Problem description:
One of the modern forms of slavery is bonded labour. This type of slavery occurs, among others, in the production of silk in the state of Karnataka in India, which supplies the largest silk production in the country. The material is used for sewing, for instance, decorative saris, which are a luxury item in India.
This form of modern slavery is illegal in India. The practice of bonded labour was fully banned in 1976 and its victims may apply for liberation and compensation from the Indian government. According to state law in Karnataka, the liberation process should take up to a month. In practice, regaining freedom often takes years.
Organisation:
Since 1988, the Jeevika organisation has been working in the Indian state of Karnataka to identify, free, and rehabilitate victims of bonded labour. The organisation is headed by Kiran Kamal Prasad – an Indian activist and founder of the Jeevika organisation, who has been fighting against the problem of bonded labour for years.
Jeevika believes that education and community organisation play a key role in enabling people to remain free. This should lead to a change in government policy and make it responsive to instances of bonded labour.
To date, Jeevika has helped release more than 30,000 victims of bonded labour, 5,000 of whom have received rehabilitation grants from the government.
Jeevika regularly identifies slave workers in and around Karnataka villages and enables them to submit applications to the deputy commissioners for their release and rehabilitation.
The organisation also helps women from bonded labour and farmer families to form small self-help groups (SHGs) aimed to help them collect savings or get a loan. Within these groups, they plan and implement individual and collective projects for sustainable livelihoods. The organisation organises regular meetings, training sessions, street theatre performances and public programs, all aimed to raise the awareness of bonded labour and other related issues. Efforts are also being made to bring about changes to government policy at the state and national levels.
In 2004, Jeevika was asked to prepare a state action plan to eradicate bonded labour.
Project supported by KF:
The main goal of the project we support is to help slave workers and other laborers to run small businesses and earn a regular income that can ultimately lift them out of poverty and help their children obtain high-quality education, making them independent citizens. In the first phase of the project, 65 slave workers volunteered to run small businesses selling fruit, flowers, vegetables, and clothing at street corners and to households, as well as cleaning out 'dirty' cocoons and selling them to silk factories.
