Women farmers seek share of land

Jaipur: For what could well be the very first time in Rajasthan, about 1,500 women gathered at Sindhari block in Barmer district to discuss issues that mattered to them all. The gathering was facilitated by NGO Unnati Sansthan, in the month in which International Women’s Day is observed. Women gathered from nearby villages and spoke of how many of them did a lot of the work that went into the production of crops, but their farm work too, like household work, went unrecognized – many did not own land in their own names, and crops grown were taken to be sold by men in the family. They were left with no option but to depend on the men for money.

Social activist Mukesh Nirvasit who travelled from Jaipur to attend the meeting, told TOI, “The issue of ownership featured prominently in the discussion. Several women brought up the fact that they did not own land and could not lay claim to the produce of the land either. In popular perception too, the word ‘farmer’ conjures up the image of a man even though much of the work done in the field is carried out by women.”

The women also discussed how costs of farming might be reduced. They mulled over ways in which yields could be better without the whole effort proving too expensive. There were also discussions on how locally available food items like sangria and kher could be better marketed, to the advantage of local communities.

District pramukh Priyanka Meghwal said, “Our aim was to get the women out of their homes, so that they can gather and motivate each other to demand their rights. There are also several schemes of the government that could be availed by women and children. We talked also of the distinction made between sons and daughters, and how we could end that. We spoke of the need to prevent child marriage. This is only the first of what I expect will be several meetings so that women can collaborate to assert their rights.”