THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Dr. Ramjilal, Social Scientist,
Former Principal, Dyal Singh College,
Karnal (Haryana, India).
Email: [email protected]
**(On the occasion of Women’s Day on 8 March 2026, women farmers and women agricultural labourers have remained invisible from the print and electronic media. This article presents the role of women farmers and women agricultural labourers in various major farmers’ movements.)
Brief:
In Indian society, there is a common perception that women have been confined to the four walls of their homes. However, historical evidence and research contradict this notion. Modern archaeological and ethnographic studies indicate that women have actively participated in both agriculture and hunting. Historical records suggest that women were pioneers in the origins of agriculture, leading historians to believe that they were the first farmers, rather than men. In ancient times, women contributed to approximately 80 per cent of the primary agricultural work, including farming, animal husbandry, and food preparation for their tribal communities.
Change is a universal constant. With the transition from hunting to agriculture, the roles of nomadic communities began to shift towards settled lifestyles. Consequently, the roles of women also evolved. While they initially dominated farming, the introduction of more labour-intensive technologies, such as the plough, resulted in men often taking over large-scale farming. Women then focused on managing, harvesting, processing crops, performing household chores, and caring for animals.
According to a 2017 study, bone density measurements of ancient Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age individuals indicate that continual, repetitive, and strenuous manual labor was a significant part of women’s lives. This research reveals that men had lower upper body bone strength because they primarily performed lower body work—such as running and hunting—leaving women to handle planting, tilling, and other agricultural tasks. Thus, women played a crucial role in laying the foundation for the first agricultural revolution with tireless determination.
During the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods (8000-4000 BCE), significant advancements in the cultivation and domestication of crops (such as wheat and barley) and animals (like sheep and goats) occurred. The earliest evidence of these developments can be traced back to northwest India (Mehrgarh, now in Pakistan) and the Gangetic plains, while advanced irrigation systems emerged in the Indus Valley by 4500 BCE.
Three Key Roles:
Historical studies reveal that not only during the nomadic period, but also during the Vedic, post-Vedic, Buddhist, and Jain eras, ordinary women played crucial roles in their families by undertaking three essential tasks: domestic work, animal husbandry, and agriculture. Rural women continue to fulfil these three roles today, confirming that women have been at the forefront of agricultural work for centuries.
Explanation:
Approximately 900 million women work in agriculture worldwide. However, in over 90 countries, women lack land ownership rights. Globally, women own less than 20% of cultivable land, with some estimates suggesting that only 10% of women hold land ownership. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey of 2019-20, 75.7% of rural women in India participate in agricultural work, yet only 13.87% have legal rights to land in farming communities. The situation is even more dire in non-farming communities, where only 2% of women possess legal land ownership rights. This means that approximately 86% of women in farming communities and 98% in non-farming communities do not own any land-related property.
Why do women farmers and agricultural labourers participate in farmers’ movements?
Despite their critical involvement in agriculture, many women possess virtually no cultivable land and remain largely invisible. Nonetheless, they play a vital role in farmers’ movements. Agriculture serves as the lifeblood of every country, and women farmers are no exception. Their familial, social, and economic lives depend on agricultural produce, and government policies significantly impact their livelihoods. The agricultural crisis directly threatens their means of survival and food security. As vital contributors to agriculture, they often express deep anger over financial hardships, the high suicide rates among male farmers, and the lack of recognition for their efforts. Their participation in these movements challenges patriarchal norms and helps solidify their identities as farmers.
Moreover, their involvement has expanded the movement’s demands to include critical issues such as land rights for landless women, guaranteed minimum wages, and equal pay for agricultural labourers. This shift drastically alters the gender dynamics of rural advocacy. As a result, women farmers and agricultural labourers actively participate in farmers’ movements.
Important Unsung Peasant Heroines:
The first women’s farmers’ organisation in India, the Kisaninin Sabha (Farmers’ Women’s Association), was founded on February 19, 1925. This all-women’s conference, held in Pratapgarh (Awadh), was presided over by Jai Kumari and included prominent figures like Malati Choudhury, the founder of the Utkal Provincial Kisan Sabha in Odisha, and Smt. Yamuna Karji, President of the Kisan Sabha. Even before this formal organisation was established, women had already played significant roles in the national and anti-colonial movements in India. In 1942, women formed the Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti (Women Self-Defence League) and the Nari Vahini.
Among the women who made significant contributions to the Tebhaga farmers’ movement (1946-1947), notable names include Bimal Majhi, Ela Mitra, Mani Kuntal Sen, and Renu Chakraborty, among others, who participated in the Tebhaga peasant movement (1946-1947). But the most famous woman among them is Bimal Majhi. Bimal Majhi was surrounded by the police and held in a cage for a month until 140 cases were filed against her. In these cases, Bimal Majhi was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Bimal Majhi is a unique example of a peasant movement. The Tebhaga movement saw a leading role not only for men but also for women.
