These 'fishwomen' are caught in the pandemic's net

An estimated 25 million people make a living from fishing and related activities in India. Photo: Reuters

In 35 years of selling the village catch, Jennet Cleetus said business has never been so bad for her and other women who make ends meet by hawking seafood along the palm-fringed coast of Kerala in southern India.

India – one of the countries worst-hit by Covid-19 – has eased most lockdown restrictions and sought to reopen its battered economy, but some curbs on informal vendors remain and many customers are too scared to go out shopping.