| Hello and welcome to Mind the Gap, a newsletter that adds perspective to the gender developments of the week. It's May Day and what better way to celebrate than welcoming the Supreme Court judgment on anganwadi workers and helpers? Read on. THE BIG STORY: How five Adivasi women and a Gandhian activist scored a huge win for anganwadi workers After 21 years of service when Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya, an Adivasi women working as an anganwadi helper in district Dahod, Gujarat, retired on February 20, 2006 she was drawing a salary of Rs 1,250 a month. Based on this, Maniben was entitled to a one-time gratuity of Rs 14,423. Seven years later when even that sum hadn't been paid to her, she filed an application to the prescribed authority. Yes, she was owed the money, the authority agreed. Yes, she was owed the money, an appellate authority confirmed. Yes, she was owed gratuity ruled a single judge bench of the Gujarat High Court in 2016. But the state government appealed against the verdict and a division bench then ruled that Maniben and four others, Lunjiben Vasoya, Champaben Bhariya, Mangaliben and Rupliben Dangya, all Adivasi women who worked as anganwadi workers and helpers and who had retired after 21 to 31 years of service, were not employees and, hence, could not receive gratuity. Undaunted, the five women, now in their seventies, aided by Jayantgiri H Goswami, a Gandhian activist with the Majdoor Mahajan Sangh, a union set up by Mahatma Gandhi for textile workers in 1917, went to the Supreme Court. Landmark judgement On April 25, a two-judge bench ruled that not just the five women who went to court, but all anganwadi workers and helpers are entitled to gratuity. Going beyond the payment of gratuity, the two-judge bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S Oka noted that for their 'all pervasive duties' anganwadi workers and anganwadi helpers are 'paid very meagre renumeration and paltry benefits' and called upon the central and state governments to 'take serious note of their plight'. The judges said the women could not be seen as part-time volunteers as they undertake statutory obligations of the government. "Our short plea was whether the women were entitled to gratuity or not," says Pyoli, the advocate-on-record for the women who uses only one name. "In fact, the court has held that the relationship is one of full-time employees and employer. This is now the law of the land." "It's a landmark judgement that will give gratuity benefits to lakhs of women," added Sanjay Parikh, senior advocate who argued in court. "As volunteers they were subject to virtual exploitation. The least they deserve is a good amount of money for the services they render to the nation." Who are anganwadi workers? The 1.3 million anganwadi workers and 1.2 million anganwadi helpers across India's 1.36 million functional anganwadi centres are an integral part of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) which was launched in 1975 and is the world's largest programme for early childhood care and development. According to the 2011 census, ICDS caters to 158 million children as well as pregnant and lactating mothers in a country where 48% of children under five are stunted and 43% are underweight for their age, according to the National Family Health Survey. The all-women force of frontline workers, many of them who are, like Maniben, from marginalised backgrounds, are classified by the government as 'volunteers'. Over time with new laws such as Right to Education in 2009 and the Food Security Act in 2013, the women's duties have expanded. Not only do they provide supplementary nutrition to children by cooking and serving them healthy meals, they are responsible to see that they are properly immunised and have regular health check-ups. They must maintain records of growth and weight charts of each child. They also provide nutritional support to pregnant and lactating women. It is their responsibility to make those under their care aware of various government schemes. In states like Gujarat, they conduct pre-primary educational activities for children aged between three and six. During the pandemic, they were tasked with additional duties: delivering rations door-to-door, educating those under their charge about coronavirus and preparing lists of outsiders who came to visit the village. In the early months, they did this without protective gear, masks or even adequate hand sanitisers. A 10-state survey by Behanbox found that their daily hours during the pandemic had increased from six to eight to 12-15 hours. For all this work, anganwadi workers and helpers receive an 'honorarium' that varies from state to state. In Gujarat, it is at present Rs 7,800 a month for workers and Rs 3,950 for helpers. Why anganwadi workers and helpers are angry The women are the 'backbone of the ICDS', notes the judgement. ICDS, it says, is not just a welfare scheme but a 'means of protecting the rights of children under six – including their right to nutrition, health and joyful learning and rights of pregnant and lactating mothers' guaranteed by the Constitution. In September 2021, anganwadi workers and helpers went on a nationwide strike to press for their demands. These included retirement benefits, medical insurance and the entry of non-governmental organisations into ICDS. The demands went unheard and in January 2022 in Delhi they went on strike again. On the 25th day of the strike, the Delhi government agreed to raise 'honorariums' by Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000. Not enough, the women said, as it did not reflect inflation levels. On February 23, the Delhi government threatened to take disciplinary action. Then, it imposed the Haryana Essential Services Maintainance Act, which extends to Delhi as well, under which workers who go on strike can be jailed for up to six months. Many women returned back to work after being made to sign an 'apology' but some—the number ranges between 26 and 90, depending on who you speak to—were issued termination notices anyway. That same month, the Syro-Malabar church complained to the National Commission for Minorities that 11 Christian women had been converted to Islam and taken to Syria. Once again, Kerala police, acting on the complaint, found no evidence of 'love jihad'. Judgement implications The Supreme Court judgment comes as a huge relief to anganwadi workers and helpers who have been fighting for years for fair wages and for their work to be regularised The government's opposition to the payment of gratuity is on the grounds of the substantial bill it will end up with. Advocate Aastha Mehta told the court that in Gujarat alone the financial burden on the exchequer toward payment of gratuity would be more than Rs 25 crore. But the larger issue is the question of women's labour and bestowing it with dignity. Anganwadi workers and helpers are integral to improving the nutritional status of children in India. It's time for them to get their due. | 
