Socio-Economic Status of Female Brick Kiln Workers in Yerala River Basin

This paper focuses on female brick kiln workers in the Yerala river basin and studies their socio-economic status. Uday Pareekh methodology was adopted to study the socio-economic condition of these female brick kiln workers. This study examines factors such as caste, occupation, education, social participation, land, farm power, material possession and family type. There are total of 146 female brick kiln workers, with the majority belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC). Their occupation is primarily as labourers, although some also engage in farming. Most of the female brick kiln workers are illiterate, and very few have received higher education. The social participation of these female brick kiln workers is very low. They own little land, and some have no land at all. Their houses are built with unbaked bricks. Since these female brick kiln workers come from other states and districts, they do not own any livestock. Almost all of them own a mobile phone. The number of family members is less than five, and they live in joint families. 52 per cent of the female brick kiln workers belong to the lower middle class.