Amplifying women (migrant) workers’ voices

Written on 17 January 2022.

In August, we started publishing a new monthly e-magazine, titled Our Work, Our Lives. Each issue focuses on a simple theme that resonates with the everyday lives of low-wage women (migrant) workers, their joys, sorrows, struggles and, most importantly, their agendas for change. Most of the women are domestic workers, weavers, garment workers, sex workers, porters, farmers, entertainment workers, and daily-wage labourers.

We have now published five issues, each containing between 16 and 35 materials – stories told by the women, interviews and reflections by civil society colleagues who work with them. Although most stories are from countries in Asia and Africa, we have also featured some from Europe, Latin America, and North America.

 The first issue had the theme of ‘A Day’s Work’. The women described the work – both paid and unpaid – they do on a typical day, from the time they wake up, usually before dawn, until they go to bed. Their stories demonstrate in detail what we already know – that women perform three-quarters of unpaid domestic and care work and this work is not recognised, valued, or remunerated appropriately. The second issue was themed ‘Food Stories: leaves and flowers we eat’. Women spoke about the leaves and vegetables they grow and cook, and many shared recipes for simple and cheap – but nutritious – meals. With so much policy attention on the climate crisis and the related issues of sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty, we wanted to highlight the role of women in rural communities in growing and collecting food in ways that do not harm the ecosystem. We also wanted to encourage our NGO colleagues to play a role in documenting that knowledge for younger people in communities. The third issue continued the topic of food and was titled ‘Intersecting Struggles: Food, Land & Climate Justice’. It focused on the work of women’s collectives – of fisherfolk, farmers, home-based workers, street vendors, and others – who tell us what is wrong with the current agriculture and food production systems, and how those wrongs could be righted, slowly and steadily.

The fourth issue, published ahead of International Day to End Violence Against Women, had the theme of ‘Saying NO to Gender-Based Violence’. It highlighted the fact that violence is a part of many women and girls’ lives but also many stories of resistance and rejection of violence. Women spoke about their internal strengths, which helped them escape violence, as well as the support they received from family, friends, or NGOs. The fifth issue, which we published for International Migrants Day, was themed ‘Return, Reintegration and Socio-economic Inclusion’. Migrant and trafficked women spoke about the challenges they face in destination countries, such as long working hours, non-payment of wages, or lack of knowledge of the local language, and upon return, such as stigma and suspicion in the family and community, or lack of government programmes to help them re-start their lives. Still, some women also spoke about how migration had allowed them to support their families, buy a piece of land, start a business, and achieve their life goals.

Putting the issues together has been a heart-warming experience. While a few women wrote in English and sent a photo of the text along with other pictures via WhatsApp, many either wrote or just spoke to NGO colleagues in other languages which were then transcribed and translated into English. During the monthly online launch events, many of the women were excited and proud that their stories are featured in an international magazine. The January 2022 issue will focus on the hopes and dreams of the women workers’ groups for 2022. It will also be an occasion to do a collective review of the process and decide on themes for upcoming issues.