WOMEN are tremendously contributing to the agricultural sector but as it appears they are highly discriminated in terms of daily wages although they work long hours and suffer from disadvantageous conditions. Media reports highlighted on Monday how they work in paddy field during this peak rainy season in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts along with male colleagues but they are less paid. It is simple exploitation taking advantage of their poor bargaining position. Since they work in the field for earning bread for the family, wealthy landowners discriminate them many ways.
Poor women even sell their labour in advance and widows and abandoned women are worst victim of their social life and discriminatory wages. We must say there should be greater awareness and social support for women who work in the field against all odds. There should be pressure on landowners to make equal payment to male and female workers irrespective of any gender inequality.
Report said that female workers in North Bengal especially work in jute and Aman fields and get daily wages from Tk 150 to Tk 180 as against a male worker earning between Tk 250 and Tk 300 respectively. This is entirely unacceptable. It is heartening that the gap is narrowing as per a report in 2015 compiled by the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management. But the report remains partly misleading when it said a male can buy nine kg of rice with daily income while a female can buy only six kgs to suggest the income gap by one third.
We know many NGOs are working in the name of women’s rights but their assertive role is most conspicuous by their absent at the field level. We believe that they must work at the community level to secure better wage and working condition for female workers in agricultural sector. Moreover as we see the ongoing UN sponsored ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) which aims among others reducing inequalities between men and women is yet to make any impact by raising wage level of women in agriculture although women at factories are not much discriminated now as against male colleagues.
In our view, man and woman are making almost equal contributions in the households based on their physical and mental make up and they must be treated equally. In most cases single women in the countryside are raising families abandoned by men earning bread for children and spending for education. They should have better claim of wages or at least not to be discriminated. It is time for change and the condition of working women in agriculture the countryside should also definitely change for better.
