Even though the International Women’s Day was observed in India with much grandeur and ceremony, it hardly made much of an impact on lives of rural women sans recognition to them as farmers.
“Ever since I got married at 14, apart from taking care of the house, I have been working in the fields to contribute to the family food basket,” said 46-year-old Sindhulata Sahu of Padampur block in Bargarh district.
Women worldwide have been working in the farms to grow food for their families since humans have become settlers. In India, 64.1 per cent of all rural workers are engaged in agriculture and allied work of which 75 per cent are women workers, as per NSSO 68th round (2011-2011).
What is interesting is even though Sindhu is a farmer and is the convenor of what she calls the Women’s Farmers’ Association with over 800 members from three blocks of Bargarh, she lamented that the Government programmes and schemes for farmers fail to reach women engaged in agricultural activities.
“Even though we have been demanding for women farmers’ rights like access to inputs, crop loans, compensations and insurance etc, the Government has not taken any concrete steps in this regard to address these demands,” said convener, National Alliance of Women Organisation (NAWO), Odisha Chapter Pramila Swain.
It is worth mentioning that there is an underrepresentation of women’s contribution to labour and economy in the Government data. “The Government undertakes census, agriculture census etc, but the manner in which responses are collected, these exercises fails to capture the real picture. Hence, we do not see tangible inclusive action in Government programmes and its implementation,” said, core committee member, NAWO, Odisha laita Missal.
The State Agriculture Department schemes and programmes cover all farmers, yet women get excluded as they are not considered as a farmer. “It is so because the definition of a farmer as per law is a person who tills his own land,” said former District Judge Subhendhra Mohanty. The issue is further grim as women traditionally do not own land and statistics says less than 10 per cent of women own agriculture land as compared to about 3 per cent owning homestead land. “land can be owned through three sources – inheritance, purchase or Government land allocation through programmes like Vasundhara that gives land to the poor and landless families as laid down under the Government criteria.
A vast majority of land under possession of tribals who get recognition under Forest Rights Act, 2005 also doesn’t ensure access to all Government programmes as it is not ownership rights,” said land tenure expert and practitioner SanjoyPatnaik.
With the Central Government’s announcement to revamp the agriculture sector to improve production and productivity, double farm income and so on, the sector has to ensure gender inclusive approach, said experts.
Quoting research studies and field experience, various issues are being discussed and organisations advocating for rights of women farmers are submitting charter of demands to the Union as well as the State Governments. Women in agriculture are facing challenges in accessing their rights, besides being subjected to a host of other issues.
Sindhulata Sahu, the woman farmer who received the NAWO’s Women’s Day award for her contribution for the women farmers’ rights, said that the linkage of agriculture and land cannot be trivialised and prescribed that women’s land rights is the most important factor that can be the game changer in bringing in agriculture reforms in the country.
The Government needs to take notice and work on a focused manner on ensuring women’s land ownership by creating an environment conducive for women to exercise their land rights by creating a secure environment for women through a social movement. The process of women farmers demanding their rights is ongoing for decades. However, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) it calls for immediate action to transform women’s lives everywhere.