 49 years) using the multistage sampling method. The researcher used in-depth interviews and a structured questionnaire to collect data, which was then analysed using a socioeconomic status scale and standard statistical methods. The study illustrated that women confront several hurdles, including discrimination, limited educational opportunities, and gender-based violence. The workers' household members indicated that all responsibilities rested on women's shoulders. The majority of the women workers are underweight and suffer from non-communicable illnesses, respiratory issues, skin irritation, and gastrointestinal disorders. Thus, the impoverished socioeconomic conditions and nutritional disparities among women workers in the tea estates have influenced women's empowerment.
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