This article is centred around the International Day of Rural Women, its relevance and the challenges faced by rural women in India. It also discusses the initiatives implemented to uplift the rural women workers, along with potential steps forward.
International Day of Rural Women: An Overview
The International Day of Rural Women, celebrated annually on the 15th of October, was first observed in 2008. This event emerged from the proposal made by international NGOs at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, and was subsequently established by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 in 2007. The initiative aims to raise awareness about the substantial yet unacclaimed contributions that rural women make towards family livelihoods, and their critical role in national development, enhancing agriculture, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty. The theme for 2022 is “Rural Women, key for a world free from hunger and poverty.”
The Struggles of Rural Women Workers in India
Rural women workers face numerous challenges in India. Some of these persist due to incomplete data representation, with rural economies suffering as women often cease looking for work as they believe there’s none available—a situation erroneously referred to as “dropping out” or “leaving the market”. One stark issue remains the lack of pay parity, especially in manual labour work, where women are paid less than men due to physical constraints in lifting heavy weights. Additionally, the absence of quality education impacts their prospects; most female construction workers are not registered as “Construction Workers” and are thus ineligible for benefits from the Construction Workers’ Welfare Board.
Another hurdle is the limitation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which provides only 100 days of paid labour on public works projects per year. For the rest of the period, women workers have to seek alternative sources of income to cover expenses. Financial constraints also pose a significant problem as what women earn from various tasks, which often come with no fixed rates, is far from equivalent to the amount of labour they invest.
Uplifting Rural Women Workers: Current Initiatives
Several initiatives have been undertaken to uplift rural women workers in India. The e-Shram Portal, for instance, was launched to register 38 crore unorganised workers such as construction labourers, migrant workforce, street vendors and domestic workers. The Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) was introduced in 2011, aimed at imparting skill development and capacity building programmes for rural women. Other initiatives include the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), launched in 2015, which aims to train over 40 crore people in India in different skills by 2022.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has also boosted the confidence and prospects of rural women’s participation in economic activities by ensuring access to affordable financial services, from banking and savings to credit and insurance. Other initiatives include the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization Scheme, and the PM-KISAN Scheme.
Path Forward: Addressing the Challenges
To truly uplift rural women, it’s crucial to conduct timely village surveys to reveal the reality of their circumstances. Furthermore, adult education and training should be made available for these women, as lack of quality education remains one of their greatest barriers to sustainable development. The performance standards set under MGNREGA should be gender-wise, and work sites made more worker-friendly.
Finally, it’s important to recognise and protect the ‘compulsary’ woman worker through laws and policies. Addressing these issues will contribute significantly towards empowering women and achieving inclusive and sustainable development in rural India.
