THIMPHU (BHUTAN), May 1 � While top leaders of the SAARC countries struggled to build consensus to resolve issues at the recently concluded summit at Thimphu, a group of poor women from the member states showcased a remarkable endeavour, something that the Governments of their countries were unable to envision.
SABAH, which means SAARC Business Association of Home-based workers, is a network of women from the unorganised sector, for the first time revealed their enviable skills and crafts at the SAARC summit.
The women with their creations have shown that skills do not just bring in money, but they actually help build confidence and enable them to make informed choices, opportunities otherwise unavailable to them. It is no surprise that SABAH has already been able to attract economically weak women in different parts of South Asia.
Significantly, it is the first project taken up by the SAARC Development Fund (SDF), an endeavour that ultimately seeks to offer support to millions of home-based workers in the SAARC nations. According to estimates there would be close to 50 million such workers, mostly women, whose existence goes unacknowledged by government support services.
Speaking exclusively to The Assam Tribune, R Jhabvala, National Co-ordinator, Self Employed Women�s Association (SEWA), said, �Such workers remain underpaid and invisible even though there are so many of them. A proven way to empower and enable them is to give them direct access to markets�based on the SEWA model, SABAH seeks to let home-based workers to have market access with no middlemen between seller and buyer.�
Within its short span of life, SABAH appears to have made an impact in countries as varied as Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was unthinkable for the workers till a few years back that they would have a platform from which their united voices would count for something, particularly because they all were poor.
Jhabvala further disclosed that the women home-based workers, while becoming economically empowered, were also achieving something not so well-noticed and appreciated. �South Asia is home to a wonderful array of handloom and handicrafts with traditions going back a long time. Some home-based workers by creating those have actually sustained ancient skills and knowledge�, she noted.
According to sources, in its second year of implementation, SABAH is enhancing its presence and tracking the progress of home-based workers who are member-owners of SABAH. Trade facilitation centres have been established in Nepal and Pakistan and more would come up in Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan in the near future.
