Livelihood Challenges in Handicraft Industry: A Qualitative Study on Poverty and Exploitation of Women Artisans in Srinagar

Abstract

This study was framed to gain an in-depth understanding and first-hand experiences of women artisans of Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Purposive and snowball sampling were employed in conducting the study. In this study, 20 Kashmiri women artisans were interviewed. Face-to-face interviews based on open-ended and descriptive questions were probed. Several interpretative and specific questions were also asked during the interview process to ensure thoroughness. The collected data were read multiple times to achieve familiarization and then compared with other data sets and interpreted thematically. The following themes emerged from the data set by application of descriptive phenomenology (a) financial hardships, (b) exploitation of women artisans in handicrafts sector under different agents, (c) exploitation in the form of low wages, (d) impact of conflict and (e) livelihood challenges and pathways to sustain women artisans livelihood. The findings also reveal that artisans had suffered dramatically due to two lockdowns: the lockdown imposed because of the removal of Article 370 of India’s constitution, which guaranteed special status to citizens of J&K, and the lockdown imposed as a result of Covid-19.