KATHMANDU, March 8: Women in the working class have said that they find no meaning in events like International Women’s Day as they do nothing to lessen their hardships.
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For Babita Lama, the 104th International Women’s Day on Tuesday was like any other day as she spent the whole day working at her shop.
“I don’t find anything special about this day. If I don’t work as usual, I would not be able to feed my family.” She said. The 35-year-old woman sells incense sticks door-to-door in the capital since the last 4 years.
On an average, Lama earns Rs 150 per day, which, she said, was hardly enough to meet the needs of her family.
Anjana Tamang, 30, who drives a Safa Tempo, said she had no idea that it was women’s day on Tuesday.
“I didn’t even realize it was women’s day until I heard some passengers in my vehicle talking about it,” she told Republica. “I drove my tempo the whole day,” Tamang, who lives in Chabahil, said. According to her, the only income that her family survives on comes from driving tempo. Sometimes, she even works overtime late into the night.
Sabita Yadav, a fruit seller at Bhrikuti Mandap, said, “The women’s day isn’t for poor women like me. I believe it was established for rich and already-empowered women,” she narrated.
“First of all I don’t know what to do to celebrate this day. Secondly, if I shut my shop to celebrate the day, I would suffer loss,” she said.
Most women, like Lama, Tamang and Yadav, who work throughout the day on the international day of women, say they don’t see any significance of observing the event.
Ironically, international and national NGOs and government offices spend huge amount of money to draw attention toward the plight of working women.
Women’s rights activist Bandana Rana admitted that no organization held any special event for working class women. “Today, we organized an event for women activists and those working in the sector of women rights,” Rana told Republica.
Another woman activist Meera Dhungana, who is also an advocate, said that efforts are underway to raise awareness among all women.
