The Kerala Women’s Commission will conduct public hearings to study the problems faced by women in various sectors.
In the first phase, focus will be on difficulties experienced by women in 11 sectors. These include women teachers in unaided schools, home nurse and domestic workers, women home guards, contract workers, women in serials, women journalists, women fish vendors and those working in fish processing units, women lottery sellers, women hotel employees, and women who are alone.
The hearings are aimed at hearing about problems at the workplace from the women. Five public hearings will be held in September. The first related to problems faced by women in the serial sector will be held at PWD Rest House at Thycaud here on September 11. The second hearing will be held in Ernakulam on September 16 on problems faced by contract workers. The third will be on difficulties experienced by home nurses, in Pathanamthitta on September 19; followed by one on problems faced by women in the media sector at Kottayam on September 21, and the fifth hearing on women lottery sellers’ woes at Kannur on September 26.
Women can take part in the hearings directly as well as representatives of organisations in the sector concerned.
Commission chairperson P. Satheedevi said the problems faced by women in each sector and solutions and recommendations will be submitted to the government.
Exploitation by agencies in various sectors, lack of ESI and other benefits, inadequate pay, lack of time for rest, lack of job security and so on will be discussed at the hearings.
