the future women of india: leveling the playing field

8/7/2019 The Future Women of India: Leveling the Playing Field

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During the chaos of a work day, I received a call from a friend in India. He had beenworking with me over the past few weeks organizing, working, telephoning; planning diligentlyfor the immersion and excursion study abroad program for Central Washington University(CWU) undergraduate students . The focus of the study abroad program was gender andpoverty. My friend and I had been researching non-profits, organizations and businesses in

Cochin, India where the respective organizations would relate to the study abroad program,and more importantly support my volunteer work with the Homes of Hope in the southernprovince of India. We were having a tough time getting commitments from organizations whowould accommodate 18 students and a professor. My friend assured me - in a very Indian wayof assurance - our group would not have a problem finding organizations relating to the topic of gender and poverty, and to my volunteer work at the Homes of Hope. Naturally, I was feelingquite uneasy because of the extreme differences in the American way of planning versus theIndian way of planning. Those who have spent time in India will know and recognize thosedifferences, and we certainly can all chuckle about these differences, as there is not really aright or wrong way of planning in India.

My friend and I were both working for the students at CWU. Neither of us wasreceiving any kind of compensation from the University. Our goal was strictly to share ourknowledge with the students. We wanted the students to have the best possible study abroadprogram. This program was designed to demonstrate the importance of empowering younggirls through education. During my very busy work day and the telephone call, my friendinforms me we are going to tour a C-O-I-R factory spelling it out for me very slowly andpatiently I responded by saying, I am quite busy and if he thinks this factory would bemeaningful, then book it because I have to turn in the itinerary for the entire program to theUniversity in about two hours. Before ending the telephone call, I asked again what kind of factory C-O-I-R again spelling it out for me as if I were a two year old.

I did not ever ask my friend what it was like trying to educate me and trying to organizethis program, but if I had to guess, it would be that he understood the cultural differences and Idid not the American style versus Indian style. I proceeded with my day without thankingmy friend, to whom I am forever indebted for the work he did for me and others. The sameafternoon I submitted the final itinerary to CWU with the C-O-I-R factory listed as one of ourplaces to visit.

Later in the evening I Googled C-O-I-R. I read many webpages about coir and itsimportance in India. My first thought was, why do I not know about coir. I have three huge rugs

made of coir in my house. I ran around my house touching the material. Quickly educatingmyself about coir, it occurred to me that my friend must have thought I was absolutelyuneducated. I started laughing to myself as I touched the rugs. Up to this point in my life, I hadnot questioned or wondered where things come from or where they are made, much less knowof factories that would produce such material from a fiber called C-O-I-R.


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Blaring through my headphones, while researching coir, was Lady Marmalade, heysister go, hey sister flow sister, hey sister go seemingly inspiring me to keep going with this coirthing. Come with me as I describe my research on coir as I came to understand it that evening.

Think of Coir as a naturally re-enforced fiber which lessens the impact when coconuts

drop from the tree. It is a coarse protective fiber found on coconut husks. Coir is an importantnatural product because of its resiliency, as opposed to its competitors like sisal and abaca. Itselastic fibers contain a significant amount of a naturally occurring polymer called lignin. Ligninresists biodegradation which makes coir a commercially sought after natural material.

India manufactures and produces commercial items made from coir. It is estimated byseveral different sources that India produces approximately 70-90% of the global coir fiber.India produces and exports rope and twine, brooms, brushes, doormats, rugs, yarn, mattresses,and other upholstery items. India exports these coir items having an approximate trade valueof $120-160 million per year for the Indian market. Coir production in India is typically a ruralindustry. Each factory employing 15-60 people, working in two shifts. Generally the factoriesare family run. Many of the employees are women who are augmenting their family income orcompletely supporting the household with her production work in the factory.

I began to understand coir and its importance to women and poverty in India. I wasintrigued and rather interested in the upcoming tour of the coir factory as it would besomething new for me to learn about in Cochin, but still I did not truly grasp its importance towomen and the economy of India.

After a twenty-some hour plane ride across the world, our group of eighteen finds itself at the coir factory about a month after my coir self-education session. It was our second stopon our day of arrival in Cochin. Jet lagged and tired, we moved on as there was a timelyitinerary to follow.

Samantha, oneof the CWUstudentsdescribes thecoir factorytour:


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The coir factory that we arrivedat was unlike any factory I had ever seenin the United States. It was on the side of a fairly busy road and resembled a barn orshed. When we walked into the factory

there was hay on the floor, and a numberof women wearing their saris tied up intotheir waistbands, using them as pouchesfor stuffing shredded coconut fibers into.The women were hooking strands of thefibers to a magnetic wheel and walkingbackwards, pulling on the fiber as itformed rope.

The women in this picture are weaving the coconut fibers.Haydee and Sanday gave each woman a CWU keychain and 100rupees. The women asked many of us if we had shampoo or apen to write with. Some of us in our group simply handed overany writing utensil we had but none of us had shampoo to giveto the women .


