The Hon. (Ms.) Krishnan Kalaichelvi

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, on this 114th International Women’s Day, I wish to raise issues of my community in the estates.

¶ 02 Women across sectors—agriculture, state enterprises, handloom, apparel—have been discussed here. As a woman born, raised, and living in the plantations, I know the scent of their toil. Despite earning vital foreign exchange for the country, women of the estates, youth and workers alike, live very hard lives due to economic pressures. The injustices faced by plantation women are beyond words or books; we consider the long failure to secure monthly salaries for estate workers a human rights issue. Those who ruled this country should apologize to plantation women for not ensuring monthly wages over the years.

¶ 03 Women in estates often work from 4.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., climbing hills to pluck. Unlike women in factories or government offices, they lack even basic facilities—no toilets or rest rooms in the fields. Please ensure such basic amenities hereafter. They also face harm from animals and a lack of safety. We need an insurance scheme and monthly salary regularization. Compared to other women, estate women face two or three times the difficulties.

¶ 04 The 2025 Budget—the first of the 10th Parliament by the National People’s Power Government—has allocated funds across sectors for women, including those in the estates, children, the sick and the elderly. I support its implementation for these needs. Thank you.