Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
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Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): &lt;/em&gt;On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &amp;ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &amp;lsquo;New India&amp;rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&amp;rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&amp;rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&amp;rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&amp;rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&amp;rsquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &amp;ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want to do that.&amp;rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &amp;ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&amp;rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &amp;ndash; known as a &amp;lsquo;mid-day meal&amp;rsquo; &amp;ndash; in government primary schools. India&amp;rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&amp;rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more. &lt;br /&gt;
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Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day...&#039;,
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&lt;em&gt;Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): &lt;/em&gt;On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &amp;ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &amp;lsquo;New India&amp;rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&amp;rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&amp;rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&amp;rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&amp;rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&amp;rsquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &amp;ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want to do that.&amp;rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &amp;ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&amp;rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &amp;ndash; known as a &amp;lsquo;mid-day meal&amp;rsquo; &amp;ndash; in government primary schools. India&amp;rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&amp;rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more. &lt;br /&gt;
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Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-TheWire.in&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): &lt;/em&gt;On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &amp;ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &amp;lsquo;New India&amp;rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&amp;rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&amp;rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&amp;rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&amp;rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&amp;rsquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &amp;ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want to do that.&amp;rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &amp;ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&amp;rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &amp;ndash; known as a &amp;lsquo;mid-day meal&amp;rsquo; &amp;ndash; in government primary schools. India&amp;rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&amp;rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot; title=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day..."/>
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                <strong>How Much Is a Woman&#039;s Labour Worth? Rs 37 a Day, According to the Indian Govt -Neha Dixit</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-TheWire.in<br /><br /><em>Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.<br /><br />Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): </em>On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&rdquo;.<br /><br />&ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &lsquo;New India&rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.<br /><br />The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.<br /><br />According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.<br /><br />The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.<br /><em><br />&lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&rsquo;</em><br /><br />Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&rsquo;t want to do that.&rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&rdquo;<br /><br />In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &ndash; known as a &lsquo;mid-day meal&rsquo; &ndash; in government primary schools. India&rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.<br /><br />Please <a href="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages" title="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages">click here</a> to read more. <br /></div>               </font>
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-TheWire.in&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): &lt;/em&gt;On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &amp;ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &amp;lsquo;New India&amp;rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&amp;rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&amp;rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&amp;rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&amp;rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&amp;rsquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &amp;ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want to do that.&amp;rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &amp;ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&amp;rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &amp;ndash; known as a &amp;lsquo;mid-day meal&amp;rsquo; &amp;ndash; in government primary schools. India&amp;rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&amp;rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more. &lt;br /&gt;
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Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day...&#039;,
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-TheWire.in&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): &lt;/em&gt;On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &amp;ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &amp;lsquo;New India&amp;rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&amp;rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&amp;rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&amp;rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&amp;rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&amp;rsquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &amp;ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want to do that.&amp;rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &amp;ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&amp;rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &amp;ndash; known as a &amp;lsquo;mid-day meal&amp;rsquo; &amp;ndash; in government primary schools. India&amp;rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&amp;rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more. &lt;br /&gt;
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-TheWire.in

Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day...&#039;
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Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day..."/>
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                <strong>How Much Is a Woman&#039;s Labour Worth? Rs 37 a Day, According to the Indian Govt -Neha Dixit</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-TheWire.in<br /><br /><em>Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.<br /><br />Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): </em>On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&rdquo;.<br /><br />&ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &lsquo;New India&rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.<br /><br />The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.<br /><br />According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.<br /><br />The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.<br /><em><br />&lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&rsquo;</em><br /><br />Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&rsquo;t want to do that.&rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&rdquo;<br /><br />In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &ndash; known as a &lsquo;mid-day meal&rsquo; &ndash; in government primary schools. India&rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.<br /><br />Please <a href="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages" title="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages">click here</a> to read more. <br /></div>               </font>
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-TheWire.in&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): &lt;/em&gt;On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &amp;ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &amp;lsquo;New India&amp;rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&amp;rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&amp;rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&amp;rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&amp;rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&amp;rsquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &amp;ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want to do that.&amp;rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &amp;ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&amp;rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &amp;ndash; known as a &amp;lsquo;mid-day meal&amp;rsquo; &amp;ndash; in government primary schools. India&amp;rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&amp;rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more. &lt;br /&gt;
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-TheWire.in

Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-TheWire.in&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): &lt;/em&gt;On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &amp;ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &amp;lsquo;New India&amp;rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&amp;rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&amp;rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&amp;rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&amp;rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&amp;rsquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &amp;ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want to do that.&amp;rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &amp;ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&amp;rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &amp;ndash; known as a &amp;lsquo;mid-day meal&amp;rsquo; &amp;ndash; in government primary schools. India&amp;rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&amp;rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot; title=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-TheWire.in&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): &lt;/em&gt;On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &amp;ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &amp;lsquo;New India&amp;rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&amp;rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&amp;rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&amp;rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&amp;rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&amp;rsquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &amp;ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want to do that.&amp;rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &amp;ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&amp;rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &amp;ndash; known as a &amp;lsquo;mid-day meal&amp;rsquo; &amp;ndash; in government primary schools. India&amp;rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&amp;rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more. &lt;br /&gt;
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-TheWire.in

Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &amp;ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &amp;ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day...&#039;
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Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day..."/>
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                <strong>How Much Is a Woman&#039;s Labour Worth? Rs 37 a Day, According to the Indian Govt -Neha Dixit</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-TheWire.in<br /><br /><em>Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.<br /><br />Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): </em>On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&rdquo;.<br /><br />&ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &lsquo;New India&rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.<br /><br />The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.<br /><br />According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.<br /><br />The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.<br /><em><br />&lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&rsquo;</em><br /><br />Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&rsquo;t want to do that.&rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&rdquo;<br /><br />In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &ndash; known as a &lsquo;mid-day meal&rsquo; &ndash; in government primary schools. India&rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.<br /><br />Please <a href="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages" title="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages">click here</a> to read more. <br /></div>               </font>
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-TheWire.in<br />
<br />
<em>Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.<br />
<br />
Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): </em>On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&rdquo;.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &lsquo;New India&rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.<br />
<br />
The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.<br />
<br />
According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.<br />
<br />
The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.<br />
<em><br />
&lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&rsquo;</em><br />
<br />
Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&rsquo;t want to do that.&rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &ndash; known as a &lsquo;mid-day meal&rsquo; &ndash; in government primary schools. India&rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.<br />
<br />
Please <a href="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages">click here</a> to read more. <br />
</div>',
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-TheWire.in

Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day...',
	'disp' => '<div align="justify">-TheWire.in<br /><br /><em>Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.<br /><br />Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): </em>On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&rdquo;.<br /><br />&ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &lsquo;New India&rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.<br /><br />The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.<br /><br />According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.<br /><br />The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.<br /><em><br />&lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&rsquo;</em><br /><br />Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&rsquo;t want to do that.&rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&rdquo;<br /><br />In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &ndash; known as a &lsquo;mid-day meal&rsquo; &ndash; in government primary schools. India&rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.<br /><br />Please <a href="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages" title="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages">click here</a> to read more. <br /></div>',
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-TheWire.in<br />
<br />
<em>Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.<br />
<br />
Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): </em>On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&rdquo;.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &lsquo;New India&rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.<br />
<br />
The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.<br />
<br />
According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.<br />
<br />
The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.<br />
<em><br />
&lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&rsquo;</em><br />
<br />
Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&rsquo;t want to do that.&rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &ndash; known as a &lsquo;mid-day meal&rsquo; &ndash; in government primary schools. India&rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.<br />
<br />
Please <a href="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages">click here</a> to read more. <br />
</div>',
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-TheWire.in

Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.

Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day...'
$disp = '<div align="justify">-TheWire.in<br /><br /><em>Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar &ndash; mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities &ndash; are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination.<br /><br />Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): </em>On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his &ldquo;government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India&rdquo;.<br /><br />&ldquo;Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in &lsquo;New India&rsquo;, cooking continues to be women&rsquo;s invisible divine duty?&rdquo; asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar.<br /><br />The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar&rsquo;s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India.<br /><br />According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month.<br /><br />The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy.<br /><em><br />&lsquo;Volunteers, not workers&rsquo;</em><br /><br />Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. &ldquo;All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn&rsquo;t want to do that.&rdquo; Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. &ldquo;My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can&rsquo;t lead a life on rice alone.&rdquo;<br /><br />In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch &ndash; known as a &lsquo;mid-day meal&rsquo; &ndash; in government primary schools. India&rsquo;s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world&rsquo;s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country.<br /><br />Please <a href="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages" title="https://thewire.in/labour/mid-day-meal-cooks-women-wages">click here</a> to read more. <br /></div>'
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How Much Is a Woman's Labour Worth? Rs 37 a Day, According to the Indian Govt -Neha Dixit

-TheWire.in Mid-day meal cooks in Bihar – mostly women from Dalit and Adivasi communities – are subject to the worst kind of institutional gender discrimination. Patna/Jehanabad/Bhojpur (Bihar): On February 11, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi served the third billionth Akshay Patra mid-day meal in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, he said that his “government has given special focus on the nutrition of the children because a healthy childhood is the foundation of New India”. “Modiji talked about his government keeping these children healthy, but who is cooking nutritious food for them? Did he mention them? No. Because in ‘New India’, cooking continues to be women’s invisible divine duty?” asks Poonam, a 40-year-old mid-day meal cook from Jehanabad district in Bihar. The day Modi made this speech, Poonam was participating in the 35th day of a relay hunger strike by Bihar’s 2.5 lakh mid-day meal cooks. They had surrounded Bihar’s legislative assembly to protest what is presently the worst pay gap in India. According to government data, there are 71,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar, which are serving mid-day meals to 1.2 crore children made by over 2,48,000 mid-day meal cooks, most of them women. Each of them is paid Rs 37 per day for cooking mid-day meals for up to 300 students. The cooking takes them 7-8 hours per day. Their salary rounds up to Rs 1,250 per month. The Wire met over 69 mid-day meal cooks, all women, across five districts of Bihar and found out how the Indian state has subjected over 30 lakh women mid-day meal cooks to the worst pay gap and sexual harassment to create a cheap female labour economy. ‘Volunteers, not workers’ Poonam has worked as a cook since 2002. “All my life I had seen my family working as farm labourers on the land of the zamindars. I didn’t want to do that.” Poonam is from the Kahar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste community in Bihar. In a feudal system, Kahars would work as farm labourers for ten hours a day. Till 2002, they were given 10 kg rice and sometimes Rs 10 a day. “My husband used to spend all that money on alcohol. And you can’t lead a life on rice alone.” In 2001, the Supreme Court issued a directive ordering all states to institute a warm school lunch – known as a ‘mid-day meal’ – in government primary schools. India’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world’s largest school feeding programme, reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh schools all over the country. Please click here to read more.