{"id":71471,"date":"2026-04-21T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/?post_type=feature&#038;p=71471"},"modified":"2026-04-21T10:56:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T05:26:22","slug":"women-in-karnatakas-beedi-industry-fight-for-their-rights","status":"publish","type":"feature","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/features\/rights\/women-in-karnatakas-beedi-industry-fight-for-their-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018One day, one day, the women will go out to protest\u2026\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"A day in the life of: Union leaders organising women in Karnataka's beedi industry\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/34u8LhyEalE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>We are members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/neralu.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Neralu<\/a> Beedi Workers&rsquo; Union in Davanagere, Karnataka. Since 2014, our union has organised more than 1,400 women employed as informal workers in the beedi industry. Over the course of our journey, we have secured significant victories for our fellow workers&mdash;including long-overdue wage increases and an end to the manipulation and control over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/23311886.2024.2437249#d1e434\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tobacco passbooks<\/a> by contractors.<\/p><p>With time, what began as a struggle against exploitation by beedi companies evolved into a collective institution for support and advocacy.<\/p><p>The families in our locality are predominantly from Muslim and Dalit communities. Along with taking up matters related to the beedi industry, our union has <a href=\"https:\/\/hindi.idronline.org\/groundup\/mahila-beedi-union-aur-matr-swasthy-sewaayein\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mobilised<\/a> around issues of social, economic, and political justice. These include ensuring access to dignified maternal healthcare in local government hospitals, social security entitlements, and school enrolment for our children. Given that people from our community are often denied access to formal banking facilities, we have also set up our own women-run cooperative bank so our members can take loans for their family&rsquo;s needs.<\/p><div class=\"idron-article-in-content\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\" id=\"idron-1481263618\"><a href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/what-is-idr-answers\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"What is IDR Answers Page Banner\"><img src=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1.png\" alt=\"What is IDR Answers Page Banner\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1.png 1250w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-300x60.png 300w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-1024x205.png 1024w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-150x30.png 150w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-768x154.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" width=\"1250\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div><p>There are approximately 10,000 women engaged in beedi rolling in Davanagere. Over the next few years, our aim is to organise more workers and push for an end to oppressive practices.<\/p><p>Watch this video to follow a day in our lives and our struggle for the rights of unorganised workers in the beedi industry.<\/p><p>&mdash;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-know-more\">Know more<\/h3><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Watch this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KqUBQlb-u1s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">interview<\/a> with Jabeena Khanum on organising women to form the Neralu Beedi Workers&rsquo; Union.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Read this <a href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/features\/rights\/interview-with-rajim-ketwas-chhattisgarhs-labour-and-gender-rights-activist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">interview<\/a> with Rajim Ketwas, co-founder of the Dalit Adivasi Manch, as she reflects on her activism and role in the labour movement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"idron-troublemakers-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\" id=\"idron-2175455168\"><a href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/donate\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"donate banner\"><img src=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1.jpg\" alt=\"donate banner\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1.jpg 1250w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-300x60.jpg 300w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-1024x205.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-150x30.jpg 150w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-768x154.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" width=\"1250\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":71475,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[38,582,11,2652],"tags":[3577,3628,3653,3666,3736],"series":[],"meta-filter":[],"schema-filter":[743],"no-display":[],"class_list":["post-71471","feature","type-feature","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-day-in-the-life-of","category-instagram","category-livelihoods","category-rights","tag-activism","tag-female-labour-force-participation","tag-informal-sector","tag-marginalised-communities","tag-women-rights","contributor-nageena-banu","contributor-shakeela-banu","states-karnataka","schema-filter-article"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Women in Karnataka\u2019s beedi industry fight for their rights | IDR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A day in the life of two union leaders fighting for fair working conditions in Karnataka\u2019s beedi industry and for the rights of their community.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/features\/rights\/women-in-karnatakas-beedi-industry-fight-for-their-rights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"kn_IN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018One day, one day, the women will go out to protest\u2026\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/34u8LhyEalE We are members of the Neralu Beedi Workers\u2019 Union in Davanagere, Karnataka. 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