"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.
Movement of vehicles is set to remain disrupted as the functioning in petrol depots have ben thrown out of gear following the 72 hour long strike of the Assam Petroleum Mazdoor Union. According to the Union leaders, the strike began at 5 in the morning on Tuesday which will end at 5 in the morning on Thursday. The Union leaders have said the government's lackadaisical attitude have forced them to take resort to strike where the consumers would have to bear the brunt and that the government has done litle to address their demands.
In a gory incident of ragging, a TDC first year first year student was burnt alive at a college in the outskirt of the city of Guwahati on Monday. According to information, the incident took place at Dimoria College in kamrup district where a TDC first year student Nitumoni Das who hails from Morigaon was burnt alive by his senior collegaue Prafulla Das who is absconding. The entire incident took place following an altercation about a T-shirt. It is alleged that police and the college authority are trying to cover up the entire incident. Investigation is on.
Assam is throbbing with the celebration of the 83 birth day of Asom Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika across the state even as the Dada sahib Phalke award winning film maker is spending the day with the cancer patients undr going treatment in Mumbai along with his fans. Several organization across the state are celebrating the day with his evergreen songs whole the day where lakhs of people are wishing Dr Hazarika a happy birth day. Dr Hazarika is rapidly recovering after his recent by pass heart surgery.
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Inquisitiveness, curiosity n proudness filled me as I got ready to attend the 62nd Independence Day at Indian Embassy,Kuwait. As we drove to the Embassy at 6.30am to reach and be part of the flag hoisting at 7.10am ,my mind was filled with different thoughts…thoughts of the many Indenpence Day we celebrated in our motherland Assam under the shadow of Assam Bandh . My one year daughter too wake up early that day as if she understood the importance of this special day. As we approach’d the embassy my husband park’d our car atleast 1km from the embassy as there was no space as hundreds of cars were already parked. As we came near the embassy we were pleasantly surprised to...
The Assam Association, Mumbai has celebrated Sri Sri Srimanta Sankardeva Tithi on August 22 at Assam Bhawan, Vashi, Navi Mumbai and August 23 at ONGC Lower Colony, Gakuldham,Goregaon (East), Mumbai. The celebration was started with “Naam Prasang” which is performed by “Bhakats” from different parts of Mumbai and followed with the distribution of “Mah Prakhad” and “Khichidi”. The Association has grateful to the Goregaon ONGC Lower colony people for their all support. The Association has also heartily gratitude to all for success the function.
The Guwahati based journalist Nava Thakuria has been elected as one of the Assistant General Secretaries of World Water Forum of Journalists (WWFJ), when the senior Bangladeshi environment journalist Quamrul Islam Chowdhury was re-elected as the General Secretary of the international forum for the year 2009-2012. The British environment journalist Alex Kirby was elected as the Chairman and the Pakistani journalist Zaigham Khan as the Vice Chairman of the organization, the head office of which is based in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka.
The new committee was formed during the 5th meeting of WWFJ held at the National Press Club, Dhaka during during the first week of September, 2009. The...
While Sony Pix is celebrating the pleasant autumn warmth with August Rush, Bangalore’s premiere music institute “Eastern Fare Music Foundation” ornamented the season with an enchanting musical offering of its own on 14th August, 09. The concert “Euphony, An autumn serenade” in collaboration with Furtados Music (India) Pvt. Ltd. marked the completion of 6 successful months of the Koramangala branch of Eastern Fare Music Institute and truly lived up to its name, with students and teachers exhibiting amazing musical ability.
It was indeed inspiring to see the performers’ ages range from tots to teenaged heavy metal rockers to 50+ retro music lovers. While the youngest artist for the...
The Gauhati High court has admitted a public interest litigation from the opposition Asom Gana Parishad for reopening the sensational Manabenda Sarma murder case.
The petition was moved by Sotea MLA Padma Hazarika and was admitted by the court of acting chief justice Ranjan Gogoi. Notably, Assam health and family welfare minister Himants Biswa Sama’s name has cropped up as he was allegedly involved in the case. Sarma was arrested under TADA.
It may be noted that the development has come up a few days after a former MP from Bihar Sukhdeo Paswan moved a writ petition seeking to withdraw his petition seeking reopening of the same case where the minister’s name was involved....
Normal life remains heavily disrupted in Sivasagar district of upper Assam on Tuesday following a 12 hour bandh-call by the Brihottor Asomiya Yuva Manch. The 12 hour bandh began at 5 in the morning and ended at 5 in the afternoon called in protest against the government’s failure to tackle of encephalitis in the district where over 50 persons were killed in the district. Government and private offices, schools and colleges and business establishments remained closed where all vehicles are off from the streets. Meanwhile, there some reports of stray incidents of violence in the morning where several vehicles were damaged by the bandh supporters were in a bid to make the bandh a...
In a big blow to the Assam Public Service Commission, the Gauhati High Court on Tuesday stays the list of the successful candidates in the combined competitive examination conducted by the Commission in 2007. The court order came as a division bench of High Court comprising acting Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Biplob Kumar Sarma was hearing the petition of a group of candidates who alleged gross anomalies and corruption in the examination.
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