Benefits of micro-saving must not be ignored

These female workers are mostly deserted by their husbands, or are widows, unmarried or destitute. They take up this profession with diligence and perseverance; and they do not have to borrow huge amounts of money for engaging in this kind of job

A huge number of female workers steps into towns and cities like Dhaka in search of domestic work. All of them are diligent and want to become self-reliant. In particular, many of them had monetary problems of their own. They come to the towns and cities to find work through, which they can redress their problems. They hold a firm belief that there is no dearth of work or money if one can utilise his or her own labour.    
A domestic worker is a person who works inside the employer's household on a contractual basis in exchange for cash, kind or both. Now-a-days, domestic workers prefer to get certain amount of money as their monthly salary. They perform a variety of household chores for an individual or a family. Responsibilities may also include cooking and other household errands. Career women prefer to employ lady cooks in the present day elite society due to their busy schedule. Such workers are usually of two types: resident and non-resident. Resident workers reside with the host family as full-time household members, while non-resident workers perform necessary duties and maintain a separate residence of their own. The ILO Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers (2011) has defined “domestic worker’s work” as work performed in or for a household or households, and the term “domestic worker” means any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship.
These female workers, of course, work separately in various households as domestic aide. A few of them work on contractual basis in three to four different households round the clock and earn 20 to 25 thousand Taka per month. Another group of women work as full time aide in different households and each of them earn 10 to 15 thousand Taka per month. Their meal and other necessities are met by their employers.
They earn these amounts of money not only for catering to their livelihood, but also for savings purpose. These savings may be termed as micro-savings. With these savings, they can buy small plots in the villages for erecting small houses for old parents or for their children. Some of them buy agricultural lands, take lease of ponds for fishing, cattle for rearing, and so on. A few of them maintain small businesses in the corner or along the footpaths of towns and cities like Dhaka from the afternoon up to midnight.
These female workers are mostly deserted by their husbands, or are widows, unmarried or destitute.  They take up this profession with diligence and perseverance; and they do not have to borrow huge amounts of money for engaging in this kind of job. They come from small villages to towns and cities for the purpose of micro-savings. They only borrow some money for meeting incidental expenses during their journey to new workplaces. They can easily repay that borrowed money after getting their first salary. It is not a big issue for them.
A female worker named Saleha has been working as a domestic aide on contractual basis in four different households in a day in Dhaka city. She can earn up to Taka 25 thousand per month. Her monthly expenditure never crosses Taka five thousand as she takes her meals in the households where she works; and she lives with her relatives by paying them a lump-sum of amount of around Taka one thousand.
Saleha, a self-motivated lady, saves money to repay her mother’s loan. Her mother went abroad as a domestic worker after borrowing a large sum of money from one of her relatives. Now Saleha has been repaying that loan from her micro-savings in instalments.    
This is the real scenario of female domestic workers from villages in our present-day society, where women are not merely thinking of taking food two or three times a day. They do not want to live from hand to mouth only. They are resilient workers and strive to honestly pursue their work for the purpose of micro-savings. Their micro-savings are creating a wave of silent revolution in the rural economy of Bangladesh. The female workers are also becoming self-reliant in this way. They are becoming well-off as well. Their wards are receiving proper education, food and clothing with accommodation. Their social consciousness is in most cases at par with the national level. The youths in the villages are also fashion-conscious and are conversant with most modern-day amenities similar to the city youths.
The conscious people as well as opinion leaders in our rural society should guide the female workers to become more involved in micro-savings from their hard-earned income. Their micro-savings must not be ignored. These savings could help build a sound economy which can transform the age-old rural way of life into a modern one. It is ultimately contributing to our country becoming a middle-income one by the year 2021. It would not be an exaggeration to refer to the female workers’ micro-savings as a significant contributor to bringing the laurel of a middle income country for Bangladesh.
 Courtesy: PID-UNICEF

Benefits of micro-saving must not be ignored

These female workers are mostly deserted by their husbands, or are widows, unmarried or destitute. They take up this profession with diligence and perseverance; and they do not have to borrow huge amounts of money for engaging in this kind of job

A huge number of female workers steps into towns and cities like Dhaka in search of domestic work. All of them are diligent and want to become self-reliant. In particular, many of them had monetary problems of their own. They come to the towns and cities to find work through, which they can redress their problems. They hold a firm belief that there is no dearth of work or money if one can utilise his or her own labour. A domestic worker is a person who works inside the employers household on a contractual basis in exchange for cash, kind or both. Now-a-days, domestic workers prefer to get certain amount of money as their monthly salary. They perform a variety of household chores for an individual or a family. Responsibilities may also include cooking and other household errands. Career women prefer to employ lady cooks in the present day elite society due to their busy schedule. Such workers are usually of two types: resident and non-resident. Resident workers reside with the host family as full-time household members, while non-resident workers perform necessary duties and maintain a separate residence of their own. The ILO Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers (2011) has defined domestic workers work as work performed in or for a household or households, and the term domestic worker means any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship. These female workers, of course, work separately in various households as domestic aide. A few of them work on contractual basis in three to four different households round the clock and earn 20 to 25 thousand Taka per month. Another group of women work as full time aide in different households and each of them earn 10 to 15 thousand Taka per month. Their meal and other necessities are met by their employers. They earn these amounts of money not only for catering to their livelihood, but also for savings purpose. These savings may be termed as micro-savings. With these savings, they can buy small plots in the villages for erecting small houses for old parents or for their children. Some of them buy agricultural lands, take lease of ponds for fishing, cattle for rearing, and so on. A few of them maintain small businesses in the corner or along the footpaths of towns and cities like Dhaka from the afternoon up to midnight. These female workers are mostly deserted by their husbands, or are widows, unmarried or destitute. They take up this profession with diligence and perseverance; and they do not have to borrow huge amounts of money for engaging in this kind of job. They come from small villages to towns and cities for the purpose of micro-savings. They only borrow some money for meeting incidental expenses during their journey to new workplaces. They can easily repay that borrowed money after getting their first salary. It is not a big issue for them. A female worker named Saleha has been working as a domestic aide on contractual basis in four different households in a day in Dhaka city. She can earn up to Taka 25 thousand per month. Her monthly expenditure never crosses Taka five thousand as she takes her meals in the households where she works; and she lives with her relatives by paying them a lump-sum of amount of around Taka one thousand. Saleha, a self-motivated lady, saves money to repay her mothers loan. Her mother went abroad as a domestic worker after borrowing a large sum of money from one of her relatives. Now Saleha has been repaying that loan from her micro-savings in instalments. This is the real scenario of female domestic workers from villages in our present-day society, where women are not merely thinking of taking food two or three times a day. They do not want to live from hand to mouth only. They are resilient workers and strive to honestly pursue their work for the purpose of micro-savings. Their micro-savings are creating a wave of silent revolution in the rural economy of Bangladesh. The female workers are also becoming self-reliant in this way. They are becoming well-off as well. Their wards are receiving proper education, food and clothing with accommodation. Their social consciousness is in most cases at par with the national level. The youths in the villages are also fashion-conscious and are conversant with most modern-day amenities similar to the city youths. The conscious people as well as opinion leaders in our rural society should guide the female workers to become more involved in micro-savings from their hard-earned income. Their micro-savings must not be ignored. These savings could help build a sound economy which can transform the age-old rural way of life into a modern one. It is ultimately contributing to our country becoming a middle-income one by the year 2021. It would not be an exaggeration to refer to the female workers micro-savings as a significant contributor to bringing the laurel of a middle income country for Bangladesh. Courtesy: PID-UNICEF