A rural naga woman drying her maize seeds.
October 15 is International Day of Rural Women 2017
Wekoweu Tsuhah North East Network (NEN) With Case Study Inputs from NEIDA, CWWS Pfutsero, WALO Mon, SEWA Members of Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch - A Forum for Women Farmers’ Rights, Nagaland International Day of Rural Women (IDRW) is observed on 15th October. It is a UN observance, which recognizes “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.” Government of India (GoI) has also declared 15th October as Mahila Kisan Diwas. Women play a crucial role in sustaining rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing. They significantly contribute to agrobiodiversity conservation and agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land and natural resource management, building climate resilience, family incomes, health and education leading to improved quality of life. Women account for a substantial proportion of the agricultural labour force. Census 2011 data shows that 65.1 percent of female workers depend on agriculture, either as labourers or cultivators as opposed to 49.8 percent of male workers. In Nagaland, 65.2 percent of female workers are cultivators and 7.3 percent are agricultural labourers, in comparison to 47.4 percent male cultivators and 5.8 percent agricultural labourers. Yet despite the significant presence of women in agriculture, women’s role and contribution remain unrecognised. Non recognition meant that women largely remain invisible in agricultural policies, schemes, programmes and budgets. As compared to their male counterparts, they lack equal access over land tenure, agricultural inputs, credit, markets, appropriate technologies and infrastructure. Women continue to suffer disproportionately due to poverty, structural barriers and discriminatory social norms. Women remain largely excluded from decision making and political processes in rural households and communities; does not enjoy equal rights over productive resources and assets such as land; wage disparity between men and women farmers persist; unpaid care work and domestic burden remains unaddressed. Many stories of resilient rural Naga women remain invisible and untold. Few stories illustrated below depict the life of many more women in Nagaland’s rural landscape. [caption id="attachment_309755" align="alignnone" width="335"]
Pehsha Konyak working on her beadwork.[/caption] A Konyak Naga woman from Mon, Pehsha of Longphoah village is a beadmaker who supports her family of seven members. When the beads do not sell, she goes for daily wage work and also visits households to repair ornaments. She is the sole earning member of her family, and her income is spent on her family and children's education. Now, with her advancing age and the intricate nature of her work, her eyesight is deteriorating. Being non literate in a rural area, she does not have access to government schemes or assistance to support her traditional livelihood. [caption id="attachment_309754" align="alignleft" width="312"]
A rural naga woman managing her livestock in Phek district of Nagaland.[/caption] A 30 years old farmer from Thetsumi Village in Phek district, Zevekhrou Doulo has 4 daughters. Alongside her farmer husband, she is engaged in different livelihood activities including agriculture, horticulture and dairy. She grows paddy, cabbage, potato, maize and other vegetables, and also manages the banana, plum and kiwi farm. Income generation from the cabbage alone is around Rs.1 lakh a year. The family also rear 21 cows and earn Rs.5000-6000 in a month. With the income, two of their children are sent to a private school in a nearby town. Despite the fact that they are successful farmers, they continue to face various challenges. Since the family manage the dairy farm by themselves with no enough money to hire workers, they are overworked. Both of them had to get up early in the morning for milking the cows and a supply to 20 households latest by 8:00AM. After supplying the milk, the husband would take the cattle to the forest for grazing and Zevekhrou would go to field, cleaning and planting the crops. Though the amount generated from the cabbage farm seems huge, however the farm require heavy investment like buying of seeds, hiring workers sometimes, spending many person days, and hiring vehicle to send the produce to market. Also using of cow dung as manure multiplies infestation of insects in crops and plants and to deal with it, which takes away many person days. Recently, her family received support from NGOs CWWS and NEIDA, in the form of water harvesting tank, vermin compost pit, seeds and introduction of improved farming practices. [caption id="attachment_309752" align="alignnone" width="723"]
A Chakhesang woman farmer preparing land in her jhum field.[/caption] 30 year old Alem Yimchunger is a mother of 5 children and a farmer from Penkim village under Khongsa block in Kiphire district. Her husband work as a teacher in the government primary school but the salary was not sufficient enough to support the children’s education. The average annual expenditure for education of her 5 children education is about 1.5 lakhs. To provide the best education to her children, Alem toils in her 1 acre farm where she grows garden pea, maize, potato, cabbage and french beans (kholar). Though she does not have land rights, through the trainings provided by NEIDA (North East Initiative Development Agency) on improved agriculture practices, her knowledge on land use system has increased leading to better management and increased income. Annually she earns an approximate of Rs. 33000/- from sale of her produce. However, she continue to face challenges due to the inaccessibility of markets and low price for her produce if given to middlepersons. The nearest market is in Pungro town which is 16 km away from the village, and the road also is in deplorable condition. 37 year old Mahjela lives in Chendang village, Tuensang, with her farmer husband and 7 children. She and her husband farmed on their family land where maize is mostly grown and annually income generation is about Rs. 50,000. In the year 2016 there was heavy wind which destroyed all the crops. She rears pigs to support her household expenses and to ensure quality education for her children. On an average, she rear 2 pigs a year which generates an income of Rs. 10000/-. Rearing pig was a good source of income but due to certain problems like feeding and sty, the mortality of her pigs were always high. In an intervention by NGOs NEIDA and ECS Tuensang, her family got support for a piggery project. She did not attend any of the trainings but her husband attended the training and passed on the information to her. Most of the livestock management activities was carried out by her and The livestock management activities was carried out by her and through her sheer involvement, her income increased. [caption id="attachment_309756" align="alignnone" width="346"]
SEWA members during one of their organic vegetables sales day at Pfustero.[/caption] In Pfutsero Town of Phek district, around 150 members of SEWA (Self Employed Women Association), an unorganized women workers’ organization, have been growing vegetables on rented agricultural lands and selling their produce on the highway, to retailers and wholesalers. Most of these women are primary bread winners in their family. In an area where an increased number of farmers have started to adopt chemical fertilizers and pesticides, these women are leading an organic food and farming campaign in their localities and marketplace, spreading awareness amongst other growers and consumers on health and environmental concerns. Several women retailers and wholesalers who support the growers by buying their produce and transports to Dimapur town also faces multiple challenges, which include unaffordable transportation costs if in hired vehicles, inadequate public transport facility, lack of vending spaces in Dimapur, lack of capital and market risks amongst many others. Committee on CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination), to which India also is a signatory, in its General Recommendations (GR) called upon all States parties to ‘facilitate and support alternative and gender-responsive agricultural development programmes which enable small-scale women producers to participate in and benefit from agriculture and rural development’. In addition, ‘to address the unequal power relations between women and men, including in decision-making and political processes at the community level, and remove barriers to rural women’s participation in community life through the establishment of effective and gender-responsive rural decision-making structures’. The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development recognises that rural women are key agents for achieving transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. Goal no. 5 have special significance for the advancement of rural women as it emphasizes on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women, creating opportunities for effective participation and leadership at all levels of decision-making, undertaking reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources. To close the gender gap, it is crucial that women’s role and contribution be recognised, and efforts must be made to address the gender specific needs and barriers. Rural women have a right to equal opportunities and benefits from various policies and programmes. The State must ensure that rural women’s rights are protected and promoted.
