The Entrepreneurs Associates (tEA), in partnership with the National Commission for Women, organised a one-day seminar titled, “Women Working in the Unorganised Sector in Nagaland: Challenges and Opportunities,” on 28th November, 2024 at State Academy Hall, Kohima. The aim of the event was to bring together women from the unorganised sector, comprising mainly of women street vendors and nano-entrepreneurs, to enhance awareness of the unique challenges faced by these women and to develop sustainable solutions for empowerment, a press release from tEA informed.
The Seminar was graced by Governor of Nagaland, La Ganesan. In his address, the Chief Guest acknowledged that despite playing vital roles in the socio-economic development of the country, women are usually the unsung heroes. He emphasised on the multitude of challenges facing workers in the informal sector, such as irregular income, lack of adequate infrastructural support, and limited access to financial services, which needs to be addressed.
“Initiatives like this seminar are steps in the right direction, aligning with India’s ambitious vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. The seminar is a vital platform to explore solutions, share knowledge and empower women through awareness of various welfare schemes and opportunities,” the Governor shared.
The press release also informed that during the session, Governor La Ganesan had also released a report titled, ‘Lived Realities of Women in the Unorganised Sector in Nagaland’, prepared by tEA’s Research and Development (R&D) team.
A brief presentation on the report was given by the R&D members Tongtimenla Jamir and Kekhriesituo Yaotsu. Tongtimenla shared that the report is “an attempt to bring out the voices and stories of the women in the unorganised sector.” The report is the result of a study of 1212 women, who are beneficiaries of tEA’s various projects and programmes. Some of the crucial findings from the report included the age distribution with 36% of them in the ‘36 to 46 year’ age group, and 27.7% in the ‘18 to 35 year’ age group. Another finding was that women in this sector are defined by low educational level with 8% of them being graduates and above, 34% receiving secondary education, 35.4% receiving primary education, and 22.6% having no formal education. As for their marital status, 74.5% are married.
As for their lived realities, they shared that a total of 231 women, out of 1,212 faced infrastructural challenges which poses as a huge challenge, as this disrupts the women from carrying out their works efficiently. “The relation between women’s safety and infrastructure becomes deeply evident,” shared Kekhriesituo Yaotsu, as there have been cases of some women who have been victims of assault by intoxicated men. Lack of toilet and sanitation facilities, complex system of procuring loans, absence of digital and financial literacy, are the other challenges which needs interventions and sustainable policy changes.
The seminar was chaired by Susan Angami, tEA Advisor, who provided a welcome note to over 250 attendees, the press release stated. Neikule Doulo, tEA’s Executive Director delivered the keynote address, where she shared, “tEA has worked with countless women in urban and rural settings in the unorganised sector, providing them with financial services and linkages, training, and capacity building. Today 70% of tEA’s beneficiaries for financial services are women. Our works with banks and financial institutes have women at the core of our interventions.” She further stressed that women will continue dominating the unorganised sector for years to come with variations. “It is, therefore, essential and imperative that if our society wants to move forward and progress, we must take these women along with us as part of our growth.”
Also in the first session, a presentation on ‘tEA’s Journey with Women in the Unorganised Sector’ was delivered by Chunjanglu, tEA Operations Supervisor, Tekhengutele, tEA Project Associate and Manpang Nyiam, tEA Project Coordinator. In their presentation, they emphasised on the crucial interventions of tEA in the lives of women in the unorganised sector, not just in Nagaland but across Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. They shared, “From the inception of its flagship program, ‘Uplifting Women Street Vendors Program’ in 2017, and the introduction of Zero Interest Loans in 2020, to the multiple projects taken up with various partners over the years, tEA continues to work for the women in the unorganised sector, going beyond skills training by changing their attitudes and opening doors for them.”
The second session of the seminar included three technical sessions with three resource persons; Dr. Pangjung Pongen, Consultant UNICEF, Dept of Health & Family Welfare took a session on ‘Social Security Health Schemes for Women’, which was followed by a session on ‘Becoming Bankable to Avail Financial Services’ by Kreho Athili, Deputy Branch Manager, SBI Kohima. The third session titled, ‘Laws for Safeguarding Women in the Unorganised Sector’ was presented by Mezivolu T. Therieh, Principal Judge, Kohima Family Court and Former OSD Registrar, Supreme Court of India. The seminar concluded with a Q&A session between the women attendees and resource persons.
