‘Veiled women’ sparks anger
Workers get chance to ‘upskill’
NEW DELHI, June 28, (Agencies): Authorities in a deeply conservative Indian state were accused Wednesday of reinforcing entrenched gender discrimination after describing veiled women as the “pride” of the region.
The advertisement sponsored by the government of northern Haryana state featured the image of a woman, her face shrouded by a traditional scarf, with a tagline saying “the veil is Haryana’s pride”.
Women are often kept behind closed doors and treated as secondclass citizens in largely-rural Haryana, where male-dominated councils issue diktats aimed at upholding conservative traditions — in some cases, banning girls from wearing jeans or using mobile phones.
The state, which borders the capital New Delhi, has the lowest ratio of female to male births in the country, with the selective abortion of girls resulting in 877 women for every 1000 men, according to the last official census in 2011.
But women in Haryana have increasingly been challenging gender stereotypes, pursuing successful careers in traditionally male sports like boxing and wrestling. Geeta Phogat, India’s first female wrestler to win gold at the Commonwealth Games, lashed out at the government’s portrayal of women in her home state.
“My sisters and I have climbed out of exactly this kind of backward thinking — where women are expected to be covered in veils, where they can’t step out of the house, where they can’t go to school ... this mindset is wrong,” Phogat told NDTV news network.
Pride
“If anything, Haryana’s women are its pride. There is nothing they can’t do and that is a matter of pride.”
Haryana is governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Since storming to power in 2014, Modi has sought to position himself as a champion of women’s rights, emphasising education for girls and an end to female foeticide.
India’s main opposition Congress party said this latest scandal exposed the BJP’s “parochial approach and objectification of women”.
“This is symbolical of the regressive mindset of the BJP government and they need to shed this now,” said Randeep Surjewala, a Congress party spokesman.
Anil Vij, a Haryana cabinet minister, told reporters he would look into why the caption was printed in the first place, given the veil is not mandatory in the state.
“We do not think ‘yes, women should be veiled’ — no, we do not agree with that at all,” Vij said. “But in some parts, the practice is prevalent and we cannot start objecting to that.”
In 2015, Modi launched the “Save your daughters, Educate your daughters” campaign in Haryana, urging parents and doctors to stop sex selective abortions.
Also: CHENNAI, India:
The southern Indian state of Karnataka has launched a programme to teach new skills to domestic workers to help them avoid exploitation and broaden their job prospects, officials said on Tuesday.
From cooks, babysitters and gardeners to laundry workers and carers for the elderly, the “Kaushalya Karnataka” — or skilled Karnataka — scheme aims to improve skills of domestic workers so they can demand better salaries, benefits and more job options.
“Domestic workers are the most exploited among the unorganised sector workers and the scheme wants to change that,” said Ashraful Hasan, director at the state-run skill development department.
“Our programme hopes to give a woman cooking in a home the option of joining a bigger catering service or a maid the option of being a professional housekeeper.”
There are more than 4 million domestic workers in India, most of them women, according to official data. But campaigners say there are likely to be millions more in the unregulated sector.
As demand for domestic help across Indian cities has shot up, there have been several high-profile cases of abuse of maids in recent years, many involving well-off families.
A bill to provide domestic workers with a minimum monthly salary of 9,000 Indian rupees ($140) and benefits including social security cover and mandatory time off is awaiting approval in parliament.
In Karnataka, there are an estimated 300,000 domestic workers, according to Hasan.
While a maid will know how to mop and sweep a floor, the scheme — in which workers will receive up to 10 days’ training — will teach them hygiene in the home, how to make a hotel-style bed as well as communication skills, he said.
a major regional hub. Earlier this month, a couple from Congo took a taxi from the airport and were shot and wounded after resisting a robbery attempt outside their hotel, South African media reported.
The airport wants to identify alleged “airport spotters” who provide information about potential victims to waiting criminals, the airport’s management said. It warned that it will take action against any corrupt insiders, whether they are employed by the airport or its many service providers. (AP)