How women farmers rally together

At the recent Mahila Kisan Sammelan, women farmers raised powerful demands for the end of structural violence

- Prachi Pinglay-Plumber

Dharmaveer auditorium at Pune's Savitribai Phule University two weeks ago, a few women from tribal communities talked about the produce they had on display, while some from Gujarat took photographs, and others explained to other visitors the use of headphones to get live translations of sessions.

A lot was going on all at once at the three-day conference, from 7-9 May, which was attended by more than 500 women farmers from 17 states to mark the 10th anniversary of Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (Makaam), the women farmers' rights alliance. The women exuded confidence, camaraderie and wisdom, but beneath it all ran the deeper issues, long-term challenges and the uphill journey they have been tackling for a decade.

Given that everywhere, on every piece of farmland, women do all kinds of jobs from sowing to harvesting, it may seem odd that there has to be a full-fledged movement to get them rights. But that's exactly what Makaam has been working on since April 2014—to have women farmers recognised as farmers and consequently, the access and rights that male farmers have. This includes land rights, fair wages, access to government schemes, and most importantly, protection from structural violence.

Among the female workforce, more than 65% depend solely on agriculture and yet most are called "workers" or "labourers" and not recognised as farmers, according to data from the 2011 Census. This is despite the 2007 National Agriculture Policy, which says a farmer should be recognised as such irrespective of ownership of land, and which includes cultivators, forest-dependent people, tenant farmers, agri labourers and fisherfolk within the definition of a farmer.