| About Us
HomeNet South Asia
is a network organisation of women homebased workers
promoted by UNIFEM and SEWA. It was set up after the Kathmandu Declaration , formulated in an international
conference convened in Nepal in year 2000. The formal launching of HomeNet South Asia was held on January
17, 2007 in the Conference “Women Work & Poverty Policy Conference on Home Based Workers of South Asia” which was inaugurated by Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh.
In South Asia there are about 50 million homebased
workers, out of whom approximately 80% are women. The
Asia region is a key area for organising homebased
workers due to their high number and a strong history
of successfully organising these workers in many parts
of the region. |
Prime Minister of India- Dr. Manmohan Singh at “Women work & Poverty” policy conference at New Delhi from 18th-20th Jan. 2007 |
|
HomeNet South Asia is the subregional network, and
members of HomeNet South Asia are national (country)
networks of homebased workers. These are expanding in
India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, and
the networks developed in these countries include
HomeNet Bangladesh, HomeNet India, HomeNet Nepal,
HomeNet Pakistan and HomeNet Sri Lanka. In the future
more national networks may be added, drawing from
other countries in South Asia. The process of forming
a national network often begins with one focal
organisation that works with other homebased workers’
organisations in the country, resulting over time in
the establishment of a national network that can help
provide information and services to homebased workers
in the country.
|
Click here to enlarge
(L-R) Dr. Manmohan Singh (Prime Minister, India), Shri Elaben Bhatt ( Founder, SEWA), Shri Renana Jhabvala ( National Coordinator, SEWA),
Zaitun bibi (Agarbatti Worker, SEWA)
|
|
Objectives of Homenet South Asia
The objectives of
HomeNet South Asia are as follows.
-
Make visible
homebased workers and their issues
-
Advocate for
National Policies for homebased workers in each
country
-
Strengthen the
grass roots and particularly the membership-based
organisations of homebased workers in each country
-
Create and
strengthen the South Asia network of homebased
workers and their organisations
|
Padma Gurung Home Based Worker from Nepal |
