A Qualitative Assessment of Paid Employment and Empowerment of Women Tea Plantation Workers

Abstract

This explorative study is an assessment on empowerment of female tea garden workers through capabilities approach analysis. Employers prefer to engage women to harvest tea leaves, as they are more skilled and cheaper labor than men. This study is conducted in a tea estate in Sylhet named Dholdoli. This study has shown that empowerment, in most cases, is found affirmative. Besides reviewing related literature and past research reports, the study is mainly based on primary field data. This study has collected qualitative data following an in-depth interview method of research. The tea garden has been selected purposively. For acquiring qualitative data, the study has involved a number of research participants, such as workers, management staffs, employers, union leaders, buyers and other local stakeholders. The study will mainly focus on in-depth interview techniques.  Results show that most of the respondents have control over their own income (including expenditure and saving) but as they have been paid in low amounts, they can hardly save anything, also they exhibit very explicitly that they have a participation in the decision of their child schooling, family planning, and other facts in social and political issues. They can participate in their local panchayet at or even in national election without any pursuing of a male member of their family. Female workers have power to making choice in some extent, but they are not able to control the situation and achieve their rights. So this study shows women employment doesn’t ensure their complete empowerment. Rather to understand empowerment we need to consider other social factors.