Promise of dowry lures girls to bonded labour
TEXTILE MILLS IN THE SOUTH EMPLOY THEM IN UNHEALTHY CONDITIONS
India has the highest number of child labourers in the world, but an employment practice known as “sumangali” in the south is being recognised as one of the most distressing for the minors involved.
More than four million children aged 5-14 years old are put to work across India, according to figures from the latest census in 2011. Most are in the agricultural sector.
Sumangali schemes in Tamil Nadu state employ only girls and women, mostly between the ages of 14 to 20, and generally in textile mills and garment factories, which started the scheme.
The mills target poor families, mainly daily wage earners from the low-caste Dalit community, and offer to sign up their daughters for a three-year contract.
“Supervisors maltreated and abused us. Even after putting in 12 hours of work, we were sometimes forced to do more shifts, totalling almost 16 hours in a day,” said Vinitha Natarajan, 17, who went back to school in the town of Sathyamangalam after her contract ended at a cotton mill in Tirupur city, a textile hub.
“The hostel was like a prison, we were not allowed to step outside and could go home only on holidays six or seven days a year,” the frail-looking girl said.
In Tamil “sumangali” means a happily married woman who has been able to provide a dowry for her union, alluding to a lump sum of between Rs60,000 and Rs150,000 (Dh3,556 to Dh8,890) offered as “marriage assistance” at the end of the contract.
Researchers estimate there are up to 200,000 girls in the scheme, each earning less than the minimum wage, which is set at Rs252 — or about $4 (Dh15) — per day.
Tale of freedom
“When I quit after two years in 2013, I was handed half the money promised. But I am happy I am free. I want to train to be a nurse,” Natarajan said.
Some factories are said to treat their workers well, but harrowing tales are reported from others. “Sumangali is nothing but bonded and forced labour because wages are withheld and girls are kept captive in the factory until they complete the contract. It is a contemporary form of slavery,” said Karnam Kamaraj from the non-governmental Rights Education and Development Centre.
The hot and unhealthy conditions lead to respiratory illnesses, insomnia and allergies, researchers say. Studies estimate that in only about a quarter of cases is the “dowry” money used for that purpose. Usually it was spent on supporting their families by repaying debt or on health emergencies.
M. Senthil Kumar, deputy chairman of the Southern India Mills’ Association, admitted that there are violations of labour laws associated with the sumangali scheme, but said these are the exceptions in a big industry.