Women of Marathwada:
A Case Study of Socioeconomic Conditions and Healthcare Issues Faced by Marginalised Women Farmers and Daily Wage Workers in Beed District, Maharashtra, India
Abstract:
Sanjeevani, a widow and single mother of two, earned her Bachelor’s degree and started a meal service business while managing a small-scale farm following her husband’s suicide. Jayshree started a salon business while working as a daily wage labourer after being forced into an arranged marriage at age 20 (the legal age for marriage in India is 21). Those women, along with others who are small-scale farmers and daily wage workers, are the subjects of this short study.
The common perception of a farmer typically evokes the image of a man. In India, farming is traditionally associated with men as their occupation. Ironically, the agricultural sector employs 80 per cent of all economically active women; they make up 33 per cent of the farm labour force and 48 per cent of self-employed farmers. Research from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) reveals that women participate 75 per cent in major crop production, 79 per cent in horticulture, 51 per cent in post-harvest work, and 95 per cent in animal husbandry and fisheries.
Introduction:
This research paper focuses on marginalised women farmers and daily wage workers in the Beed district of Maharashtra, India. Marginalised farmers are defined as small-scale farmers with land holdings of less than 1 hectare. They often work as wage labourers. Daily wage workers, on the other hand, are farm labourers without land who work on others’ land for daily income. Over 48.9% of the population in the agricultural sector are marginalised farmers, 29.5% are small farmers, and the remainder is smallholder agriculture. The focus is on the Beed district, a region severely affected by drought, rainfall deficits, low soil quality, and declining groundwater levels. These conditions often lead to crop failures, which, in turn, result in accumulated debt. Increasing investments in irrigation and fertilisers, combined with declining crop prices and limited employment opportunities, force many farmers to sell their land and migrate, often working for large-scale farmers. Due to these environmental conditions, Beed faces social issues like underdevelopment, unemployment, heavy urbanization, and high rates of farmer suicides.
The central research question explores how intersectional discrimination impacts young women marginalised farmers and daily wage workers in their day-to-day lives. The paper delves into the economic, social, and physical challenges faced by women in an agricultural society within the rural setting of Marathwada.
Literature Review:
Statistics on marginalised farmers in Beed are readily available. However, limited surveys and articles focus on women farmers and workers. This paper uses both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources, including interviews, government records, and surveys, provide crucial data, such as migration patterns and government policies. Statistics from government records are incorporated. Interviews serve as the primary resource for the paper, with data drawn from 10 interviews—6 with daily wage workers and 4 with marginalised farmers. The interviews took place online and were conducted in Marathi, the regional language of Maharashtra. Secondary sources include research papers and news articles, which remain significant due to the limited information on this specific topic.
Findings/Results:
According to the sources, the lives of rural women are much harder compared to their male counterparts. From selecting crops to decisions regarding women’s bodies and personal lives, men in the household make almost all decisions. Women work full-time in the fields while also serving their husbands and caring for their children. The issues faced by these women fall into three categories: economic, social, and healthcare.
Economic Issues:
Inequality in wages is a major issue for all women in rural areas. All the daily wage workers interviewed stated that women earn less than half of what their husbands make. One interviewee, Pratidya, a daily wage worker, reported that her husband earns 500 Indian rupees (approximately 5.5 euros) per day, while she earns only 200 rupees (around 2 euros) for the same work and hours. This disparity is widely accepted by society. Additionally, at the end of the workday, women’s wages are handed over to their husbands, with both incomes paid to the husband, leaving women without financial independence. Despite being economically active, these women never truly gain economic independence. Working hours for daily wage workers can extend up to 11 hours, and sugarcane workers can work up to 15 hours, often migrating temporarily to other states for work. In marginalised farming, women’s land ownership is extremely low. The land they work on is typically in their husband’s or his family’s name. Anjali, a marginalised farmer, explained that her 2 acres of land are in her husband’s name. She remarked, “We never ask for land as women. If my husband has it, why would I need it?”. Women also bear the burden of unpaid housework, cooking, cleaning, and childcare, on top of their fieldwork. This work, though essential, is not valued by society. Men rarely, if ever, help with domestic tasks, reinforcing traditional gender roles.
