Working Women’s Jail Bharo on 6 March 2020 on the occasion of International Women’s Day

There is a drastic decline in women’s workforce participation rate in our country in the recent past. At the same time women’s unemployment is also increasing. Because of the alarmingly rising unemployment rates, which have reached levels unprecedented in the last 45 years, women are compelled to take up highly underpaid and unpaid activities to sustain their families. Unpaid domestic work by women, including care work is increasing. It is highly regrettable that over 80 lakh women employed under the various schemes of the government of India like ICDS, NHM, Midday Meal Programme, SSA, NCLP, NRLM etc, are not even recognised as ‘workers’ and paid minimum wages and provided social security benefits.

Violence against women and children has highly increased. The Act, against sexual harassment of women at workplace is implemented in the breach. Sexual harassment at workplace has reached alarming levels.

Women’s reservation bill has not been passed yet. The share of women in political decision making remains abysmally low more than 70 years after Independence. Because of the low levels of economic participation and health, India’s rank in World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index has slipped to 112.

Around 87% women in our country do not have any property in their names and property records. Overwhelming majority of women workers are employed in the unorganised sector, are poor, illiterate and many of them as in construction, brick kiln etc are migrating in search of work. It is impossible for them to have the necessary documents to prove their citizenship under the NRC. They will be the worst to be affected by the CAA, passed by the government, which is also discriminatory and against the tenets of our Constitution.

The All India Coordination Committee of Working Women (CITU) has been raising issues related to the wages, working conditions, sexual harassment, and the basic democratic and workplace rights of women workers since long. But the situation instead of improving has been worsening day by day.

In this context, we the working women of India, under the banner of AICCWW (CITU) will be courting arrest across the country on 6th March 2020, on the occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March being a Sunday) an International Day of asserting women’s rights, to highlight the following demands:

  1. Recognise women’s work; include women’s unpaid work in the GDP
  2. Ensure equal wages for equal work for women in all sectors
  3. Implement the recommendations of 45th ILC, related to scheme workers
  4. Strict implementation of POSH Act in all work places
  5. Take effective measures to prevent violence against women; implement Justice Verma Committee recommendations
  6. Enact Act to provide 33% reservation for women in all legislative bodies at the earliest
  7. Withdraw the discriminatory, divisive and anti Constitutional CAA, and the NPR/ NRC process at once.

Thousands of working women from organized and unorgansied secotros under the banner of AICCWW (CITU) will counrt arrest at district level throughout the country. 

In Delhi, the programme will be held at janatar mantar at 11.30am

Issued by
A.R.Sindhu
Convener AICCWW and Secretary, CITU

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