A NETWORK FOR STRENGTHENING HOMEBASED WORKERS
The Journey of Home Based workers in the South Asia

In South Asia, there are about 50 million homebased workers, out of whom 80% are women. The Asian Region is a key area for organizing homebased workers due to the high number and a strong history of successfully organizing these workers.

         
         
         



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The Journey of Home Based workers
The Journey of Home Based workers at the South Asian level stared with the Katmandu Declaration in 2000. HomeNet in South Asian regions were given a new thought and new dimension in the achievement of the Millennium development goals; eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and the reduction in poverty among women.
In many developing countries, and lately increasingly so in many industrialized countries, the vast scale and rate of growth of the informal sector presents a dilemma and a challenge for governments, social partners and the civil society alike. A dilemma, as the informal sector encompasses employment situations which not only differ from those in the formal sector, but also infringe upon established rules and laws. A challenge, as it absorbs a large and growing fraction of the labour force and provides a "safety net" for the poor, finding themselves excluded from formal employment and income opportunities. The growing informalization of the economy has caused a rise in the number of women who work - participation rates of women in the informal sector.
While the data about informal activities are somewhat unreliable, there is consensus that the informal sector is steadily growing in almost all developing countries so much so that it was widely accepted at the South Asian level that there is no policy or legislation for the informal sector and specifically talking about women in the formal sector.
HomeNets after the Delhi Policy Conference in 2007 January started the initiative of policy making for the Home Based Women Workers. HomeNet Pakistan along with its partners; and most significantly Sungi Foundation and Aurat Foundation taking the lead in policy making process collaborated with the Ministry of Woman Development. The ministry took the initiative and organized a two day consultation meeting on the status of Home based women workers in collaboration with UNIFEM, HomeNet Pakistan and Sungi Development Foundation on June, 2007 with all stakeholders of country. The initiative was in response to the agenda of a HomeNet South Asia plan on Social Protection for Home based workers of South Asia and as a follow-up of commitment given by Ministry of Women Development. The Ministry of Women’s Development (MoWD) is commended for taking the lead in addressing this issue and supported HomeNet and Sungi to take up the coordination role and prepare draft National policy on Home based women workers.
In the process of drafting a National Policy for Home base Women Workers with the objective of bringing the real working force in the lime light, a series of National, Provincial and District consultations were held all over Pakistan involving the stakeholders and women workers in the process of policy making .Their suggestions and demands were incorporated in the draft of the policy and finally the draft was shared at the South Asian level in Islamabad on 14-15 October 2008.
Indeed it’s a big achievement after elongated and strenuous one and a half year endeavors of the staff at National and Provincial level and district teams (stakeholders) we were able to achieve the first step of our target. HomeNet Pakistan graciously acknowledges the support, collaboration, and partnership of Sungi Development Foundation, Aurat Foundation, UNIFEM, ILO and HomeNet South Asia in making the whole process attainable.