Social Issues:
“ Equality to women is only on paper in Rural India- our opinion doesn’t really matter”~ Pratidnya Gaikwad.
According to the population consensus of 2011, female literacy in Beed regions is one of the lowest at 62.29. Majority of women that do not complete their higher education come from the rural parts of beed. Evidently, about 80 per cent of the women interviewed lacked higher education, despite aspirations, as they were married off at a young age. 90 per cent were married in arranged marriages below the legal age of 18. Lakshmi, for example, was married at the age of 12. As young brides, many women immediately begin working in the fields. Since families see an extra pair of hands as more valuable than an education, girls’ schooling is often cut short. Many women become mothers soon after marriage, bringing their children to work as they have no other option. Domestic violence is a serious issue in this area. Two women reported being subjected to domestic violence by their husbands and families. Fear of social stigma or lack of alternative living arrangements prevents many women from reporting abuse. Farmer suicides are high in Beed, especially during droughts. In the single year of 2015, 1133 farmer suicides were recorded in Marathwada, 301 of which were in beed. While the focus is typically on the men who commit suicide due to debt and crop failure, the impact on their wives is often overlooked. Two women, Premala and Sawita, lost their husbands to suicide and are now burdened with both farming and child-rearing, a situation made more difficult by their dependence on their husbands for income and social status. The agrarian society’s patriarchal system is so ingrained that it can be said that agriculture is the primary source of patriarchy, which is then transmitted to all other allied caste systems and conducting systems.
Healthcare Issues:
Healthcare literacy and access are extremely low in rural Marathwada. Government services often fail to reach remote villages. Women suffer from health problems due to heat and heavy labour, with many reporting severe headaches, knee, and back pain from carrying heavy loads. Most women lack proper protection from the heat, and menstruation is still shrouded in misinformation and taboo. Many women interviewed use cloth instead of sanitary pads, leading to poor hygiene and potential infections. Hysterectomy rates are alarmingly high. In 2018, the Maharashtra State Commission for Women commissioned a study that revealed 36% of the State’s female sugarcane labourers had undergone a hysterectomy. Four of the women interviewed had undergone the procedure to remove their uterus, often due to medical issues or to avoid losing work days to menstrual pain. There are various reasons for this surgery. Some of the women had cysts or infections in their uterus, while for others it was easier to undergo a hysterectomy so they wouldn’t have to lose 4-5 days of work during their periods, as they cannot afford to lose the wages. Lakshmi Gadhge, a sugarcane worker who underwent the hysterectomy, says that she had the surgery in a private hospital so it would be easier as government hospitals “ ask more questions” regarding the need for hysterectomy. Additionally, she states that she lost a great extent of blood and had side effects like knee and chest pain which did not happen before the surgery. Most of the women claim that hysterectomy was done because of the problems related to health, however, speculations have been raised by several journalists and news channels regarding the pressure of family and sugarcane contractors in the women.
Conclusion:
In such a challenging environment, what keeps these women resilient? When asked why male farmers commit suicide and not women, Sanjeevani responded, “Because women cannot be selfish; we have children and families to take care of.” Despite their economic dependence on men, rural women provide emotional support and care to their families, making their roles irreplaceable. Women in Beed have formed self-help groups to offer financial and emotional support to one another. These self-help groups may not be very official, but they work in providing loans for small businesses like sewing, savings for emergencies or special occasions, collective therapy sessions, etc. NGOs play a crucial role in empowering women and spreading awareness about their rights. For instance, Manaswini, a branch of the NGO Manavlok and Adhaar Foundation, assists widows of farmers who have committed suicide, helping them achieve economic stability. They help to educate the rural population about their rights and government policies, which helps the government schemes to penetrate these regions. From the overall interviews and data, it can be concluded that women in Beed face a variety of social, economical and health issues, which then add to both the cause and effects of intersectional discrimination in agricultural fields. Nevertheless, the interviews also showcase the incredible amount of strength and resilience shown by women in the farming sector of Beed district.
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