Intersectionality of Caste, Gender and Occupation: A Study of Safai Karamchari Women in Maharashtra

The issues of women safai karamcharis are less discussed in academic sphere compared to male safai karamcharis and given minimum importance. These women face multiple problems at the family level, at the working places and in the society; their problems are largely unheard. In the light of this limitation, the present study aimed to give visibility to their problems and their coping mechanisms. It is a collaborative work of three different surveys conducted with 115 safai karamcharis women in Nagpur (60), Kalyan (30) and Mumbai (25) cities applying qualitative and quantitative methods in Maharashtra. The results revealed that women aged 19 years to 46 years are engaged in safai kam and majority of them are widowed or currently married. Almost three-fourths of women resumed this occupation through preferential treatment (PT) case and those of direct recruitment are because of their Scheduled Caste background. Health problems and discrimination at the workplace are common and most of the time neglected. There is a need to establish a strong bridge between workers and academicians who form the policies and welfare programmes for safai karamcharis in order to realize their real conditions and needs. In social sciences, theories of knowledge production have to be utilized for the upliftment or betterment of the people irrespective of the caste and gender.