In India, since time immemorial, people have been worshipping Maa Durga during Navaratri to bestow them with strength and happiness. Without doubt, Indian women from different walks of life have been contributing a lion’s share in the growth and development of the nation. But during the last festive season of Durga Puja, we saw a lot of women clad in maroon sarees (similar to the colour of saree as the diety Durga wears herself generally), protesting not very far from the State Assembly building and leaving us pondering that in the age women empowerment why women from different parts of Odisha have to leave their families, especially during the period of Durga Puja and protest in main roads of Bhubaneswar.
These hapless ladies are Anganwadi Workers, who get only Rs 4,000 per month as honorarium. The Anganwadi Workers are entrusted with development of the mothers and children of the society as they work at the very grassroots level to alleviate malnutrition and hunger, to provide education to children from age of 3-6 years, to promote immunisation, take care of pregnant women and many more tasks. The Anganwadi Workers are the key players in the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and mainly work under the category of early childhood care and development, nutrition and health, information, education and communication, community mobilisation and participation. like a mother, Anganwadi Workers have been nourishing and looking after the communities. A single Anganwadi Worker generally looks after 500-1,500 families in the community.
The Anganwadi Workers also work in the compassionate programme ‘Mamata’ launched by the State Government, but does the Government not have enough mamata for these hardworking women who are the flag-bearers of the progress of the societyIJ The Anganwadi Workers in other States and the Union Territories like Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Telangana, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are valued much and paid handsomely in comparative terms. Recently, the Delhi Aam Aadmi Government increased the salaries of Anganwadi Workers from Rs 5,000 to Rs 9,678.
Experts in public health in Odisha point out that the Anganwadi Workers are overburdened and underpaid as well as work in very harsh conditions such as poor infrastructure and lack of facilities such as toilets. Such conditions affect the children and poor pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. The State Government needs to step in and ensure that the Anganwadi Workers are paid the minimum fair wages.
If the hike in salary by a Government is reserved only for a certain strata of the working class then who will look after the society holistically and treat with compassion the marginalised but extremely valuable Anganwadi Workers wellIJ Opposition parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party demand that the State Government wake up from its slumber and immediately ensure that the salaries of the Anganwadi Workers be raised as per their just and fair demand.
(Dr Biswal, who was previously staying in the UK, is a freelance writer)