MUFFLED VOICES – THE TRUE AND RAW HARDSHIPS FACED BY INDIAN FEMALE LABOURERS

AUTHOR – PAVITHRA. S. NAIR, STUDENT AT SASTRA UNIVERSITY, THANJAVUR, TAMIL NADU, INDIA.

BEST CITATION – PAVITHRA. S. NAIR,MUFFLED VOICES – THE TRUE AND RAW HARDSHIPS FACED BY INDIAN FEMALE LABOURERS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (9) OF 2026, PG. 50-56, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/IJLRV6I96

ABSTRACT

Women constitute a substantial chunk of the workforce in India and are still lacking in work participation, as well as the quality of employment if they are employed. The reasons for this lack of female participation are the disparity between what they can do and what is available to them. The issue of safety is another reason for the low participation of women in the workforce. Hence, the importance of women’s sense of security in encouraging them to take up jobs needs to be addressed by the government.

India is a heavily labour- and agricultural-dependent country, with a majority of its population working in these fields. For most Indians, it is these limited wages that ensure food on their tables. The issue of wages faced by workers is not an unmentioned topic, and it is a vicious cycle that leads into the discussion of where, how, and why child labour stems from and persists despite the government providing free and mandatory education up until the age of 16. It is the very reason that one earning member cannot sustain even the minimum necessities. Labourers face common risks of losing fingers or limbs, leading to amputation, which forces every member to be a child or another adult to be forced to work.  And one might even ask why go through such harsh working condition its never been a choice as the only motivation isn’t food as these people are more aware of feeling of empty stomachs from starvation than that of a full one after hearty meal, the situations are also derived from forces of desperations of mere survival either due to loans that they are trapped in unable to repay or lose of family members in life threatening work such as those in the mines. And it is about time we listen to their desperate cries that are known yet not spoken of enough.

KEYWORDS: Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP), Unrecognised Sector, Vulnerable Backbone, Labour Exploitation, Bare Acts.