WEBVTT - India: Why Did Working Women Disappear?

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<v Speaker 1>Archena Sahai runs a twenty four hour helpline from a

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<v Speaker 1>tiny call center in the Indian city of beau Pal.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called Childline India and it gets hundreds of calls

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<v Speaker 1>a day horror stories from kids who tell Archina and

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<v Speaker 1>her staff that they're being abused, are forced to work,

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<v Speaker 1>or are in a number of other bad situations. When

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<v Speaker 1>Archina can, she sends in help, calling in government services

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<v Speaker 1>or the police helloa, what are you. When the pandemic hit,

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<v Speaker 1>Archina was prepared for the helpline to be inundated, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was. Some of the calls were what she expected

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<v Speaker 1>from already vulnerable kids. Others caught her by surprise. Suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>we started getting a lot of calls about child marriage.

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<v Speaker 1>Child marriage. These calls were coming from girls, sometimes as

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<v Speaker 1>young as twelve years old. They said their parents were

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<v Speaker 1>forcing them to get married, even though child marriage is

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<v Speaker 1>illegal under Indian law. Archinda tried to intervene, sometimes traveling

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<v Speaker 1>to remote villages with her staff. We tried to talk

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<v Speaker 1>to people and we said, keep why are you getting

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<v Speaker 1>such young girls married. Many of the girls they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>want it to get married. But when we tried to

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<v Speaker 1>stop the community people. They said, why are you? People

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<v Speaker 1>are stopping Let it happen. Across India, officials observed a

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<v Speaker 1>similar trend in marriages among teenagers and young adults surged

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<v Speaker 1>by as much as in some states. But Archinda noticed

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<v Speaker 1>something else. The calls from young girls to child line

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<v Speaker 1>would surge when death rates were highest. First logdown, they

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<v Speaker 1>were around trip before marriages will be stopped. The second

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<v Speaker 1>lockdown we found more of the marriages because there was

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<v Speaker 1>so much of detrit parents thing. Once we give the

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<v Speaker 1>girl married, at least my daughter is safe now. Archna

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<v Speaker 1>had a theory in the poorest and most desperate places,

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<v Speaker 1>marriage was seen as a lifeline. Dobless claims coming in,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean really jumping from the week before pretty brutal.

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<v Speaker 1>Three point two million record six point six million Americans

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<v Speaker 1>filed for unemployment last week. Engian working women abo the

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<v Speaker 1>worst impastage by the pandemic. We believe that we are

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<v Speaker 1>the impacting one girl, one family, one village, one country

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<v Speaker 1>at the time. Well, now to the billionaire boom. According

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<v Speaker 1>to Bloomberg, supriocht charters are up over three d and

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<v Speaker 1>a billionaire was created every six hours during this pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>No one not waiting in line for a of the test.

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<v Speaker 1>With the public growth, it is time for a wealth

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<v Speaker 1>tax in America. Welcome back to the paycheck. I'm Rebecca Greenfield.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the biggest and most devastating economic stories of

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic has been how it just decimated women. Women

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<v Speaker 1>are more likely to face unemployment. Right now, the economy

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<v Speaker 1>is still bouncing back from the pandemic, but for working

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<v Speaker 1>women and mothers, it's a slow climb. This doesn't board

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<v Speaker 1>very good for the future. As things have started to

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<v Speaker 1>open up, the big question is when and how will

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<v Speaker 1>women recover. In India, things don't look good. Even before

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, it had one of the lowest labor force

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<v Speaker 1>participation rates for women. Just by March that fell to

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<v Speaker 1>less than ten This would be bad news anywhere. Getting

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<v Speaker 1>more people in the workforce helps economies grow, but the

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<v Speaker 1>scale is particularly stunning in India. Economists estimate that a

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<v Speaker 1>female employment were brought on par with male employment, India's

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<v Speaker 1>gross domestic product could expand by almost a third. But

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<v Speaker 1>encouraging Indian women to work starts by prioritizing school and

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<v Speaker 1>career over an early marriage. In some parts of the country,

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<v Speaker 1>that campaign starts with girls as young as twelve. Archana Chaudhry,

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<v Speaker 1>a reporter in Bloomberg's New Delhi bureau, has the story.

