1. Near work place 26.00 35.60 19.60
2. Rent is less 18.00 2.20 0.00
3. Better
communication facility
4.00 17.80 1.80
4. Own house 0.00 6.70 12.50
5. Known person live
4.4.4. The Demographic Characteristics of the Households
The age, sex and the number of family members are important characteristics in
evaluating low-income families. The number and the age would represent the labor force of individual families. It is a general assumption about the bustee dwellers that if the
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families have younger adults, the chances of earning are higher and the chances of settling in urban areas are quicker.
Figure 4.10 shows that the number of family members of Babupara bustee is very low compared to other two settlements. One strategy is to bring the only member who can work and earn in the city from their village home. The single people can also get much cheaper accommodation in the mess unit (see Figure 4.2). The congested space and accommodation problem in Babupara also discourage women and children to live with their husbands. 51.1% of the families in Babupara consists of 3 members whereas families with 5 members is very common in Badal Mia with a share of 28%. In Ershad Nagar, the number of family members can go up to 8 persons as their dwelling space is bigger and as they are owner occupied unlike the others. Therefore, the family structure of the two bustees are nuclear type whereas the Ershad Nagar still continue the extended family structure. This also indicate that the second generation who had born here and also got married did not move to other settlements and most of the cases they extended their dwelling spaces to accommodate themselves without making an extra burden for the legal authorities.
The age graph shows a parallel relation to the family members graph. The age groups who are not adult are less in Babupara than the other two settlements. The highest percentage of 21.5% and 25.6% are between 16-25 and 26-35 respectively in Babupara and can be considered as the most effective work force. The Badal Mia shows a similar feature but comparatively less than Babupara. For Ershad Nagar, both new and old
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generation can be seen. However, it also has a strong workforce like other two bustees and the age group is evenly distributed.
Number of Family Members in Settelements
1 person2 persons3 persons4 persons5 persons6 persons7 persons8 persons
1.Badal M 2.Babupar 3. Ersahd
Family Structure in the Settlements
0.00%
Figure 4.10. The family structure of the households in each settlements (the relation and the number of each family members)
As far as the percentages of male and female among the neighborhoods are concerned, the Ershad Nagar camp shows a higher percentage of female inhabitants in the camp. In the other two bustees the households prefer the boys to stay in the city for earning more money, however, this trend is changing. Today, unlike other tow settlements a huge number of women can be seen opening their enterprises in their dwelling spaces (see Appendix P: Figure35 and Figure 27).
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Age Distribution in Different Settelements
0.00%
The Percentage of Sex in Settlements
48.00%
1. Badal Mia bustee 2. Babupara bustee 3. Ershad Nagar Camp
male female
Figure. 4.11. The Distribution of Age group and the percentages of sex in the Settlements
Although there is a relation between age and education level, the bustee dwellers do not show such a corelation at all. In our study areas, the majority family members are either illiterate or have primary education and this figure is even higher in female members of the bustee dwellers. Although two bustees shows very similar features, the Ershad Nagar camp shows an improvement in education level, where 5% at least have continued with
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higher education, like college and universities (see Figure 4.12). This implies that next generation would be better educated but up to what extent they have access to white collar job is still a question mark.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
male female male female male female
1. Illetarate 2. Primary 3. Secondary 4. College 5. University
Badal Mia Babupara Ersahd nagar
Education Level by Sex in Different Settlements
Figure 4.12. The Relation between Education and Sex group in the Settlements Age above 16 is always an important factor in getting a job in the western world but in the case of Third world countries, this age limit is not usually maintained. Child labor always had significant contributions in the families of low-income and contributed to the economic sector as well (see Appendix P: Figure 4).
There is a relation between age, sex and the types of job they have for earning money.
The percentage of child labor is 30.2% in Badal Mia (see Appendix C1). They work in different formal and informal sectors in the surrounding areas. As Badal Mia is closer to different factories and business enterprises the under-aged boys get jobs near by. This figure is also high as girls under 15 get jobs in the garments factories. For them, the
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sooner they start the job the more money they can earn in the long run. These girls get jobs with the help of known persons and first they start as a trainer. Young boys on the other hand, work with their fathers who own petty business or workshops, such as rickshaw, taxi, and baby-taxi garages. Part-time students also work in such jobs but they also work as street vendors selling seasonal fruits or snacks on the street or bus and train terminals. The people between the age16 and 25 works in every sector and it are evenly distributed except for the garment industries. The majority of male workers who are between 26-35 are rickshaw pullers. The Badal Mia and Babupara show very similar features as far as the age group is concerned, but it differs in the types of job they have and also between the male and female workers. For example, in Badal Mia, a 10.7% of both male and female members work in the construction site whereas 11.7% of the women of Babupara prefer to work as maids rather than construction workers (see Appendix C2).
In Ershad Nagar the child labor is also very high (18.1%) but not as high as other bustess.
The children work mostly as factory workers and street vendors. The age group between 16-25 comprises the maximum labor force (31.9%). Unlike the other two bustees, the people of this age group do not work as maidservants or as construction labors, which shows that they are better educated and can get more sophisticated jobs. In Ershad Nagar, approximately 25% of the labor force is above 36 years old and the majority of this group is involved in their own businesses. However, the percentage of unemployment is also the highest in this settlement among the three (see Appendix C3).
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