"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.
A 'Long March' by hundreds of Bangladeshis protesting the Tipaimukh dam project at the trijunction of Assam-Manipur-Mizoram has forced the authorities to put BSF on alert. According to information, BSF have been put on alert as 12,000 agitators from Bangladesh advanced towards the country's borders. The 'Long March' was kicked off in Dhaka on Saturday. The marchers are heading to Sylhet, 272 km northeast of Dhaka, where they would reach on Tuesday and then proceed to the Indian border. Sylhet district borders Assam and Meghalaya.
A citizens’ meet at Guwahati Press Club on Friday called upon the people of Assam to write letters in the form of an appeal to the Chief Justice, Gauhati High Court to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to go into the Parag Kumar Das murder and find out the culprit. The meeting, organized by the Journalists’ Forum, Assam (JFA) and presided over by JFA president Rupam Baruah, also requested the letter-writers to appeal to the Chief Justice to consider their letters as public interest litigation. The citizens urged the High Court to monitor the SIT probe, keeping in view the loopholes left by the CBI in its charge-sheet.
In yet another appeal, the well-attended...
Forty five shutter-bugs from India and abroad, ninety-four stunning pictures from different wings of photojournalism and one and only steady chief minister of the state, (in present Indian political context) at the venue of Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhawan, this was the scenario of the inauguration ceremony of “Moments” – 1st ever attempt of International Photography Exhibition at Agartala, the capital of Tripura by Tripura Photojournalists Associtaion on Friday morning. “I am amazed to see such beautiful works of the photojournalists. Photos are evidences of history. We should be careful to maintain this culture.” –reacted Manik Sarkar, Chief Minister of...
The winners of Birsingh Majhi Memorial and ERD Foundation fellowships were felicitated at a brief function held at the Guwahati Press Club on Thursday. Both the fellowships were being conducted by the press club.
The fellows were handed over the first part of their assured money in today’s function by Prithibi Majhi, who was present in the function with his wife Tarulata Kakati Majhi. Similarly representative of ERD foundation Rose Mahanta handed over the first part of the assured amount to Jishnu Medhi of NE Television, who will study various aspects of pavement dwellers (primarily beggars) of Guwahati under the fellowship sponsored by the ERD Foundation.
The first chain of...
The short term fellowship to study various aspects of pavement dwellers (primarily beggars) of Guwahati has been awarded to Jishnu Medhi of NE Television. Conducted by Guwahati Press Club with the support from ERD Foundation, Guwahati the one & half month fellowship is expected to provide space for the fellow to go for an in-depth study (and report) about the issue. The fellow will try to analyze the reason behind their homelessness, categorization and also the security aspect of the homeless persons in the city. The fellow Jishnu Medhi will receive a part of his fellowship money in an informal meeting at 3 pm on August 6 in the press club from the ERD Foundation chiarman M.Haque.
Journalists’ Forum, Assam has organized a meeting to discuss the post verdict (of Parag Kumar Das killing) scenario in Assam. The meeting, to be held in Guwahati Press Club at 1 pm on August 7, will also analyze various options to go for higher court seeking justice in the sensitive case. Mentionable that the acquittal of the accused in the case by the district and sessions court, Kamrup had created huge public resentment. Surprisingly, a section of the society has tried to incite the mass to ultimately defy the judiciary of the country with wrong perception that it was the end of the judicial process. The conscious citizens of Guwahati are requested to participate in the meeting and...
View of 10 ha demonstration plot of Hybrid rice ( Sahadri) in Punia Village under Bhakatpara Agriculture Development Circle, Udalguri district on 01-08-09.
PHOTO: UB PHOTOS.
Please look at the 1946 photo from the London Parliamentary Archive --- the individual standing, with left face seen in the photograph, with clenched fists on the table, is Gopinath Bardoloi. Please look at the scare on the face of the Member of the British Cabinet Mission.
Partition of India in August 1947 is an unforgettable tragedy where a million innocent people lost their lives and belongings.
British Administration put up two plans, one after the other, for Partition of India. The first plan, known as "Cabinet Mission Plan" (AKA "Grouping Plan") was presented by a British Cabinet Mission in March 1946. One Indian leader, Gopinath Bardoloi, known as "Gopinath of Assam", thwarted...
The name of Birsingh Majhi memorial fellowship winners have been declared. Conducted by Guwahati Press Club and sponsored by Prithibi Majhi and his family, the fellowship covers the study of tea industry with fish production and women journalism in Assam. The fellowship on the ‘Economy of Tea Plantations (of Assam)’ has been awarded to Ranen Kumar Goswami, a Guwahati based senior journalist. Goswami will make a comprehensive study about the tea industry of Assam, for which he will be offered a financial support of Rs. 40,000/- (Rupees forty thousand only).
The next fellowship on the tea plantation workers addressing the administration, welfare and other socio-cultural issues...
Eminent scholar of Assam, Dr Sivanath Barman will attend the ‘Guest of the Month’ program of Guwahati Press Club (GPC) on August 1. The interactive program will begin at 2 pm. Retired from Arya Bidyapith College as HoD of Physics, Baman is recognized as a serious social thinker. Some of his outstanding literary works include ‘Asmoiya Akhar Jotani’, ‘Na Manusyate’, ‘Janajati Samasya’, ‘Tanka Mamar Anka Sadhu’ etc. Member-journalists of the press club are requested to participate in the program.
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