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<v Speaker 1>Every morning, more than two thousand girls traveled to the

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<v Speaker 1>Paddi Educational Society. It's in the banks of the Ganges

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<v Speaker 1>in the town of Badadadadi means great grandfather, great grandmother,

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<v Speaker 1>calling back to tradition, but the campus is actually modern

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<v Speaker 1>with computer labs and basketball cords. Since two thousand, the

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<v Speaker 1>school has tried to create opportunities for girls in the

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<v Speaker 1>surrounding villages. This is it comes a bit of pocket

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<v Speaker 1>of in there. Most families earn a few dollars that

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<v Speaker 1>they're working as farmers. One room hugs are common. A

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<v Speaker 1>single water buffalo might be a family's most valuable possession.

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<v Speaker 1>For many of these families, girls can be seen as

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<v Speaker 1>a financial burden, another amount to feed. That's where Paddada

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<v Speaker 1>Padad comes in. It's goal is to keep girls in

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<v Speaker 1>school against cultural forces that would have them get married

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<v Speaker 1>in their teens. To date, more than three d students

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<v Speaker 1>have graduated and gone on to lucrative jobs in I

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<v Speaker 1>or the government. When I visited the campus on a

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<v Speaker 1>recent day, one of the first signs I saw read

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<v Speaker 1>I will select my future husband. Before the day began,

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<v Speaker 1>students gathered in the courtyard. They sang in old Bollywood

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<v Speaker 1>hymn about walking on the side of righteousness. They decided

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<v Speaker 1>the Indian national anthem, and then together they made a promise,

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<v Speaker 1>Very harry, it is I pledge that I will not

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<v Speaker 1>marry before I'm twenty one years old. There in that courtyard,

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<v Speaker 1>that's where I met Mother Shama. She was smiling and

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<v Speaker 1>chatting with students. She has worked as a Hindi teacher

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<v Speaker 1>at Padada Padadi for more than a decade. She grew

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<v Speaker 1>up near the school in a family of educators. She

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<v Speaker 1>knows the complicated tangle of factors that hold women down.

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<v Speaker 1>Students at Padada pad they look up to mother, who

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<v Speaker 1>they see her as their guardian, as a kind of

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<v Speaker 1>surrogate mother. One student, a sixteen year old, said she

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<v Speaker 1>called motherho last year after her grandfather pressured her to

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<v Speaker 1>get married. He was worried he might get sick during

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic and not live to see it. She spoke

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<v Speaker 1>to me during her lunch break in a small classroom

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<v Speaker 1>as other students shuffled around the hallway. There I was

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<v Speaker 1>very upset. I couldn't focus on anything. So I told

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<v Speaker 1>ma'am that my folks are pushing me to get married

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<v Speaker 1>and I want to study. She said, I will come

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<v Speaker 1>and talk with them. They cannot force you to get married.

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<v Speaker 1>She came home and spoke to my grandfather. I also

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<v Speaker 1>told him that I want to study, that I want

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<v Speaker 1>to join the army. After all our efforts. He agreed.

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<v Speaker 1>But Madhu Sharma told me, but Dadda Padadi's mission has

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<v Speaker 1>become harder during the pandemic, when girls could no longer

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<v Speaker 1>rely on the protect the bubble of the school. Administrators

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<v Speaker 1>purchased tablets for older students to ease the transition to

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<v Speaker 1>remote learning, and the school appointed teachers to visit villagers

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<v Speaker 1>to collect assignments since most students did not have regular

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<v Speaker 1>internet access or even phones. But as the lockdown went on,

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<v Speaker 1>girls found ways to call mother. They were tearful and panicked.

