The potentials of rural women

Nadia Rani

The women are the backbone of agricultural industry but her hard work has mostly been unpaid; as the do the most tedious and back‐breaking tasks in crop production, livestock production as well as in cottage industry.  As farmers, women in subsistence production makes it necessary to transfer of technical know how on these aspects to women. To enhance their performance in agricultural operations, the professional education, training facilities and assistance from Government, private or any other agency for latest information sources; clear policies and strategies should be formulated on the promotion of women’s advancement in agriculture.

Women’s empowerment is necessary to change the situation and lessen the constraints faced by rural women. Women’s empowerment is not an end but a mean to achieving other ends. Land ownership is crucial factor in rural areas, where men own the land and women are deprived from their rights due to social and cultural constraints. Some people say that giving land to women is not beneficial and they consider them economically inefficient, having lower capacities to manage the land properly. However majority of people admit the fact that land ownership is right of the women, but they do not give this right to their women relatives as this is the source of women empowerment, which will change their relations, where men are providers and women are dependent on them.

Majority of the rural women are uneducated and unaware of the law and constitution, so consider them far and abstract entities because of having no direct access. In the absence of social protection system women consider them dependent on male members where males are providers and protectors, so they willingly sacrifice and give their inherent rights giving to their brothers, husband or son. Women do not demand their right of inherence because of invisible social constraints like violence and social censor.  So the role of local traditional system is biased against women and hinders their way to development.

Although the Constitution affirms gender equality in Article 25, and the country’s legal system upholds inheritance rights for women, lack of political will and discriminatory cultural practices deprive women of land.

Women are facing great constrains by their traditional system, which is biased against them. They work very hard as rural women have comparatively low socio-economic status so they not only perform their domestic duties but also work in fields to improve their socio-economic conditions and to eradicate poverty. Women are like fertile land, there should be proper socialization of children regarding their gender specific roles to eradicate inequality.

The contributor is a student of the Punjab University.