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Samantha continues torecall this rope was thenused to weave rugs andvarious textiles oftenbleached or even dyed. The

women seemed to be doingthe majority of the work, asmost of the men we

encountered were merely sitting or standing around. A couple of the men demonstrated wherethe coconut fiber comes from, and they explained that the rope it makes is strong enough to

hold an elephant. I was shocked by the amount of manual labor occurring at this factory. Eventhe looms they used for weaving rugs had been handmade, and the products that they weremaking were being exploited in my home country. I ended up purchasing two floor mats for atotal of two hundred rupees, which is approximately the equivalent of four U.S. dollars, andtwice the amount of one of the factory womans daily wages.

Factory work is considered a fair living for a womanin India, and the average female factory worker ispaid around $1.50 a day, whereas their malecounterparts average $2.50 a day. While mostpositions that men hold allow for their wages topotentially increase, a womans small earnings areset in stone. This inequality in pay is a result of several factors, including, traditional beliefs that awoman cannot be the head of a household, and thebelief that a woman cannot fulfill traditionally male


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job titles. Challenging gender inequalities in India issomewhat of a struggle because the people of India placea strong emphasis on the family, and the family structure.Furthermore, certain religious beliefs and rituals have,and even continue to bring up important, yet sensitive

issues in regards to violating human rights. Our race hasexperienced a number of hardships in the form of diversity and segregation, but the important thing is thatwe recognize and seek change. In order to spread theword of gender equality it must actually be practiced, andtraditional gender roles must be challenged.

As we made our way through the coir factory, I could not help but think of the orphangirls who live but twenty minutes away at the Home of Hope. The same girls I have spent asignificant amount of time with. I have lived with them, befriended them, taught them and Ihave loved them. The girls have become my extended family. I would do anything for them tohave a meaningful and fulfilling life. I did know one thing, I did not want them to only earn$1.50 a day. I want more for them. But, how do I ensure they are empowered to challengetraditional gender roles and become leaders in their community.

UNICEF and other agencies define gender equality as being related to human rights andmore importantly womens rights. UNICEF further defines gender equality as leveling theplaying field for girls and women by ensuring all children have equal opportunity to developtheir talents, UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/gender/ . Retrieved 12/16/10. At the coir factorythe playing field is not level. It would take a great deal of effort to break down the barriers for
http://www.unicef.org/gender/http://www.unicef.org/gender/http://www.unicef.org/gender/http://www.unicef.org/gender/


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these women. In order to level the playing field for the orphan girls who live at the Home of Hope, they must be given the opportunity to develop their talents. Only then will they be ableto live a just and humane life . Opportunities must be provided to develop their talents.

Despite the reported economic progress in Cochin, the majority of the people still live in

poverty, earning the same as the women at the factory. The women at the coir factory do workand do earn a wage, but more than likely they still would be unable to survive on $1.50 per day.How is an orphan girl going to succeed with such odds?

In India, it is not typical that women are head of household thus the literacy rates for

women are less than men. States such as Kerala, where the girls and the women at the factoryreside, are slowly increasing the literacy rates for girls and women. Kerala holds the highestliteracy rates in the entire country of India. This increase in literacy rates is a factor that shouldand more than likely elevate the girls at the Home of Hope and the women at the coir factory.

In other words, education and literacy is the ticket out of poverty and should level the playingfield.

The United States Department of Commerce in 1998 stated one of the major barriers tofemale education in India are inadequate school facilities (such as old buildings, lack of clean


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water and lack of clean spaces). United States Department of Commerce.http://www.census.gov/ipc/prod/wid-9801.pdf . Retrieved 12/18/10.

After spending many months in Cochin, I think the largest barrier to leveling the playingfield is breaking down the barrier that women are weaker than their men counterparts not the

lack of clean facilities. I have witnessed many situations in where women are interrupted bytheir men counterparts, or the women simply just differ all conversation to the men. Thesubmissive deferrals I have witnessed are usually when speaking in a professional situation.These women often times have been groomed to act weak, mink and mindless.

The girls at the Home of Hope and the women and at the coir factory should beencouraged to actively participate in decision making and in community activities. Activeparticipation must include education, organic and holistic approach to health, good nutrition,

clean and sanitized water, and a right to earn a living. The goal for the girls at the Homes forHope is simply that: education, holistic health, nutrition, clean water, and a right to prosper intheir adult lives. This approach should level the playing field for the orphan girls and the future
http://www.census.gov/ipc/prod/wid-9801.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/ipc/prod/wid-9801.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/ipc/prod/wid-9801.pdf


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women workers at the coir factory. Rena, who is pictured on page one is certainly showing thatthe approach is working look how great she looks now! The first picture of Rena was takenthree years ago and the second picture was taken a month ago she barely looks like the samegirl. Rena is an example of what education and good health can do. Empowerment througheducation!

the future women of india: leveling the playing field

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