Gulnaj Basri, a Research Scholar at the
International Institute for Population Sciences Mumbai shares her interactions with women working in the Beedi industry in the Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal.
Gulnaj Basri: This article is based on my interaction with the women in my locality (a small village in the Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal) working in the Beedi industry. In my neighbourhood, women of different religions, castes, and ages work in the Beedi sector. Poor women and girl children, illiterate as well as literate, mainly from Bhatia, Kumhar, Chamar, and Rajbanshi communities are engaged in the work of filling tobacco in rolled-up tendu leaves.
In India, the Beedi industry is primarily an unorganized sector. Beedi rolling is practiced in every major Indian state, including MP, Odisha, Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand. A significant majority of the workers employed in the Beedi industry are women because they are available to work at a lower wage. Yet, all managerial positions are held by men. There are about 90 registered manufacturers of major Beedi brands involved in bulk production in West Bengal. The estimated number of Beedi workers (industrial and home workers) is around 20 lakhs (Labour Department Government of West Bengal).
I interviewed 33 females in my neighbourhood, of which 8 were children, among them many are happy with their job. Amina (14) says she enjoys rolling Beedis. “It is exciting to roll Beedis as fast as possible and to compete with my friends who can reach the milestone of 1000 Beedis faster” Amina added.
Safina (name changed) stated that as a widow with three children, she would find it extremely difficult if she did not know how to roll Beedis. She has been completely reliant on this job for the past seven years. Her older daughter (15) is now assisting her in the making of Beedis.
Another woman, Sahanaj (28), stated that she feels self-independent because she is not reliant on her spouse as a result of her engagement in the sector. She also claims that she can easily maintain her two children on her income.
When I questioned if they have to deal with any form of abuse or sexual harassment, one woman responded that Beedi rolling is a safe occupation for us as we don’t work in factories. “We used to roll it at home and when the Mahajan (they called the middlemen Mahajan) comes to collect the Beedis we go there in the group”.
The other side of the story is not so good and even sad. One woman spoke about the stigma she faces as a result of her work in the sector. Tarana Khatun (37) has been a widow for the past eight years, and she lives with her three children and in-laws in the village. “I belong to a Muslim upper caste family, and in my locality, I am the only one who is working in this sector because my husband died, and as an illiterate, I am unable to work in other jobs,” she explained.
Tarana also claimed that she had managed to pick up the skill when her mother-in-law was away. Even now, when she rolls Beedi, she has to hide her basket and other items if some relatives visit her.
A few points emerged from my discussion with the children and women working in this profession
Positives Sides of the Beedi Trade for Women
To begin with, there is the positive side of the Beedi sector, which provides employment opportunities for illiterate rural women and allows them to survive. Secondly, it is zero-investment employment. The tendu leaves, thread, and all other essential items are provided by the contractors.
Again, the skill needed for rolling Beedis takes less time. And even during the time of the covid-19 pandemic when most of the other sectors of employment were closed, the Beedi industry was open. It was like a blessing for poor rural women. Because most of their husband works in other states as migrant labour and during the pandemic, they returned to their villages. “My and my daughter were the sole earners of the family during the coronavirus pandemic for several months”, added Lilavati (49).
Negative Sides of the Beedi Trade for Women
The work of filling tobacco in rolled-up tendu leaves and what it involves:
But on the other hand, it is a very insecure and hazardous kind of profession. Most of them do not have written contracts for their job. The female workers in the industry are greatly exploited. They have minimal awareness of exploitation. The pay scale is really low. For rolling 1000 Beedis, they are only paid Rs. 175.
I came to know from the respondents that it takes nearly a day to make 1000 Beedis if not engaged in other household chores. Recently, the wage has risen by Rs. 50. Earlier it was Rs. 125 only.
