"I am the first woman farmer in my block who started cultivation 15 years back," said 45 years old Aisha Begum Khatoon of Hridaypur village in Ambedkarnagar district. When she picked up the hoe for the first time, all the villagers rebuked her for treading on a man's domain. However, she decided to move forward, despite all odds, in order to look after her three daughters and one son.
Her husband lives in the city and takes no interest in agricultural activities. She owns a mere half acre land, but by resorting to organic farming, she is able to provide bread and better to her family of five members. She is now able to produce more than 20 varieties of crops, thanks to organic farming, and has become a role model for other women farmers of her area. Aisha Begum is grateful to the Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG), for teaching her multi-layer cropping patterns, as well as time and space management.
Organic farming has provided her with a sustainable and economically viable model of agriculture production. She is also involved with Ekta Self Help Group and is the President of NARI Manch (this forum provides agriculture related information to women farmers). She has also been successful in creating more than 250 self help groups. Now her husband and her other family members take pride in her work. The Uttar Pradesh state agriculture Minister, Mr Chaudhari Laxmi Narayan, awarded her recently, during the Kisaan Sansad (Farmers' Parliament), in recognition of her excellent work in agriculture production.
Women farmers, despite being one of the biggest labor forces in India, are still fighting for their rights and identity. In India more than 84 per cent of women are involved in agricultural and/or allied activities. The agricultural sector provides employment to nearly 4/5 of the total women work force in India. One third of the agricultural laborers are women and 48 per cent of the women farmers are considered self employed in the agriculture sector.
According to a study conducted by GEAG, in Uttar Pradesh, 70 per cent of the state's population is involved in agricultural activities, making it a food surplus state. Women family members of about 80% of small and marginal farmers are involved in agricultural activities.Yet land holding rights of women farmers are a mere 6.5 per cent out of which a majority of them (81 per cent) got their land after the death of their husband, while only 19 per cent got it from their mother's side.
Neelam Prabhat, State Coordinator, Aaroh Abhiyaan, (a campaign for the empowerment of women farmers and their rights) working in GEAG, Uttar Pradesh said, "despite the tremendous contribution of women farmers in agricultural sector ,they have always been marginalized and denied their rights, not only by their family and society ,but by the policy makers as well. In general, they are treated as the assistants of male farmers."
She further said, " According to a recent report published by The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 40 million people have been pushed into hunger this year mostly due to soaring food prices, and the number of undernourished people worldwide is approaching the 1-billion mark. We can reduce this number if we empower women farmers and give them land holdings rights and joint bank accounts with their husbands."
The total number of hungry people has risen to 963 million this year, up from 923 million last year. FAO has cautioned, in the latest edition of its global hunger report, that this number could rise further as a result of the ongoing financial and economic crisis. In view of this we should strengthen production in a comprehensive way and should give the rights, long over due, to women farmers. In this way they will become an asset, not only to their families but also to society and the entire country.
PermalinkSubmitted by rakib ahmad on Sun, 28/03/2010 - 15:14
Thanks Amit, for the inspiring story of a marginalised woman farmer in UP. I am working at grassroots level in Assam. Separation of land patta in favour of daughters sh be completed by fathers in their lifetime. 2ndly' Issuing landholding certificates by circle officers/ tehsildars in favour of woman sh be legally made mandatory, within say, 100 days of application. Due to lack of land papers, woman farmers find it difficult to form acceptable groups for subsidy.
One more rhinoceros was killed by poachers in the Kaziranga National Park on Saturday.
The poaching took place at Sohola camp in Agoratoli just before the forest guards engaged in a gun battle with poachers who later managed to escape.
An encounter followed with the poachers exchanging bullets with the guards but none from the security forces was injured. When the forest personnel searched around, they found the carcass of a rhino with its horn removed. A 303 rifle with ammunition belonging to the poachers was recovered from the area.
Army killed an United Democratic Liberation Front militant caught another in Karimganj district on Saturday.
