According to Census 2011, there has been a 24 per cent increase in the number of female agricultural labourers between 2001 and 2011, .
Feminization of agriculture refers to the ever increasing participation of women in the agricultural labor force. Such an increasing feminization is driven by a combination of socio economic cultural factors operating in tandem
Social causes of feminization of agriculture
1.Feminization of poverty: Women lack viable livelihood alternatives, and are forced to undertake farm activities that have been left by men due to agrarian distress.
According to scholars, feminization of agriculture in India is actually “feminization of agrarian distress” or can also be termed as “feminization of poverty”.
2.Rural distress and agrarian crisis :- shift of men from farm to non-farm activities, women have got absorbed in agriculture and allied activities.
3.Male migration to urban areas :- according to the economic survey with growing rural to urban migration by men, there has been increase in participation of women as cultivators, labourers and entrepreneurs.
“de-peasantisation" - a disruption of peasant activities accompanied by a migration of males from agriculture towards casual work.
4.Poverty :- women are forced to work as agricultural labourers to supplement the family income.
5.Lack of mobility :- upward mobility of women for employment is restricted and is further constrained by gender wage gap.
6.Mechanisation of agriculture :- has led to the confinement of women to traditional , low paying jobs like winnowing, harvesting and sowing seeds.
7.Increasing feminization of old age: Due to greater life expectancy, women outlive men and hence widows end up heading a family and taking to the agricultural fields.
8.Cultural acceptance: Agriculture has traditionally been an acceptable avenue of work for women in rural areas, otherwise infamous for many a stigmas when it comes to women’s employability in workplaces.
What are the Challenges.
1.Increased work burden :- on-farm and off-farmm productive activities with lower compensation.
2.Gender disparity in land ownership :- let lead to get hurdles in institutional credit. it also denies them insurance, irrigation and other entitlements of agriculture-related schemes. patriarchy and inheritance laws largely exclude women from accessing land rights.
3.Exclusion of women agricultural labourers from the narrative of agricultural reforms in India. in the absence of land security. This phenomenon of “defeminisation” (i.e. excluding women from their entitlements in agriculture) coexists with feminisation of agriculture.
4.Marginalisation of landless women farm labourers - according to the ( SECC 2011 ) 70% of rural women are engaged in agriculture work as labourers and 13.9% of women have thier own land.
5.Gender division of labour :- Some jobs like weeding, threshing and paddy transplants, requiring limited physical strength, are often associated with women. The concept of a “breadwinner” is strongly associated with men.
COVID-19 pandemic:
▶️Numerous women in rural India have taken charge of farming, playing a critical role in the food security of their households.
▶️They became ‘breadwinner’ of the households after men returned to the villages after losing jobs due to the pandemic.
Favourable aspects of feminization of agriculture
⏺️ It provides the opportunity for women to organise and enhance their bargaining power.
⏺️brings women into the public sphere, makes their labour visible and accountable- it provides opportunity for female economic empowerment.
What's need be done ( Sociologicaly )
➡️Civil societies can play an important role in organising agrarian women into collectives, educating them of their rights, enabling access to the state and giving them sustainable livelihood training.
➡️Gender-specific interventions to provide equal access to land, credit, water, seeds and market.
➡️Providing better working conditions, child support, maternity entitlements etc.