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<v Speaker 1>They told her their parents who are trying to get

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<v Speaker 1>them married. Mother, who spoke to the girl's parents on

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<v Speaker 1>their behalf part of her job is to dissuade them

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<v Speaker 1>from following through with weddings. Families told her they had

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<v Speaker 1>no other option. They worried that Grandma would get sick

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<v Speaker 1>and not leave to see an exchange of vows. Money

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<v Speaker 1>was also a factor. Restrictions and gatherings meant families could

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<v Speaker 1>avoid the massive multi day weddings in favor of smallest

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<v Speaker 1>ceremonies at home. There was also less pressure to be

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<v Speaker 1>a large dowry. Since most businesses shut, brides had an

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<v Speaker 1>easy excuse not to buy gifts for the groom's extended family.

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<v Speaker 1>The tradition is illegal, but still coming across in there

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<v Speaker 1>getting lockdown. During the lockdown, people thought that since children

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<v Speaker 1>weren't going to school, we wouldn't find out what's going

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<v Speaker 1>on for the students at Dada Padadi. The consequences of

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<v Speaker 1>getting married before they finished school are especially pronounced. When

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<v Speaker 1>a woman marries, she typically moves in with her husband

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<v Speaker 1>and in laws. Mother said, women become dependent and lose

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<v Speaker 1>ownership over their lives. A middle class woman in India

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't have a home to call her own. At the

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<v Speaker 1>husband's place. For every small thing, the mother in law says,

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<v Speaker 1>is this what you've learned from your mother? And the

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<v Speaker 1>husband tells her to leave his home after every little tiff,

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<v Speaker 1>so that home isn't hers either in old age the

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<v Speaker 1>home belongs to the sun. In two thousand fifteen, Prime

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<v Speaker 1>Minister Moody started a campaign called Batti Bat, which roughly

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<v Speaker 1>means save our daughters, Teach our daughters manunder It's an

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<v Speaker 1>initiative aim at keeping girls in school and reducing sex

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<v Speaker 1>selective abortion. The government has also tried to eradicate child marriage.

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<v Speaker 1>Last year, Movies administrations passed a proposal to raise the

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<v Speaker 1>legal marriage as for women from eighteen to twenty one,

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<v Speaker 1>which is what it is for men. But in many

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<v Speaker 1>villages the national laws are abstract and far away. Local

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<v Speaker 1>customs are set and enforced by local punch arts, which

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<v Speaker 1>is essentially a group of elders almost all men. And

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<v Speaker 1>while movies campaign to educate India's daughters received lots of publicity,

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<v Speaker 1>recent government audits found that much of the initiatives funds

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<v Speaker 1>remained unspent. I spoke to chargeon Joe's who manages the

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<v Speaker 1>Pa Dada Padi school. He said that initially when the

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<v Speaker 1>school is founded, administrators encountered resistance. Families didn't understand why

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<v Speaker 1>teachers cared so much about educating daughters. They will spend

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<v Speaker 1>on any amount of money on boys, but they will

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<v Speaker 1>not spend money on girls, even for food like milk.

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<v Speaker 1>If they are buying one litter of milk, and if

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<v Speaker 1>there are three girls and one boy, the boy will

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<v Speaker 1>get the major portion of the milk. He's a boy.

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<v Speaker 1>Girds are not supposed to how all these things, Chardon said,

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<v Speaker 1>Marriage is an intense pressure point for families in the district.

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<v Speaker 1>And while India's literacy rates arising and the number of

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<v Speaker 1>people being in absolute poverty has decreased, when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to working women have lost ground. Mind cal Tranager Mazunda

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<v Speaker 1>dug a little deeper into the numbers. What did you

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<v Speaker 1>find drawn? It's interesting Archina, because what we're saying is

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<v Speaker 1>that female labor participation fell by about a third in

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<v Speaker 1>the years during the pandemic. In two thousand five, two

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<v Speaker 1>of women were in the labor market, and by two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand nine it dropped to around that's lower than any

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<v Speaker 1>other country in the G twenty except for Saudi Arabia.

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<v Speaker 1>As India's economy has grown, the women at the middle

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<v Speaker 1>and top of the income ladder have stopped working for them.

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<v Speaker 1>It's perceived as a marker of status. On the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>women at the lowest rungs of society is still are

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<v Speaker 1>seen as potential earners. They often work menial or unpaid

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<v Speaker 1>jobs that are far from the former economy. In other words,

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<v Speaker 1>their labor isn't even counted. Rosa Abraham is an economist

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<v Speaker 1>at a zen Braimes University in the city of Bengaluru.

