On a relatively warm winter morning, I was out on field for an assignment that required me to be in the city of Nawabs. Lucknow is popular for one of the most admired embroidery works that has managed to survive over centuries — chikankari work. The traditional Indian embroidery work is believed to have its origin in the Mughal period when it is said to have flourished. It is said that Nur Jehan, queen of emperor Shah Jehan, brought it to Lucknow. The intricate combination of patterns made of simpler patterns against a stiff fabric that is starched emanates nothing short of pure elegance. Chikan suits, kurtis or shirts are very comfortable outfits. And they can be really stylish! A number of present day designers have shown it already in their works and will hopefully continue to do so.
While I have been wearing clothes which have chikan embroidery, I never got the opportunity to meet in person those women whose works are widely appreciated and loved. With the help of Lucknow Mahila Sewa Trust I visited a village in the Chowk area of Lucknow to know more about the work which also brought out some of their problems.
While the work has got recognition, the hands that are responsible for the embroidery and the eyes that are over strained as one need to look closely at the fabric while working, have not been given their due.
The embroidery is not only laborious, it is also time-consuming. It can take few days, months or a year, depending upon the work, as the women involved are housewives who have the primary responsibility towards their family. So, work is done in between cooking, cleaning or looking after the children. Moreover, the men folk are not too encouraging for outsiders should not know that their wives are working. So, one can find groups of women sitting together, huddled inside the animal shelters, doing embroidery work — a sight common in villages where the work flourish. “These women most of the times don’t even have proper places to work… The unfortunate part is they still need to realise that they are working women who have certain rights … One of the goals of Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is to make these working women realise that they are also workers and they work hard as labourers,” says Farida Jalees, secretary, Lucknow Mahila Sewa Trust (LMST), who works for self-employed women in the unorganised sector. LMST was founded in 1992 and was set up as a non-political, non-profit NGO registered under the Societies Registration Act-1860. Right from its inception, the organisation has been extensively working in Uttar Pradesh.
One of the goals of SEWA is to make these working women realise that they are also workers and they work hard as labourers. It works for their training, capacity building, SHG formations, their savings etc. The issues are taken up locally, state-wise, national and then at the international level.
There are five main processes namely cutting, stitching, printing, embroidery, washing, and finishing in chikan related work. While the fabric is cut in a lot of 20-50 or at times 100 garments, the printing work is done by using wooden blocks. Stitching could be commercial or exclusive as per order and the embroidery is done by women. Embroidery on a salwaar-kameez-and-dupatta is done by more than one person and the pieces go to different people, sometimes to more than one woman in a family and the money is given according to pieces. There are no fixed prices and it ranges from a few hundreds to a thousand or so. A kurti with spread out work fetches somewhere between Rs 90-100 but the price is paid only when the work is done which may take a few days to weeks or more. So, per month income is measly for these village women who manage to take out about four to five hours in a day for their work. Neeta works for three hours in a day and Renu just wants to do some work, even if she needs to fight for those few hours as it will bring some extra money home. “If we do some work, we can take out money for small family needs…,” says Renu who makes around Rs 100-200 in a month. After the embroidery work is done, the last process is washing as the pieces get really dirty by the time the embroidery is complete. They are sogged in dirt and food at times as hassled mothers wipe their babies’ faces after feeding them. Washing of the pieces is done by men who too work in dire conditions and the chemicals used for washing are harmful for their hands. “Wherever the work might have been done but it has to come to Lucknow for washing. The washermen’s hands are in bad states and they can’t even wear gloves. Washing chikan embroidered fabric requires chemical treatment of the clothes for which they have to use bare hands… These washermen have a tough job and as far as the payments go there is hardly any money considering even spices are so expensive these days,” says Jalees.
The work done by men and women is divided. Printing, washing and tailoring are done by men. Embroidery and ironing are done by women. However, Jalees feels that the men are better off in terms of work and also they have better paying jobs. “There are a lot of works which only men do. It’s like jobs which are better paying are done by men and jobs which pay less are done by women… Women should get more work. They can do printing as well to start with,” adds Jalees.
SEWA, which works for such issues and causes, believes in these women and works with them. The women need to be members of SEWA to be part of their meetings and get other benefits like free health camps, training camps and awareness camps.
The membership fee is five rupees per person that helps them to avail the benefits.
“We have training camps for them and we send the member to attend them. We have worked with the Ministry of Textile and we have Craft Development Centre in Lucknow that helps these workers in possible ways,” says Jalees.
SEWA trains them in various stitches that could increase their work quality and range. They also teach them block printing. Jalees complains that most of the times these women are just worried about finishing the work for the heck of it and so SEWA has trained them in 32 chikan stitches. This has not only increased their demand in the market, they can now bargain.
Leave aside bargaining which is a remote idea to those who can’t even take care of the calculations of their money, in most of the cases these women have no clue as to how they can earn more. They need to know about increasing efficiency and productivity. While they might be satisfied that they would get Rs 1,000 for a saree but they fail to realise that if they finish that work in three months time, it’s little more than Rs 300 a month. That too, more than one person works on one piece so even that money is shared among three to four people. So, it’s hardly any money. SEWA teaches them time management to help deal all these issues.
However, the problem is far more serious and deep. They are not educated enough though some have gone to primary schools.
“We get some support from the government like the Ministry of Textile or the Hastshilp Vibhaag. But the problem is that these women are not educated and they don’t know how to bargain or for that matter maintain their accounts or manage their money. Not only this, they’re afraid that if they start raising questions about money, they might lose whatever little earning they have. Also, they don’t trust others. We in SEWA try to build that trust and confidence. And we have realised that these women want to do something worthwhile for themselves and their families. In fact, we have seen that if you work in a women’s group there is more acceptance. Though there has been a change in the mindset over the years,” says Jalees who feels that over the years, trends have changed even though in a small way. And more parents are sending their children to school now than before.
“The children go to school as they want to study. There is a school nearby where we send them”, says Komal, a village lady.
“We will do jobs in offices after completing our studies but yes we do help them in embroidering at times, “ says Veena, a BA final year student in Qaramat College in Lucknow city. Veena is learning computers and has given her BEd exams.
As the younger generation picks up books to read everyday, the women involved in chikankari, work hard to make their children’s life better. There are issues which need to be addressed in this unorganised sector. Though there are non-profit groups organisations like SEWA which work for these artisans, their issues largely remain unheard. Despite the efforts, a lot remains to be done.
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