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The Impact of COVID on Kerala Fish-vending Women

Author

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  • Johnson Jament
  • Caroline Osella

Abstract

This article discusses women’s role in Kerala’s small-scale marine fishing industry and changes that took place during COVID-19. Pandemic conditions enabled and accelerated the restructuring of Kerala’s fishing industry practices, leaving marginal groups even more marginal. Small-scale producers and sellers were edged out by larger players in a new wholesale market. Meanwhile, female vendors who utilised public transport and face-to-face sales methods found themselves locked out from new retail methods introduced during the pandemic, which made use of smartphone apps, online platforms, and private light vehicles. Underemployed workers with access to digital technology and mobility moved in to fill the lockdown retail gap. The Gulf states’ continuing squeeze on jobs and resultant migration slow-down contributed to these trends. Female fish-vending activity has also been affected by Kerala’s acceleration of bourgeois respectability norms. The state government’s modernisation and centralisation policies also led to the shrinking of women’s spaces in fish auction markets. Recent inequalities in digital and mobility access sit on top of longstanding entrenched class and status inequities and conservative gender norms, while the enduring chronic ‘wicked problem’ of Kerala’s unemployment levels demands urgent attention.

Suggested Citation

  • Johnson Jament & Caroline Osella, 2024. "The Impact of COVID on Kerala Fish-vending Women," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 61-84, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:indgen:v:31:y:2024:i:1:p:61-84
    DOI: 10.1177/09715215231217071
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. A. L. Ashni & R. Santhosh, 2019. "Catholic Church, Fishers and Negotiating Development: A Study on the Vizhinjam Port Project," Review of Development and Change, , vol. 24(2), pages 187-204, December.
    2. J. Devika, 2017. "Surviving in Contemporary Kerala: Reflections from Recent Research in a Fisher Village," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 48(2), pages 364-386, March.
    3. Jayan Jose Thomas & M. P. Jayesh, 2019. "Labour Market in Kerala: Examining the Role of Industrial and Employment Policies," Springer Books, in: K. R. Shyam Sundar (ed.), Globalization, Labour Market Institutions, Processes and Policies in India, chapter 0, pages 471-498, Springer.
    4. Keetie Roelen & Caroline Ackley & Paul Boyce & Nicolas Farina & Santiago Ripoll, 2020. "COVID-19 in LMICs: The Need to Place Stigma Front and Centre to Its Response," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(5), pages 1592-1612, December.
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