"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.
An uneasy situation is what prevails in Nazira sub division along the Assam Nagaland border following as firing incident by the Naga militants at some Assam police vehicles on Wednesday. According to information, the Naga militants started indiscriminate firing at the police vehicles on their way back after visiting No 2 Waxing area nearing the upper Namsai. A police team from Simaluguri and Bihubar stations was returning from the area. The police has input that the Naga people have illegally set up polling booth on the soil of Assam. But during their visit the police team failed to spot it as the polling was over. No one was injured in the firing.
Atleast four people have been injured when suspected ULFA militants exploded a powerful bomb at around 7-30 in the evening in Lakhimpur town. According to information, the blast took place in front of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner. The injured people namely Nurani Khan, Sunu Rahman, K K Handique, Tarifur Rahman Barbhuyan have been rushed to the hospital. The blast made a kind of flutter in the town despite a beefed up security. Investigation is going on.
The Assam Government came in for sharp criticism on the floor of the House on Wednesday when the Opposition parties slammed it on the implementation of the much –hyped NREGA. Assam rural development minister Chandan Brahma was cornered on the floor while the opposition riddled him with many questions. The Opposition parties further criticized the Government for its failure on the law and order front while the House discussed the Governor's address. The Opposition parties lashed out at Assam Government for the state's deteriorating law and order situation while the House discussed the Governor's address which claimed that the state's law and order situation has considerably improved....
The Bengal team has the last laugh in the East Zone Ranji clash when the rain played spoilsport in the final one dayer with Jharkhand who won the runners up on Wednesday. Caught in the rain that lashed then city from early in the morning, the organizers stopped the match and announced Bengal as the champion while giving the runners up to the Jharkhand team. The Bengal team reached the final after initially defeating the host team Assam and then Tripura and Orissa. Jharkhand team also managed to face the Bengal team in the final one dayer after defeating Assam.
Hundreds of tea garden labourers staged dharna in Dispur Last Gate on Wednesday demanding immediate implementation of the Tea Plantation Act and the Minimum Wage Act. Speaking to assamtimes, the protestors here said over the years they have been receiving assurance from the government and nothing else. The Tea Plantation Act has not been implemented. Even the Minimum Daily Wage Act has yet to be implemented, they said adding that the Rs 84 minimum wage per day fixed last year has not been implemented so far. Besides, they alleged that they have been lacking adequate facilities for education, drinking water and sanitation. They blamed the government for continuing woes saying the Government...
A good number of Koch Rajbanshi people representing the various bodies of the communities are staging a 72 hour long demonstration from Wednesday in front of the Jantarmantar, New Delhi demanding a separate Kamatapur state. Led by the All Koch Rajbanshi Students Union President Atul Rai and general secretary Bireswar Saikia, the strike will continue for 72 hours. They are stick to the stand saying they will not halt it if the Government fails further. They alleged that before the election, the ruling clique promised everything but forget as soon as they come to power.
Insurgent activists are camping in some parts of the city to run the extortion drive. The Paltanbazar police have apprehended two ULFA cadres on Tuesday night near Lachitnagar while they were on the way to collect cash from one Agarwalla in the area. They have been identified as Prahlad Saikia and Bipul Kalita.According to police sources, NDFB activists have also bash in the city for the purpose. The arrest of Bhimsing, an activist of the Bodo insurgent outfit in Rupnagar is an example. Bhimsing’s confessional statement has provided the police a lot of inputs to bust the base of a section of NDFB rebels. Acting on these statements, police conducted a raid at a rented house in...
One people died and two others have been injured while the suspected ULFA activists exploded a powerful bomb in Sivasagar town area on Tuesday afternoon. According to information, the incident took place besides the Dikhow Bridge in Amgurighat. It is suspected that the bomb exploded while a sixteen year old was carrying it who was killed in the blast. The two injured people have been rushed to the hospital. High level police and civil officials who arrives on the spot minutes after the explosion have instructed the police to go for an immediate investigation into the incident to apprehend the culprits involved in it.The deceased was identified as Guljar Hussain an inhabitant of Nagaon...
Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi felicitated Dr. R.K Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at Rabindra Bhawan Guwahati on 04-03-08. Dr. R.K Pachauri's dynamic leadership fetched Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for IPCC. Pix by UB Photos.
The main Opposition Asom Gana Parishad on Tuesday staged walk out while the Speaker turned down the adjournment motion the party moved in the House alleging government’s all round failure. The motion was brought by Opposition leader Chandra Mohan Patoway and the ruling party members also were caught in a controversy. After hearing the arguments, Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai refused to entertainment the motion. The unhappy AGP members walked out of the House.
Comments
Pages
Add new comment