Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All
Ironically, achieving gender equality and empowering women continues to be a global struggle. Things get further complicated when it comes to rural women. October 15 is the International Day of Rural Women is a UN observation. It is an occasion for recognising and honouring rural women’s resilience and accomplishments in ensuring the well-being of families and communities. All the gender and development indicators indicate that women from rural areas fare poorly compared to rural men or urban women. Women comprise more than 40% of the agricultural labour force in developing countries. The landholding by women is less than 15%. Over 50% of girls from poor rural households are married as children. Caregiving and domestic work have never been paid and are not even recognised.
Rural women are at the forefront regarding agriculture, natural resource management, domestic care, and work. In India, women are 80% of the rural population engaged in agriculture. Rural women played a significant role in achieving India’s White Revolution. Women constitute 70% of the workforce in India’s dairy sector. More than one-third of the members of dairy co-ops are women. Anand district, Gujarat, is also known for the excellent work done by the Self-Employed Women’s Association, developing and using biogas technology to make an affordable, sustainable energy source. Another change Indian rural areas are seeing is more women entering the agricultural workforce. Despite taking substantial responsibilities, women’s access to productive resources and services and information on farming technologies and practices is limited. Their needs and voices are not heard. Women like Mariamu Rasidi Tungu from Tanzania, Irene Cari from Argentina and Ramat from rural Rajasthan, India, have stories about how their initiatives have contributed to bringing the change. We need more of them.
Ironically, achieving gender equality and empowering women continues to be a global struggle. Things get further complicated when it comes to rural women. The contribution of women to the rural economy is enormous. ILO statistics indicate that women comprise more than 40% per cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries. The landholding by women is less than 15%. Over 50% of girls from poor rural households are married as children. In 2007, the UN passed a resolution to observe the International Day of Rural Women on October 15. The first International Day of Rural Women was observed in the year 2008. It is an occasion for recognising and honouring rural women’s resilience and accomplishments in ensuring the well-being of families and communities.
All the gender and development indicators indicate that women from rural areas fare poorly compared to rural men or urban women. Discrimination is rampant in terms of lack of equal pay, participation in decision-making, and access to resources. Traditionally in rural households, it is common for the women in the family to eat last and often end up eating less. Caregiving and domestic work have never been paid and are not even recognised. An alarming rise in gender-based violence and transactional sex for food and survival is seen. Not cared for sufficiently by the families, enhanced domestic workloads are impacting women’s physical and mental health.
India, an agricultural country, has the world’s largest cattle herd and the largest area cultivated for wheat, cotton, and rice. Women account for 80% of the rural population engaged in agriculture. When it comes to dairy, ‘Amul’ is a name that all of us would know. Thanks to Dr Kurien and his efforts, Gujarat, the cradle of India’s White Revolution, has made considerable progress in the dairy industry. Women constitute 70% of the workforce in India’s dairy sector. More than one-third of the members of dairy co-ops are women, and their number is increasing daily. The story of Amul is an apt case for repeating in many other domains. Anand district, Gujarat, is also known for the excellent work of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in developing and using biogas technology to make an affordable, sustainable energy source. Another change Indian rural areas are seeing is more women entering the agricultural workforce. One of the reasons for it is the migration of men from rural to urban areas. In Bihar, women form more than half of the farming population.
Rural women are at the forefront regarding agriculture, natural resource management, domestic care, and work. Despite these substantial responsibilities, women’s access to productive resources and services and information on agricultural technologies and practices is limited. Their needs and voices are not heard. Women like Mariamu Rasidi Tungu, from Tanzania, Irene Cari, from Argentina and Ramat, from rural Rajasthan, India, have stories about how their initiatives have contributed to the change. We need more of them. When would the world see that fair gender gets a fair deal?
Toon: Shreya
Logs: Sai Baba
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