Hollow promises: ‘Celebrating Women’s Day a mockery when LHWs go unpaid’

Lady health workers set March 15 as a final deadline before going on all-out strike.

MINGORA:

While International Women’s Day was celebrated around the globe, thousands of lady health workers (LHWs) continued to fight for their right – the right to be paid for services rendered. Without their monthly dues, the stoves of over 1,200 households have been turned off.

“Our salaries have not been paid for the past four months, leaving us financially paralysed,” Swat Lady Health Workers Association President Naheed Bahadar told The Express Tribune. “The government promised to release salaries starting March because we have been protesting but it’s still not been done.”

“They also promised to regularise LHWs, but as it turns out – just hollow words,” Bahadar added. “We have set March 15 as the deadline after which we will stop doing our job.”

Representatives of LHWs in Swat have said there is no use of celebrating International Women’s Day if they are going to be degraded and their children left hungry.

“It is useless celebrating the day at five-star hotels when women are humiliated for the jobs they do instead of being appreciated,” said Saima Zahoor, an LHW in Mingora. “The school administration has sent me a final warning, saying my children will be suspended if I fail to submit the fee this month.

“Apart from our regular duties, we also perform additional tasks such as conducting polio campaigns in distant areas at a risk to our lives,” stated another LHW, Shagufta.

“The male-dominated society considers it our duty to take up additional tasks, but when it comes to paying salaries, nobody recognises us,” said Alia Wahab, a worker from Dherai in Kabal.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2014.