In the Telangana peasant movement (1946-1951), the names of Chityala Elamma, Suniti Choudhury, Bina Das, Durga Devi, Pratibha Waddedar, Lachhma Jamalunissa Begum, Belli Lalita, etc. are notable. Belli Lalita is renowned as the ‘Nightingale’ of Telangana resistance. Apart from these, women who played the most important roles include Mallu Swarajyam (associated with Andhra Mahasabha), Padma Deshpande (associated with Navayuvak Mandal), N. Satyavati (associated with Andhra Yuvati Mandal), Jashodaben (associated with Navjeevan Mandal), Congress Party leader Padmaja Naidu, etc. Women played an unprecedented role in mobilising men and women against exploitation and oppression.
In the ongoing Naxalite movement, which began in 1967, prominent women leaders include Sushital Ray Chowdhury, Narmada Akka (Leader Central Committee), Anuradha Ghandy (Theoretician) and Gummadiveli Renuka (Chaite) (Player in guerrilla warfare and a writer), Aruna (a senior leader of the Andhra-Orissa Special Regional Committee), and Madi Sukanti and Kaushalya Khila, Sundari (former dreaded Naxalite from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh).
Important Farmers’ Movements:
Notable farmers’ movements in the first half of the 20th century included the Tana movement (1912-1914), the Bijolia farmers’ movement (1924), the Bardoli farmers’ movement (June 1928), the Worli tribal farmers’ movement (1945), the Tebhaga farmers’ movement (1946-1947), and the Telangana armed farmers’ movement (1946). Women have played significant roles in peasant movements since 1951, the Naxalite movement (from May 19, 1967, to present), and the Farmers’ Movement (2020-2021)and various peasant movements led by All India Kisan Sabha, the Communist Party of India, the Socialist Party, and the Congress Party.
The Role of Women in the Tebhaga, Telangana, and Naxalite Movements
A. Women’s Role in the Tebhaga Movement (1946-1947)
Women were integral to the Tebhaga Peasant Movement, contributing in both indirect and direct ways:
1. Indirect Role: Initially, women’s involvement was supportive. They assisted with agricultural tasks and ensured the safety of leaders by cooking and raising alarms in case of danger.
2. Direct Role: As the movement escalated, women began taking charge when male leadership hesitated. Armed with determination, they employed various means of resistance—using red flags, brooms, chilli powder, and makeshift weapons. They organised as women’s militias, significantly impacting the movement’s momentum.
B. Women’s Participation in the Telangana Armed Rebellion (1946-1951)
Similar to Tebhaga, women’s involvement in the Telangana armed rebellion unfolded in two phases:
1. Indirect Role: Initially, women’s roles were limited, as many men joined guerrilla groups to escape police oppression. However, as men left, some women bravely engaged in guerrilla warfare, while others protected their homes and communities.
2. Direct Role: During the rebellion’s second phase, women actively participated in numerous tasks, including acting as messengers for guerrilla groups, safeguarding their homes, and ensuring supplies reached the fighters. They adapted to their new responsibilities, taking on leadership roles at the local level and influencing strategic decisions. Their primary means of defence included sticks, stones, and other household items, along with modern firearms for those trained in guerrilla tactics.
Through their unwavering courage and commitment, these women not only contributed to their causes but also reshaped the narrative of women in resistance movements across India. Their legacies continue to inspire future generations..
C. Women’s Participation in the Naxalite Movement (1967 to Present):
According to Mallarika Sinha Roy, poor tribal peasant women have played an active role in the Naxalite movement rather than serving merely as a background presence. Women in Naxalite squads have engaged in violent actions and participated in various critical functions. Their involvement includes practical knowledge of guerrilla warfare tactics, sheltering revolutionary comrades, providing food and rest, ensuring security outside their homes, and spreading the message of the Naxalite movement throughout villages. They have organised and motivated both women and men to participate in the movement, supplied weapons, explained guerrilla warfare techniques, offered training, and provided security during confrontations with police and paramilitary forces. While living in jungles with Naxalite youth, they have engaged in training and practice in camps, standing shoulder to shoulder with men in defending against law enforcement. Unfortunately, when arrested by police or paramilitary forces, Naxalite women often face gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, torture, and inhumane treatment while in custody. Encounters involving Naxalite women receive significant media attention, with both true and false accounts making headlines.