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<v Speaker 1>She said that either way, women have little choice in

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<v Speaker 1>the matter. It is the unfortunate situation that the position

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<v Speaker 1>to work is often not in the hands of the woman,

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<v Speaker 1>who said, it is negotiated by social structors, by patriarchy.

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<v Speaker 1>But the picture got even worse during the pandemic. During

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<v Speaker 1>the first lockdown in women were several times more likely

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<v Speaker 1>to lose their jobs than men. Rosa study which tracked

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<v Speaker 1>the career trajectories of twenty thousand Indians during the pandemic

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<v Speaker 1>found that many of the women never came back, so

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<v Speaker 1>women there was no return to work. In fact, what

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<v Speaker 1>we find was that if women lost work during the lockdown,

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<v Speaker 1>they were eleven times more likely than men do not

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<v Speaker 1>return to work. Rosa said things like increased domestic duties,

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<v Speaker 1>the lack of child care options, and school shutdowns all

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<v Speaker 1>help explain why women struggle to recover jobs and for

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<v Speaker 1>young girls who were pushed out of classrooms and into marriage,

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<v Speaker 1>their dreams of independence or a well paid office job.

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<v Speaker 1>We were replaced with what Rosa calls distress led employment

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<v Speaker 1>that means unpaid work in the home or taking care

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<v Speaker 1>of relatives. It's not that women are entering salaried workers

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<v Speaker 1>or as weege workers. They're not starting businesses. They are

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<v Speaker 1>simply entering into their existing family farm. Back at the

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<v Speaker 1>Padada Padadi Educational Society, Duma told me she understands that cycle.

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<v Speaker 1>Intimately before the Bandama, she said that school might see

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<v Speaker 1>only three child marriages a year. Over the past year,

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<v Speaker 1>Mother says she's prevented a dozen. She recalled a fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>year old who called her the peak of infections. In

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<v Speaker 1>one the girl was sobbing her parents had decided to

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<v Speaker 1>get her married, I say, Mother said. I went to

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<v Speaker 1>her place and spoke with her mother and father. I

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<v Speaker 1>first said, she's a small child and you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to pay any expenses on her behalf. You're lucky to

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<v Speaker 1>have found a school where all you have to do

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<v Speaker 1>is send her there, So why are you snatching away

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<v Speaker 1>her dreams? Mother told me she stopped this marriage after

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<v Speaker 1>one conversation, but others a trick here. Sometimes she has

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<v Speaker 1>to go to the police or a district magistrate for help.

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<v Speaker 1>In one instance, a family refused to reconsider its plans

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<v Speaker 1>to marry off their fourteen year old. The school could

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<v Speaker 1>go to the government's child welfare office, but they would

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<v Speaker 1>need proof. They came up with a plan. The girl

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<v Speaker 1>would hide a copy of the wedding invitation in the

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<v Speaker 1>folds of her ka or a tunic and pass it

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<v Speaker 1>on to another student, who would bring it to mother

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<v Speaker 1>who soon after Mother who got a call from a

0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:19.240
<v Speaker 1>young man who refused to give his name. He told

0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:22.360
<v Speaker 1>mother who he had regardings of her phone conversations with

0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:28.360
<v Speaker 1>a girl. Ah, he said, madam, this is not a

0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:30.960
<v Speaker 1>good thing that you have done. He said the family

0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:34.640
<v Speaker 1>was backed into a corner, that they've been preparing for

0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:37.600
<v Speaker 1>the wedding, and her meddling would bring shame to the family.