Acting on a tip off, army conducted an operation near Munaphichherra area in the district bordering Mizoram where Mantu Reang was killed and One Bidhu Ram Reang was held.
Army recovered one 0.22 rifle, one hand made pistol, ammunition and 3 mobile sets from their possession. Six of them escaped. They were allegedly involved in the kidnapping of Shekhar Deb, a businessman of Cheragi, on September 2.
Unity Education Foundation (UEF) met Labor & Employment Minister Prithibi Majhi recently to press for the modernization of Employment Exchanges in both the rural and urban reaches of Assam. In a memorandum to Majhi, UEF drew his attention to the burgeoning problem of unemployment in the state which it held responsible for anti-social behaviour, increasing insurgency and terrorism in India's NorthEast; Assam in particular.
The proposal seeked online registration facilities for the issuance of employment registration, renewal, transfer and user-friendly digitized platforms in Employment Exchanges. It suggested networking with dedicated government and private websites to work as...
An Assamese Wikipedia Education Program is being organised at Gauhati University on October 14 by Center for Internet and Society (CIS) in collaboration with Department of Education, Gauhati University. As a part of this program, 15 PhD students will receive training in unicode typing and how to write articles on Assamese Wikipedia.This event is also open to the general public and invites participation from anyone who can write in Assamese.
For details, please contact: Noopur Raval - noopur@cis-india.org.
Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati has become the first college in the state to introduce Microbiology in the three year degree course from the academic session 2012. Dr. O.K. Medhi, Vice Chancellor, Gauhati University formally inaugurated this at an event held on September 29, 2012 at the college premises.
The meeting was presided over by Sri Dinesh Baroowa, President of the Governing Body and Ex Registrar of Gauhati University. In the welcome speech Dr. Indira Bardoloi, Principal of the College explained how the college had initiated the process of introduction of the subject. Vice Chancellor, Dr. Medhi inaugurated the subject and the Laboratory of the Department by lighting...
A strict college in Barpeta district expelled altogether 16 students from its hostel accusing them of ragging the new comers.
The incident took place at the Baushi Banikanta Kakati College where the college administration has dismissed three college staff. The hostel superintendent has also been suspended when the allegation was seriously taken up. Barpeta police have already registered a case in the incident. The parents of the victim students lodged the complaint but the hostel superintendent did not acted. According to police, they came to know about the incident through media reports.
Security has been beefed in Guwahati in the run-up to the Durga Puja next week.
Policemen are working at various levels and have carried out risk assessments. Additional forces have been sought to be deployed to deal with the anti-social elements. Raids on anti-social elements have been intensified.
The puja organizers and volunteers have been imparted training to deal with any untoward incident.
Vigorous operations have also been launched to tackle the problem of illicit liquor and organising committees have been asked to install CCTVs in pandals and take other security measures. Guwahati has over 500 puja committees organise this year.
The Northeast Frontier Railway restored rail services in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur with the rest of the country on Thursday.
Trains started running normally withy additional security forces. The night trains were cancelled for an indefinite period after militants attacked the Agartala Express near Lower Haflong on October 5.
Centre’s peace interlocutor PC Halder met National Democratic Front of Bodoland chairman Ranjan Daimary at the in Guwahati Central Jail on Thursday and discussed the proposed peace process with the government.
The duo are believed have decided to strike a deal within this year. Notably, NDFB pro-talks faction and led by Gobinda Basumatary, earlier held several rounds of discussions with the state and central government representatives.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi turned 79. Gogoi, the third time chief minister celebrated his 78th birthday on Thursday at his official residence atop the Koinadhara hills in Guwahati.
His party leaders, cabinet colleagues, various parties and organizations wished him since morning on his birthday.
Gogoi, flanked by his wife Dolly, cut a huge cake in the presence of several well-wishers. He thanked God and the people of Assam for their blessings and good wishes.
Gogoi was born in Rangajan Tea Estate of Jorhat district.
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