When I asked one of the women, Sita Ram, a mother of three girls (she did not roll Beedis, but her daughter Shilpa (17) works in the industry), about the lower wage rate, she replied that she is aware that they (those working in the Beedi industry) are paid less because she works as wage labour in the agricultural field and earns Rs.300 for eight hours of work. “I tried many times but was unable to acquire the skill, so I work in the field and sometimes as a domestic help,” Sita Ram explained. However, I believe that working in the agricultural field is more difficult than Beedi rolling, she added.
Another issue is that there is a significant gender gap in terms of pay, and women on average earn Rs 175 per day, as compared to men, who earn more than Rs 300 per day on average.
The Beedi industry is also hampering the education of rural girl children. I asked one of the respondents, named Tulsi (13), how she manages school and rolling the Beedis simultaneously. In answer, she replied “I and my friends go to school for exams only. If every day we go to school then how we will manage to submit the Beedis when Mahajan will come to collect them.”
Though one of the self-help group members in the village, Sarina (38) said that several girls are now, however, considering other career options as new opportunities arise. “Beedi-making may become a thing of the past if state government continues its schemes for young girls,” she told.
However, there is another expense, the health risk, which I found to be the most alarming. Women are uninformed of the health risks, and even if they are, they are compelled to do so because of economic difficulties. Headaches, back pain, spinal cord problems, nausea, asthma, TB, impaired eyesight, and other symptoms are common among women.
Literature suggests that engagement in rolling tendu leaves also results in cancerous diseases. In the case of pregnant women, the health impact is more alarming. A study conducted at George Institute for Global Health found that pregnant women involved in this occupation are 1.4 times more anemic and at the risk of miscarriage, pregnancy-induced hypertension and 2.5 times increased risk of fetal growth restriction.
New-born babies with mothers working in the Beedi industry are at higher risk of low birth weight. One respondent named Behula (60) from the Bhatia community said that due to sitting for long hours while making Beedis, she has developed health issues like arthritis and cervical spondylitis.
Few of the respondents also desire to leave working in this profession. But there are no other options for them. Nasera (46) said that she often feels dizzy while working. “But continue to do so, as I can’t afford to buy even one meal otherwise,” she told. And these negative effects on health aren’t going away anytime soon. It will harm their health in the long run as well.
Even if we can’t prove a causal link, the repercussions are undeniable. One possible cause may be the lack of policy for the welfare of female workers engaged in the industry. Because women work mainly as home workers in this industry. The Beedi and Cigar Workers act 1966 ensures many aspects of safety for those who are working in an industrial setup. These include definite working hours, overtime pay, access to safe drinking water, clean industrial premises, etc. But in the case of women homeworkers, there are no such facilities.
There is no concept of strict working hours, no extra payment for overtime duty, no health Bima, no security of wage during the leave period, and so on. Another major issue is child labor. The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 prohibits the employment of children less than 14 years of age in any industrial premises manufacturing Beedi or cigars. But through this act, it is not possible to track child laborers who are working in this industry in the home setting.
What can be done?
The Government has to think of alternative jobs for these women while considering Tobacco Ban. Women must be re-skilled and up-skilled in order to escape this hazardous and insecure career.
Because they are not only economically exploited, but also face a number of health concerns as a result of the chemicals they handle while rolling the thin cigarettes. As a result, skill development training centers for impoverished, illiterate rural women should be established in such village regions.
Local activists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can come out to educate Beedi workers about their rights and the health risks they face. Because Beedi workers are among the marginalized communities, they face more challenges. Despite legislation aimed for their protection, there is little evidence that it has been implemented.’’
In India, rolling Bidis is an industry that hires more than 5 million workers, most of them women. Prolonged exposure to the kind of tobacco that is required to make Beedis and long hours in unhygienic working conditions are known to cause asthma, bronchitis, and TB. However, women workers continue in the Beedi industry due to the unavailability of alternative livelihoods, a job that keeps them vulnerable and exploited in the long run. Alternative work should be raised up for them.
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