0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:42.240
<v Speaker 1>He threatened to blackmail her and turned the community against

0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:48.640
<v Speaker 1>her if she continued. He said she'd regretted. Ah. He said,

0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:50.880
<v Speaker 1>you are going to find out in a few days

0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:54.440
<v Speaker 1>who I am and how strong I am. Mother, who

0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:58.240
<v Speaker 1>was used to death threats. In one instance, a family

0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:02.240
<v Speaker 1>had threatened to shoot her. This time, she wondered if

0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:05.520
<v Speaker 1>the entire village would come after her. When she went

0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:08.359
<v Speaker 1>to the police station, Mother said, officers told her not

0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:12.119
<v Speaker 1>to worry. The next day, the young man called again,

0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:16.080
<v Speaker 1>and mother Who drew him into a conversation. She was

0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:19.080
<v Speaker 1>surprised by what she learned. He was just a teenager

0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:27.639
<v Speaker 1>himself a farmer. He hadn't even finished school. I said, child,

0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:30.640
<v Speaker 1>then it is not your fault. I spoke to him

0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:33.960
<v Speaker 1>with a smile and told him that the problem was

0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:38.400
<v Speaker 1>his lack of education. After that call, Mother told me

0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:41.720
<v Speaker 1>the threats stopped. The wedding was called off, and the

0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:46.160
<v Speaker 1>girl went back to school. Of fourteen weddings planned during

0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:51.040
<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, Mother Who and other administrators stopped all but two.

0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:55.560
<v Speaker 1>Many girls, say Mother Who gives them permission to imagine

0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:59.320
<v Speaker 1>a different future for themselves, to strive for a life

0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:03.600
<v Speaker 1>of independent and freedom, to seek out fulfilling jobs, and

0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:08.000
<v Speaker 1>to live with dignity. When girls stole their education at

0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:14.879
<v Speaker 1>Badada Badai, they each blunt is sattling on campus. Years later, indeed,

0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:19.159
<v Speaker 1>it turn as women with their own paychecks. Those seedlings

0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:33.920
<v Speaker 1>have sprouted into trees. The Pardada Partory School can't alone

0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:37.240
<v Speaker 1>fight the weight of the cultural expectations that millions of

0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:41.240
<v Speaker 1>Indian women face. Prime Minister Moti is trying to push

0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:45.520
<v Speaker 1>India into what he calls um writ call or a

0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:49.080
<v Speaker 1>golden era of growth. But in April of this year,

0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:53.480
<v Speaker 1>India reached a disconcerting milestone. The majority of its nine

0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:57.960
<v Speaker 1>million person labor force had stopped looking for jobs Entirely.

0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:03.120
<v Speaker 1>Many of those people we're women. Next week, on the Paycheck,

0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:07.080
<v Speaker 1>we had to a place that's owned almost entirely by

0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:10.320
<v Speaker 1>one man. One of my biggest fears is that the

0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:14.000
<v Speaker 1>people of this community will be the ones that would

0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:17.000
<v Speaker 1>be caring for the elite rich that can't afford to

0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:20.200
<v Speaker 1>actually live here one day. And that's our full purpose.

0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:23.720
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to the Paycheck. If you like our show,

0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.080
<v Speaker 1>please head on over to Apple Podcasts or where ever

0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:29.880
<v Speaker 1>you listen to podcasts to rate, review and subscribe. This

0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:33.480
<v Speaker 1>episode was hosted by me Rebecca Greenfield and reported by

0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:37.159
<v Speaker 1>Archana Chaudrey and Rona Joy at Mazoomdar. It was edited

0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.440
<v Speaker 1>by Kai Schultz and Janet Paskin, with help from Francesca Levi,

0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.959
<v Speaker 1>Rakhia Soluja, and Met We also had editing help from

0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:48.160
<v Speaker 1>Danielle Balbi, Shelly Banjo, Kristin V. Brown, Gilda de Carly,

0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:52.280
<v Speaker 1>Nicole Flato, and Elisa McDonald. This episode was produced by

0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:55.800
<v Speaker 1>Gilda de Carly and sound engineered by Matt Guime. Our

0:19:55.800 --> 0:19:59.440
<v Speaker 1>original music is by Leo Sidrin. The voiceovers you heard

0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:04.160
<v Speaker 1>were by Marry Joseph and Tamina Balvarda mooned special thanks

0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:08.320
<v Speaker 1>to Magnus Henrickson beginnin to Keeper, Margaret Sutherland, and Stacy Wong.

0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:12.600
<v Speaker 1>Francesca Levy is Bloomberg's head of Podcasts. See you next week.