KARACHI - There are 8.52 million home-based workers in the country representing 60 percent of women work force denied of rights extended to workers defined as labourers in the country.
Since these home based workers, be they men or women, are associated with informal sector, therefore despite working 12 to 16 hours a day are yet to be provided legal protection and other facilities provided to their colleagues working in formal sectors.
Interestingly it is the informal sector that has acquired great significance over the years as a source of employment and livelihoods for an increasing number of people, especially women.
“In our country it has become a key mechanism for distributing goods and services to the urban poor,” said Umme Laila an economist and a senior activist.
These Pakistani home based women workers are piece rate workers involved in manufacturing post manufacturing tasks as embroidery, carpet weaving and hand-loom, bangle making, prawn peeling and packing, wood work, making nd packing incense sticks, filling matches, binding and making boxes and gem cutting embroidery.
All these meticulous, back breaking and time consuming chores hardly provide them wages enough to meet their needs with nil protection guaranteed under law of the land as Payment of Wages Act, Industrial Relations Ordinance, Maternity Benefit Ordinance and Employers Old Age Benefit.
These women usually come from lower or lower middle class income back ground again with very little or no education and skill training.
“The capacity of these women to improve their condition is further curbed by their insignificance within political and social systems,” said Mehnaz Rehman of Aurat Foundation.
  This, Umme Laila said is linked directly to inappropriate government policies, no access to information and resources, poor quality of services and gender inequalities.
  Special focus is needed to redress their plight with legal cover provision to counter the ongoing exploitation, said the two activists.