Srinagar: Shazia Wani had a dream to pursue Ph.D. in English literature. Soon after her Master’s, she started preparing for the entrance test.
Come 2020, the 26-year-old had to give up her plans and work in a private consultancy. Reason: Her father, who runs a crockery shop, faced severe financial distress due to the Covid-induced lockdown.
For the last two years, she is constantly supporting her family. “As soon as our financial situation will improve, I will start preparing for my Ph.D.,” she said.
Shazia is not an isolated case. Many of her friends took up small jobs to support families during the pandemic.
The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey has revealed that the percentage of working women in Jammu and Kashmir has increased in the last three years, particularly post-pandemic.
Compared to 26.5 percent in 2018-19, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of females of all age groups in Jammu and Kashmir has increased to 32.8 percent in 2021.
It is much higher than the national LFPR of 25.1 percent of females of all age groups. Currently, the male LFPR in Jammu and Kashmir is 55.8 percent.
The survey said that the rural women in Jammu and Kashmir contributed more to the LFPR compared to the urban women.
In rural Jammu and Kashmir, the LFPR of females is 35.3 percent compared to 22.3 percent in urban areas.
As per the survey, 46.8 percent of females in the 15-59 age group contributed to the workforce in the union territory compared to 36.3 percent in 2018-19.
It revealed that the work population ratio of women in Jammu and Kashmir has increased to 22.7 percent.
The survey said that Jammu and Kashmir has recorded a total of 57.0 percent ratio of female workers to male workers in technical positions.
Similarly, in managerial positions, the ratio of female workers to male workers is 4.5 percent.
Officials said that more women are choosing entrepreneurship to become financially independent and support families.
A total of 3933 Micro Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) units owned by women have come up in Jammu and Kashmir in the last one year.
Pertinently, the government has launched many schemes for women.
`HAUSLA’ is one such comprehensive program, which aims to promote women entrepreneurship in UT. Under this scheme, the government has set a target of providing financial assistance to 50,000 Kashmiri youth, particularly women.
