KARACHI: A Women’s Assembly, organized by the Sindh Community Foundation (SCF) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Foundation, was held under the theme “Claiming Safe Working Conditions and Climate Justice.” The event brought together over 90 participants, including women agricultural workers and advocates, to voice concerns about exploitative wages, exclusion from labour protections, and the adverse effects of climate change on women’s health and livelihoods. This issue disproportionately affects over one million women working in the cotton industry across Sindh.
SCF Executive Director Javed Hussain emphasized the urgent need for social protection programs for women in agriculture, particularly given their heightened vulnerability to climate-related challenges. He stated, “Climate change is not just an environmental issue, it’s a growing threat to the health and dignity of rural women workers.”
Hussain also pointed out the lack of enforcement of the Sindh Women Agricultural Workers Act (2019), which mandates minimum wage, healthcare, maternity benefits, and social security, but remains unimplemented in rural areas. Nadeem Shah, representing the Sindh Abadgar Board, added that more than 70% of agricultural labor in the province is performed by women, yet they remain unrecognized under labor laws. He called for the classification of agriculture as an industry to ensure enforceable labor protections.
The assembly concluded with a set of demands, including the immediate enforcement of the Sindh Women Agricultural Workers Act, 2019; effective monitoring of minimum wage compliance; universal health insurance and social protection coverage for workers; inclusion of women in welfare boards and compensation schemes; labor rights awareness campaigns targeting landlords and contractors; climate adaptation measures; and expanded outreach efforts.
