Menstrual Hygiene Day:For women workers in Assam tea gardens, it is just another day to take note that they do not have toilets at workplace

Christina Murmu, (name changed) a resident of Junu Basti in Assam’s Lakhimpur district, is a (temporary) worker of Siyajuli Tea Estate. A mother of five, she has to work for eight hours a day in the garden. Her duty begins at 8 a.m.

The garden is nearly six kilometres away from her home. Each year, her temporary job resumes with plucking season of the tea leaves. Each day she plucks at least 24 kgs of tea-buds to earn Rs.167 as wage. The plucking season begins during end March-April and continues up to end October-November.

Christina (35) wakes up early in the morning, cook for her children and husband, who is also a worker in the same garden, and simultaneously completes other household duties. Then she makes herself ready for six kilometres walk to reach the workplace along with her fellow temporary women workers.

She cannot afford to miss a single day during the plucking season even in her menstrual period. Once she starts plucking it continues for the next eight hours with a brief break in between, even on hot Summer days. Christina has knowledge of menstrual hygiene management. However, there is no toilet at her workplace.

It is humiliating as they have to use the open drains as toilets in front of the “Babus” and “Sardars” appointed by the authorities to keep a strong vigil on them, so that they cannot escape duty even for a moment. During menstruation, they have to change their blood-soaked clothes they carry in polythene bags in some isolated corners of those open drains in between the tea bushes.

“It is difficult to meet both ends with this little amount of wage. I cannot afford luxuries of purchasing sanitary napkins. During menstrual period, I carry extra cloths to change, when I have excessive bleeding. With no water, no toilet, no option remains but to use the isolated corners of drains to change it”, says Christina.

Unlike the temporary workers, the permanent workers work round the year in the garden. Only permanent workers are entitled to get maternity and other benefits as per Company Law unlike the temporary labourers. But they also undergo the same ordeal that of Mariam and other temporary workers during their menstruation period due to lack of toilet at their worksite.

Christina Murmu represents those over 10 lakh tea-garden labourers, who work in over 800 large tea gardens in Assam. Over 50 per cent of them are women. Tea industry is one of the highly organised industries in India.

Assam tea, with its long history of 180 years has national and international repute for its colour and freshness. According to Tea Board of India, Assam produced 715.79 million kgs. of tea leaves out of 1,389.70 million kgs of India’s production during 2019. During 2019 Production of tea increased by 3.5 per cent over 2018 in Assam and 3.8 per cent for India. Contribution of Assam tea to country’s production is over 50 per cent.

Lush green tea gardens extending up to hundreds of kilometres on both sides of national highways are also major tourist attractions of the state.

When statistics display an impressive picture, back at workplace, the story is gloomy, particularly the working conditions of the workers. Without any provisions of safe drinking water and toilets, workers, particularly female workforce have been longing for a dignified life at workplace.

“This is not an issue of rights, but of dignity. It is an issue of dignity of thousands of women workers working in the most organised sector industry of the country. We have been demanding for toilets and drinking water at workplace. But the result is still awaited”, she adds.

An active member of People’s Action for Development (PAD), a non-government organisation working for socio-economic empowerment of Adivasi communities in the state, Florence says they often face harsh treatment and are subjected to derogatory words from the Babus and Sardars, if they demand toilet and water facilities at workplace.

Action Aid in collaboration with PAD undertook a series of programmes aimed at building knowledge and capacity of these women in Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), Sexual health Rights, Gender rights and feminism in Lakhimpur and Sonitpur districts in Northern Assam, which are critical to overall well-being of tea-garden women labourers including their socio-economic and socio-political empowerment.

Christina’s workday breaks for one hour at noon. The authorities provide all the labourers a cup of black tea. Till recently the tea was served adding some salt. Now it is served without salt, following the allegation that such tea has adverse impact on health. The workers- both temporary and permanent, carry their lunch to have during the break hour.

“As per rules we have to work for 8 hours a day. However, after completion of the plucking we have to queue for another one hour to weigh the leaves that we pluck. Then only we can go home”, Christina says. When the duty is over, she makes journey to home on foot, complete the household chores, cook food for the family before going for bed.

A few of these women workers, mostly younger ones also use bicycles to cover the journey.

“This is the story of every working woman working in tea-gardens. We can only live with what we earn. We have been working for generations but working condition has not been improved. It is difficult to organise meetings and gather women to make them aware about their rights, because they hardly get any time after the duty and household chores,” Christina says.

Although these women workers face lot of health issues particularly during menstruation and others, they do not dare to talk about such issues with the garden authorities.

“We tried several times to place our demands before the authorities. Often, we fear to talk to them when we approach individually. Several time we tried to visit the management as a group. But they allow only a representation of one or two members from the group to visit them. It is difficult to face them, and even more difficult to understand those technical issues they point out to solve our problems,” Christina adds.

During lean periods, Christina and other temporary workers look for alternative daily wage-earning jobs like sand mining on riverbed, stone queries and others.

As assessment on knowledge building on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), Sexual Health Rights and Gender rights and feminism among Adivasi women in Lakhimpur district of Assam, carried out by Action-Aid in collaboration with PAD during 2018 revealed that acute poverty and the apprehension of losing jobs, loss of earning due to unpaid leave during pre and post natal period compel these women to join the work immediately after the delivery of their babies. This has an adverse affect on their health as well as health of their children.

The assessment also revealed that most of the female workers working as temporary workers in tea gardens are unaware of their entitlement such as maternity leave during pregnancy and post natal period.

It also revealed that most of the schoolgirls of these tea garden working women remain absent in schools during menstruation when their parents fail to purchase them sanitary pads. This has results in school dropouts.

For these adolescent girls who have to leave schools, the only option is to join the temporary workforce in the garden during plucking seasons and working in hazardous sand mining or stone queries. The assessment also revealed that in some schools, provisions of toilet facilities are there, but running water facilities are yet to be installed.

May 28 is observed as Menstrual Hygiene Day. For Christina and other women workers in Assam tea gardens it is just another day to take note that they do not have toilets at workplace.

Ratna Bharali Talukdar

( All photographs were taken during the assesment of knowledge building by ActionAid and PAD on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), Sexual Health Rights and Gender rights and feminism among Adivasi women in Lakhimpur district of Assam )