<i>Disgusting discrimination</i>
Female labourers in Gaibandha get much less wage than males
A good number of women are now engaged in different tough outdoor works, once considered befitting for males only. But the hard-pressed women have to remain 'satisfied' with lesser wages than their male colleagues, thanks to the opportunism of the employers. The photo was taken from Analertari village in Gaibandha Sadar upazila recently. Photo: STAR
Female labourers in the district get much less wage than their male counterparts for the same type and amount of work. During recent visit to remote areas in different upazilas, it was found that a male labourer gets Tk 150 to Tk 180 after rendering day long services, whereas a female labourer is paid Tk 100 to Tk 120 for the same. A large number of women work in agricultural farms, husking mills, brick fields, hotels, restaurants and construction sites, and do the job of earth cutting and breaking brick and stone chips as day labourers. And of course, many poor women do the work of domestic help. Talking to this correspondent, a good number of female day labourers narrated the touching tales of their deprivation, frustration and insecurity at workplaces. Most of the female labourers are either divorced or widow. Many of them are forsaken by husbands who left for unknown destinations due to acute poverty. Such women serve as day labourers just for survival. "After I became mother of two children my husband left me and has still remained untraced. Now I have to work as day labourer in a brickfield to feed my children," said Khodeza Begum, 23, of Avirampur village in Palashbari upazila. "If we claim wages as high as that of our male counterparts, the owner declines to engage us in work next time. And so, we are compelled to accept lower wages," said Sakhina Begum of Kuthipara village in Gaibandha Sadar upazila. There are allegations that young female labourers often face harassment by their male co-workers. Even they become victim of lust of employers. "It is often difficult to maintain dignity at the workplace. The male co-workers and owners often try to seduce female day labourers," said Saleha Begum, 28, of Baruipara village in Palashbari upazila. Asked about the cause of such wage disparity, Saidur Rahman, a land owner of Hashem Bazar in Gaibandha Sadar upazila, said, "The female labourers are more sincere to work, whereas the male ones spend a good amount of time by smoking and gossiping that hampers work. Yet the male workers are able to carry more workload than that of females." Abdur Rashid Sarker, chairman of Gaibandha Sadar upazila, emphasised building up mass awareness and implementation of a fair wage rate in working fields to remove wage disparity between male and female labourers.
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