Brick By Brick Women Masons on Field

From masonry, steel fixing and painting to plumbing and truck driving, there is nothing these women cannot do. Meet the industrious and hard working women masons and construction workers of Uttar Pradesh, who are gradually making a mark in this male dominated industry. 

Donning bright yellow helmets and pulling on loose grey shirts over their saris, within minutes they get the place humming with activity. They operate the cement mixers with panache, mix concrete in the right proportion, take measurements and erect shuttering /formwork to pour concrete. In addition, they cut, bend and tie steel to place reinforcements inside the shuttering and efficiently build stone masonry foundations.

In a few months, this all-women construction team, possibly the first-of-its-kind in India, would have erected 10 large warehouses on this vast site in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.

“Only five per cent of the labour force here is male, which explains why this site is noisier than others! Unlike men, who work silently, women prefer to work in talkative groups. The comfort and safety perception of the women is high in this sort of setup,” remarks Santosh Parulekar, co-founder and CEO of Pipal Tree Ventures, which has put together this group of skilled female construction workers.

Pipal Tree is attempting to change this scenario by bringing in more ethical practices. Additionally, it is making a conscious effort to create a space for rural women in the industry.

In fact, Parulekar is determined to make his all-women crew experiment a success, “Rural women have few employment options; in this way parulekar is seriously exploring whether the construction sector can provide them gainful and regular work.”

While Pipal Tree pays Rs 6,000 to a beginner, wages are hiked periodically as they gain experience – earnings can reach Rs 9,000 per month after a couple of years. Salaries go directly to their bank accounts, and they can withdraw money with an ATM card.

This entire experience has been quite novel for women like Munni Devi, 35, who has been working at the Sonbhadra site since the past three months. “I use part of the money I make to buy fertiliser and seeds for our farm, and I spend some on my children,” she says.

Apart from the money, Munni appreciates the fact that Pipal Tree provides her a safe working environment as well as a pick and drop from their homes. “Women are only willing to work if we provide transport. It is a huge, but unavoidable expense,” says Parulekar.

Transportation expense apart, Pipal Tree is absorbing other costs on the Sonbhadra project as well. “They are incurring a monthly loss of Rs 10 lakh but since this is not purely a business venture, they plan to absorb it. The women are learning fast; and expected to start breaking even in six months,” 

As the work progresses, the women will learn plumbing, tile laying and painting, a prospect that excites Heena Khatton, 20. This young matriculate, who is expecting her first child, started working because her husband “shows no inclination to earn”. She likes the work and is even willing to migrate to other sites, if required.

Whereas migration is inevitable in this line women are mostly migration-averse, which is why offering them long-term employment is posing to be a problem for Parulekar. And the challenges do not end there.

The project on which these women are presently working took off because the company that hired Pipal Tree was open to the experiment and placed value on its underlying cause. Most construction companies Parulekar approaches, though, are averse to having women labourers on their site. The concerns relate more to the women’s safety than to any doubts about their ability.

“Every time there is a highly publicised incident like the Uber rape, companies’ reluctance to hire women increases,” he says.

Note: Article Source http://www.thebetterindia.com/