Women Food Vendors in the Hills of Manipur: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Ukhrul a hill district in Manipur State, India was selected for a study of women food vendors. One of the key objectives of the study was to find out the many reasons that drive them into food vending venture and to draw a light upon their everyday struggle. Purposive sampling method was used for the study. The investigator used in-depth interview method with the help of structured interview schedule. The leading factor that came up when looked into the reason that drives them into this business was for them to be able to provide for their family livelihood. Most of the women belonged to a less privilege backgrounds and for them to be able to have a means to make available the needs for their family and be independent financially is a strong hold of empowerment and motivation. Poor educational background and lack of other employment opportunities compel most of these women to look for an occupation like food vending that does not require much start-up capital and requires little or no educational qualification. Major management of their family needs was met by their income. Food variety and availability for their own family consumption significantly magnifies when women enters this venture. The major challenges experience by them in their business was their constant everyday struggle to get profit from their perishable food items before they get spoiled while keeping up with their fellow competitors. Dealing with complains and disapproval of occupation of certain space by permanent shop keepers and local authorities are also their common struggle. They make the food preferred by the people in the region easily available in the street at cheap affordable prices and making the street effortlessly lively as well with their presence. But yet their contribution for the society in which they exist still seems to be invisible or ignored in general with hardly any provision of basic facilities such as vending sheds or toilets, etc. Measures to meet their basic necessities and improving their social security, needs to be urgently addressed by the concerned authorities.