"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.
The day-long media workshop for the northeastern journalists sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has come to a successful end on Tuesday (June 30) evening. Organized in support of Guwahati Press Club, the workshop provided space for discussion and interaction primarily on the issue of reporting in time of violence and understanding the context and its actors. The workshop was attended by nearly 40 journalists from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam and also from Bhutan.
Prior to the workshop held at Hotel Blue Moon in the city, the participants had undergone for a health check up programme initiated...
With an aim to cater various needs of the working journalists of Northeast India, a forum was shaped Tuesday (June 30) in Guwahati. The member-based organization titled ‘Journalists’ Forum of Northeast India’ has been designed to work for the enrichment of its members from print, electronic...
In connection of the above 12 small farmers participated in a speech competition on the topic “Need of mushroom in the formation of farmers’ federation” they gathered from 10 villages’ committee in a cluster of 50 village in Sonapur areas of Kamrup district of Assam representing 1000 small farmers of Sonapur. At the very beginning Mr Pranjal Baruah (Ashoka Fellow) General Secretary of MDF, stated the objective of the meeting. The programme however, inaugurated by the noted film star and veteran stage actor Shrimati Chetana Das and judged the speech competition along with Dr S K Dutta, Dy- Director, NIRD, Guwahati and the noted professor Mr Biman Patowary from Sonapur...
A day-long media workshop sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has begun this morning (June 30) at Hotel Blue Moon in the city. Organised in supoert of Guwahati Press Club, the workshop is attended by over 30 journalists from the States of Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and also from Bhutan. Prior to the workshop, the resource persons from ICRC, New Delhi weree felivuted by the participants with the traditional Asomiya Gamosa and Zapi. The first speaker of the program, Yahia Alibi, deputy head of the delegationthe, ICRC elaborated about the mandate and acitivities of the international forum, which has presence all...
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has organised a media workshop in Guwahati on June 30 for the benefit of the Northeast based working journalists.
Organized in support of Guwahati Press Club, the day long workshop will deal with the issues related to the International Humanitarian Law and also the reporting in times of violence from a conflict zone. The workshop, to be held at Hotel Blue Moon in Guwahati, will be inaugurated by Kanak Sen Deka, a senior editor of Assam. The inaugural ceremony will be graced by Yahia Alibi, Deputy Head of the Delegation, ICRC.
Nearly 30 journalists from Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and...
The former chief secretary of Assam, HN Das IAS (Retired) will attend the Guest of the Month program of Guwahati Press Club on June 27. It will start at 12 noon. During the program, Das will interact with the journalists on various aspects relating to the development of Guwahati and Assam. Member-journalists are requested to attend the same.
A 12-hour statewide Assam is disrupting normal life in the state on Thursday. Called by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the bandh began at 5 in the morning which will end at 5 in the after noon. During this period, except schools, colleges and hospitals, all government and semi government establishments are remaining closed. Barring the school buses and polic and army jeeps, other vehicles are off from the streets. Our sources in several district headquerters have informed that the bandh is total and by and large peaceful. Notably, the proscribed militant outfit called in the 12 hour bandh alleging cold blooded murder of two 28th battalion cadres in Nagaon recently in the...
Mahadev Deka, who recently clinched the title in the bantam weight category for India at the 2009 Musclemania Superbody world championship at Florida, US, got warm welcome when he arrived at the Guwahati airport. He is the first from Assam to win this prestigious world body building championship.
The Burma Centre Delhi and the Journalists' Forum, Assam have organized an interactive session on ‘India's Foreign Policy on Burma: A Northeast Perspective’ at the Guwahati Press Club auditorium on July 4. The meeting will start at 11 am, where few Burmese exiles and a number of distinguished Guwahati-citizens will participate and share their experience and ideas. Burma or Myanmar is under the military rule for four decades, where the opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been under detention for many years. Lately the Nobel Peace Laureate is inside the bar since May 14. The Burma Centre Delhi considers the support from the people of Northeast India as crucial for the...
The United Liberation Front of Asom calls for a 12 hour statewide Assam bandh on Thursday (June 25) alleging that 28th battalion cadres Debojit Chetia and Durlabh Bora were kiled in army custody and not in the encounter in Samoguri on Sunday. In a statement, the banned insurgent outfit said the bandh would start at 5 AM for 12 hours. ULFA said the rebel duo were held by army on June 10 as they were proceeding towards Karbi Anglong. According to the statement, more than 17 NDFB rebels were killed in their custody and was published as encounter. In the case of DHD(J) also its not different, said ULFA adding that DHD (J) foreign secretary Frankie Dimasa who was killed after being arrested...
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