P. Sainath

large_01-PK006-19_done-Crop1-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_And_getting_a_g_lPH22UI.jpg

medium_01-PK006-19_done-Crop1-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_And_getting_a_g_lPH22UI.jpg

small_01-PK006-19_done-Crop1-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_And_getting_a_g_lPH22UI.jpg

thumbnail_01-PK006-19_done-Crop1-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_And_getting_a_g_lPH22UI.jpg

01-PK006-19_done-Crop1-PS-Visible_Work_Invisible_Women_-_And_getting_a_g_lPH22UI.jpg

The panel is part of <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/sainath-womens-work-exhibition/">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.And getting a grip on things 
 She had worn her best saree to come and learn cycling. At a ‘cycling training camp’ in Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu. She was exuberant with good cause. Some 4,000 very poor women in her district had come to control the quarries where they were once bonded labourers. Their organised struggle, combined with a politically conscious literacy movement, made Pudukkottai a better place.
 Ownership and control of resources was and remains central. If the lives of hundreds of millions of rural women are to improve, then so must these rights.The group in Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh is an all-women panchayat. Sure, coming into local governance has bettered their status and self-esteem. But their influence in their own villages remains limited. They own and control very little. They have no rights to land, for instance. And there is no recognition of their rights in most spheres, even where these exist in law. What happens when a Dalit female sarpanch finds her landlord is the deputy? Does her seniority make him listen to her? Or does he behave as a landlord bullying his labourer? Or as a man asserting himself over a woman? Female sarpanchs and panchayat members have been stripped, beaten, raped, kidnapped and had false cases foisted on them. Yet women in panchayats have achieved astonishing things. What might they achieve if feudalism were abolished?

The literacy class on in Pudukkottai came during sweeping changes. Radical events put them in charge of quarries where they had once been bonded labourers. Though their control has been attacked, they have learned to fight for their rights. Like millions of other rural poor, women need land reform. Within that, the recognition and enforcement of their land, water and forest rights. They need joint pattas (title deeds) for ownership in any redistributed land. And equal property rights in all land. The rights of the poor to the village commons must be enforced; the sale of the commons, stopped. Where these rights do not exist in law, new laws are needed. Where laws exist, their enforcement is vital. Alongside a radical redistribution of resources, we need to redefine a lot of things. Such as ‘skilled’ and ‘unskilled’ or ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ work. We need women agricultural labourers too, on the committees that decide the minimum wage.

It needs mass movements to make that happen. Organised public action. Intervention in the political process. And recognition that rural women’s problems are also a vital part of the struggle of the Indian poor as a whole for a better life.Do-gooder development is no substitute for strengthening people’s rights. Rural women, like other poor people, don’t need charity. They need their rights enforced. That is what so many millions of them are now struggling for.

Visible Work, Invisible Women: And getting a grip on things (Panel 10)

புலப்படும் பணியும், புலப்படாத பெண்களும் - விஷயங்களின் பிடிமானம் (பகுதி 10)

દેખીતાં કામ, અદ્રશ્ય મહિલાઓ: અને પરિસ્થિતિ પર નિયંત્રણ (પેનલ 10)

ଦୃଶ୍ୟମାନ କାମ, ଅଦୃଶ୍ୟ ମହିଳା: ଏବଂ ସବୁକିଛି ଉପରେ ଏକ ନିୟନ୍ତ୍ରଣ ପାଉଛନ୍ତି (ପ୍ୟାନେଲ୍‌ ୧୦)

দৃশ্যমান কাম, অদৃশ্য নাৰী: আগবাঢ়ি গৈ থাকা (১০ নং পেনেল)

ಕಾಣುವ ಕೆಲಸಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಕಾಣದೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು: ಬದುಕಿನ ಮೇಲೆ ಹಿಡಿತ ಸಾಧಿಸುತ್ತಾ… (ಪ್ಯಾನೆಲ್‌ 10)

ദൃശ്യമായ ജോലി, അദൃശ്യരായ സ്ത്രീകൾ: കാര്യങ്ങൾ നിയന്ത്രണത്തിലാകുമ്പോൾ (പാനല്‍ 10)

ਕੰਮ ਹੀ ਕੰਮ ਬੋਲੇ, ਔਰਤ ਰਹੀ ਓਹਲੇ ਦੀ ਓਹਲੇ: ਚੀਜ਼ਾਂ 'ਤੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਪਕੜ ਬਣਾਉਂਦੀਆਂ ਹੋਈਆਂ (ਪੈਨਲ 10)

కనిపించే పని, కనిపించని మహిళలు: పరిస్థితిని అదుపులోకి తెచ్చుకోవడం (ప్యానల్ 10)

দৃশ্যমান কাজ, অদৃশ্য নারী - চরৈবেতি, চরৈবেতি (প্যানেল ১০)

काम ही काम, महिलाएं गुमनाम: अधिकार की लड़ाई (पैनल 10)

दिसणारं काम, न दिसणाऱ्या बाया – गोष्टींवर पकड मिळवायचीच (पॅनेल १०)

کام ہی کام، عورتیں گمنام: قدم جمانے کی کوشش (پینل ۱۰)

Pudukottai

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: And getting a grip on things (Panel 10)

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