Date of Publication :21st December 2020

Abstract: Street vending is one of the common practices in most of the developing countries of the world where the high rate of growth of urbanisation is often coupled with lack of job opportunities among the workforce. Hence, street vending becomes an integral part of urbanisation in the developing countries where urban poor not only make their living from the vending sector but also provide goods and services at an affordable price to urban dwellers. However, street vending is perceived negatively because of the congestion resulting out of the ever-increasing number of street vendors working in the sidewalks and streets, creating an intense struggle for space among the vendors and pedestrians. There is always confrontation among the street vendors and city authorities or regulators over space for business, conditions of works, sanitation and licensing. The competition or contradiction among the street vendors and city's authorities led to negotiations with buyers, regulators and also among the vendors themselves. The lack of voice of informal workers is one of the factors affecting hundreds of millions of vending workers around the world. On the other hand, under-representation from the informal women workers also pose a serious problem of gender equality even though the principle of gender equality is widely accepted among the members of a trade union. The present paper is an attempt in this direction to document the various challenges faced by the women vendors in the city of Imphal and also examines the ways of negotiation with the urban authorities in Imphal. The paper questions the status of women livelihood in the context of urban informal market space in Imphal.

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