P. Sainath

large_01-ORISSA-06-08-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_A_field_but_not_ones_o_mvUFAeh.jpg

medium_01-ORISSA-06-08-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_A_field_but_not_ones_o_mvUFAeh.jpg

small_01-ORISSA-06-08-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_A_field_but_not_ones_o_mvUFAeh.jpg

thumbnail_01-ORISSA-06-08-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_A_field_but_not_ones_o_mvUFAeh.jpg

01-ORISSA-06-08-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_A_field_but_not_ones_o_mvUFAeh.jpg

The panel is part of <a id="129" linktype="page">Visible Work, Invisible Women, a photo exhibition </a>depicting the great
range of work done by rural women. All the photographs were shot by P. Sainath across 10 Indian states between 1993 and 2002. Here, PARI has creatively digitised the
original physical exhibition that toured most of the country for
several years.A field, but not one&#39;s own 
 The landowner was proud to be photographed. Standing tall while the row of nine women workers doubled over, doing transplantation work on his field. He said he paid them Rs. 40 a day. The women told us later that he gave them Rs. 25. They were all landless workers in Rayagada, Odisha.
 In India, even women from landed families have no rights to the land. Not in the homes of their parents. Nor in those of their husbands and in-laws. Deserted, widowed or divorced women could end up as labourers on fields owned by relatives.

In official count, there are 63 million female workers. Of these, 28 million or 45 per cent are agricultural labourers. Even this staggering figure is misleading. It excludes those who do not find employment for six months or more. This is vital. It means millions of women are not counted as workers contributing to the national economy. Much that rural women do, apart from direct agriculture, is dismissed as ‘household work.’ Even in that work considered ‘economic activity’ by officialdom, ill-paid agricultural labour is the single largest avenue open to women. And now the number of workdays that landless labourers find is falling. Economic policies drive that process. Growing mechanisation spurs it further. Switching to cash crops intensifies it. New contract systems make it worse.

The two young girls in the field in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, are hunting for pests (below). In this case, Red Hairy Caterpillars. It’s about all the paid work there is in their village. They get Rs. 10 for every kilogram of caterpillars from the landowners. Which means they have to catch over a thousand to make that much.Lack of direct control over resources like land greatly weakens the position of the poor in general and all women. Ownership and social status are closely linked. Very few women own or control land. And even their participation in panchayati raj will work best when land rights are ensured.

It is no accident that Dalits make up such large numbers of the landless. Around 67 per cent of female agricultural labourers are Dalits. These most exploited sections get the worst of three worlds: class, caste and gender. Land rights would improve the status of poor and lower caste women. Even if they still need to work on the fields of others, it would help them bargain for better wages. And enhance their access to credit.It would reduce their own poverty and that of their families. Men tend to spend more of their income on themselves. Women spend almost all they earn on the household. And that greatly benefits the children.

It’s good for her, it’s good for the children and for the family. In short, to be successful, any serious attack on poverty in India has to ensure the land-related rights of women. States like West Bengal have made a beginning by ensuring joint pattas (title deeds) in 400,000 cases of redistributed land. But there’s still a very long way to go. Since women are barred from tilling the land, maybe the old slogan “Land to the tiller” needs reworking. Instead, try “Land to those who work on it.”

Visible Work, Invisible Women: A field, but not one’s own (Panel 3)

દેખીતાં કામ, અદ્રશ્ય મહિલાઓ: ખેતર તો છે, પણ પોતાનું નહીં (પેનલ 3)

புலப்படும் பணிகள், புலப்படாத பெண்கள் – வயல், ஆனால் ஒருவருக்கு சொந்தமானதல்ல (பகுதி 3)

କାମ ଦିଶେ, କାମ କରୁଥିବା ମହିଳା ଦିଶନ୍ତିନି: ଜମି ଅଛି କିନ୍ତୁ ନିଜର ନୁହେଁ (ପ୍ୟାନେଲ୍‌ ୩)

দৃশ্যমান কাম, অদৃশ্য নাৰী: আমাৰ শ্ৰমেৰে আনৰ সুফলা পথাৰ (৩ নং পেনেল)

కనిపించే పని, కనిపించని మహిళలు: పొలమైతే ఉంది, కానీ ఇది ఎవరి సొంతమూ కాదు (ప్యానల్ 3)

ਕੰਮ ਹੀ ਕੰਮ ਬੋਲੇ, ਔਰਤ ਰਹੀ ਓਹਲੇ ਦੀ ਓਹਲੇ: ਇੱਕ ਖੇਤ, ਉਹ ਵੀ ਆਪਣਾ ਨਹੀਂ (ਪੈਨਲ 3)

ಕಾಣುವ ಕೆಲಸಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಕಾಣದೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು: ಎಂದಿಗೂ ತಮ್ಮದಾಗದ ಹೊಲದಲ್ಲಿ ದುಡಿದು ಸವೆಯುವವರು (ಪ್ಯಾನೆಲ್‌ 3)

ദൃശ്യമായ ജോലി, അദൃശ്യരായ സ്ത്രീകള്‍: ജോലി കൃഷിയെങ്കിലും ഭൂമി സ്വന്തമല്ല (പാനല്‍ 3)

দৃশ্যমান কাজ, অদৃশ্য নারী: শ্রম আমার, জমি নয় (প্যানেল ৩)

काम ही काम, महिलाएं गुमनाम: खेत तो है, पर अपना नहीं (पैनल 3)

दिसणारं काम, न दिसणाऱ्या बाया – रान, पण स्वतःचं नसणारं – (पॅनेल ३)

کام ہی کام، عورتیں گمنام: کھیت تو ہے، مگر اپنا نہیں (پینل ۳)

Anantapur

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

IN TELUGU - Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Visible Work, Invisible Women: A field, but not one’s own (Panel 3)

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit