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Abstract

This paper is based on fieldwork regarding brick kiln workers in the Sivasagar district of Assam, located in Northeast India. Apart from family migration, women migrate alone to these brick kilns in search of work opportunities. Despite progress, evidence suggests that many women who work in brick kilns are not afforded workplace rights and are underrepresented, unregistered, and paid lesser wages compared to men workers. Many kilns are unregulated and remain outside the purview of workplace laws. Through interviews and conversations with women workers, this paper aims to understand and analyse the dynamics of gender, migration, and work in the brick kilns of the Sivasagar district of Assam. These personal narratives reveal opportunities for the state, NGOs, and the local community to collaborate to improve conditions. The paper concludes by recommending government and NGO intervention to enforce existing child labor laws, establish schools near the kilns, and register kilns so that workplace abuses and wage discrimination against women can be monitored and addressed. This intersectional study contributes new perspectives and strategies that can be used to develop gender-inclusive policies.

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