In the vast factory floor at Acharpura in Bhopal, more than 450 women are learning to measure out and stitch garments destined for export to other countries. Each and every one of them has crossed the threshold from their house to the workplace for the first time. The whirring and clicking of the sewing machines drown out all other noise. But the women are focused on the job at hand.
“I kissed my daughter’s forehead and thanked god for giving me this opportunity. It feels that things will now get better in my life,” says 27-year-old Seema while flattening a strip of cloth and rolling the sewing machine into action. She joined the workforce just two months ago, in December 2022, and is still part of the factory’s trainee programme.
In Madhya Pradesh’s industrial village of Acharpura, thousands of women from nearby shanties and villages have discovered financial freedom by working in the state’s nascent but growing garment manufacturing industry. Most have taken up jobs at a new factory run by Bengaluru-based Gokaldas Exports Limited, where Seema works.
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When Gokaldas came to Acharpura
Gokaldas is one of India’s largest garment manufacturers and exports to over 50 countries. At the launch of its factory in Acharpura in January, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan promised that it would provide 5,000 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs.
Seema, who hails from the nearby Karadi village, earns a minimum wage of around Rs 12,000 a month. It’s more than what she earned as a labourer at a construction site—a job she was forced to take up after her husband’s untimely death due to an illness.
The factory came up in a record 15 months on a 10-acre property after the Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation leased it to Gokaldas in 2021.
Once Seema and the other women complete their three-month training programme, operations will begin in full swing.
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Learning, earning, growing
At this factory, women are taught how to sew, stitch, iron and wash clothes. There’s a steady hum of activity on the floor: Rolls of fabric are opened and straightened on long tables as giant washing machines rumble in the background. In another corner, a group of women run their fingers along hemlines, looking for loose threads and defects in the clothes.
A female supervisor guides the trainees when required.
The textile sector, which accounts for more than two per cent of India’s GDP, is also the second largest provider of employment after agriculture—particularly for women, who constitute 60-80 per cent of its workforce as of 2021. The factory floor in Acharpura reflects this trend, as 90 per cent of its employees are women.
“These women are from Acharpura and nearby villages. They are unskilled; most are using a sewing machine for the first time. Before the company starts its operations, it is teaching them how to work,” says floor supervisor Himanshi Sharma, who has been in the garment business for four years and hails from Indore.
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A beacon of hope for women
It may not be 25-year-old Khushnuma Ali’s dream job, but it pays the bills and helps her contribute to household expenses. Despite having a Master’s degree in social work, she could not find a job. Finally, in November, when she returned home disappointed after several rejections, a friend told her about the garment factory coming up in the industrial area.
She showed up the very next day and met the manager from Indore. “I told [Sharma] that I was desperately looking for a job, and that I was ready to produce garments despite my different work experience,” she recalls. Ali was hired quickly, and she joined the factory on 25 December. “I am learning the art of sewing, and I feel confident now,” she said.
The garment factory is proving to be a shot in the arm for the local economy. Newly constructed dhabas, small hotels and tea stalls have come up on the road leading up to the factory. The mood is buoyant.
“Even the guards and pantry staff are local residents. Soon, we will start the second phase of production [cutting fabric], which will create at least 2,000 direct jobs,” said the north region’s commercial head, Gopal Nandan.
On the factory floor, 45-year-old Asha, sporting a Bengali saree and a big Bindi, is leagues ahead of the other trainees. As a young woman, sewing was her passion, but family and children took precedence. Her love for sewing faded over time but returned as soon as she heard about the garment factory.
“All I knew was sewing. And now, my skill can help me earn a livelihood. I will also contribute and live life my own way. Financial independence is an important step toward equality for women.”
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)