The Tebhaga (1946-47), Telangana (1946-51), and Naxalite (1967 Onwards) Movements from a Women’s Perspective: Key Similarities:
The Tebhaga, Telangana, and Naxalite movements share noteworthy similarities in how women participated, driven by the intersection of class struggle and gender oppression. From women’s perspectives, these movements were characterised by widespread active participation, a shift in traditional gender roles, and confrontations against economic exploitation and patriarchal violence.
The key similarities regarding women’s participation are as follows:
1. Women’s roles in all three movements were not merely symbolic; they involved active, combative, and militant participation, both directly and indirectly. Women moved beyond supportive roles to take on active, often militant positions. In Telangana, they were part of guerrilla units; in Tebhaga, they protected paddy fields; and in the Naxalite movement, they engaged in radical action.
2. In all three movements, women not only supported men but also participated equally with them in armed uprisings and peaceful rallies.
3. Women faced police brutality, violence, and torture. To escape this brutality and protect their children, they formed self-defence groups, underwent guerrilla training, and bravely confronted police forces.
4. All three movements opposed feudal and landlord systems. The Telangana movement was specifically an armed struggle against forced labour and sexual exploitation of women by landlords and feudal lords.
5. Violence, exploitation, and injustice forced women to take up arms in self-defence, challenging traditional structures.
6. In these movements, women confronted issues of domestic violence, sexual violence, alcohol abuse, and other anti-women practices, although the patriarchal system remains deeply entrenched.
7. Women fought for land rights, advocating for “land to the tiller” and equal wages with men across all three movements.
8. The mobilisation and active participation of rural, tribal, and lower-caste women transformed these movements into mass struggles.
In summary, the Tebhaga, Telangana, and Naxalite movements share significant similarities in women’s participation, rooted in the interplay of class struggle and gender oppression. These movements witnessed widespread active involvement, a shift in traditional gender roles, and confrontations with economic exploitation and patriarchal violence. Their rich legacy contributed to the abolition of the zamindari system and the implementation of land reform laws in certain states, laying the groundwork for future peasant movements and fostering social change.
D. The Role of Women in the Farmers’ Movement (2020-2021):
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India introduced three ordinances, signed by the President and published in the Extraordinary Gazette on June 5, 2020. These ordinances were subsequently submitted to Parliament for approval. Following parliamentary approval and the President’s signature, these ordinances became Acts. The acts are:
1. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020
2. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020
3. The Farmers’ Agreement on Price Assurance of Agricultural Produce and Farm Services (Empowerment and Protection) Act, 2020
The nationwide farmers’ movement of 2020-2021 was launched under the leadership of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). These laws were criticised as “black laws” because they were deemed dangerous for both crops and future generations (Fasal and Nasal). A surprising but true fact is that during the “Jail Bharo Andolan” in Punjab, two four-year-old girls and a six-year-old girl participated in the protests.
Women played both direct and indirect roles in this movement. While men participated in rallies, protests, and demonstrations, the way women managed homes, families, agriculture, and livestock exemplified true self-reliance, self-respect, self-esteem, and women’s empowerment. Women drove tractors, tractor trolleys, cars, scooters, and motorcycles to the rallies and protest sites, participating shoulder to shoulder with men. They provided langar service at these sites, and on occasions like Women Farmers’ Day, they took charge of the movement, managing platforms and maintaining vigils day and night. Women actively engaged in the movement, singing and dancing in their local languages, just as they would at festivals, cultural events, and weddings. While men made sacrifices and confronted challenges, women stood alongside them.
This movement, which lasted approximately 378 days, experienced no significant incidents across India, except for one involving women. In fact, we believe that women were safer during the movement than at home. The active participation of women significantly contributed to creating a new consciousness by breaking the boundaries of gender, religion, region, and language, which changed the perceptions of male farmers regarding the importance of women’s contributions.
Women Farmer Leaders:
The farmers’ movement was primarily led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which consisted mostly of male members. However, women emerged as pivotal leaders and a defining presence within the movement. Notable women farmer leaders included Mohinder Kaur (Bathinda, Punjab), Kavitha Kuruganti, Veera Sindhu Pal, and Sukhwinder Kaur Mann, and Gurpreet Kaur Randhawa. Mohinder Kaur has filed a defamation case against Kangana Ranaut (BJP MP from Kangra) in a Bathinda court.
These women leaders coordinated community kitchens, legal aid desks, and medical assistance while mobilising women to participate in protests, processions, and public meetings. They actively addressed women’s issues such as land titles, access to credit, and equal wages for female labourers. On July 26, 2021, approximately 200 women farmers organised the first-ever All Kisan Mahila Sansad at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest against the three farm laws.
Key issues raised during the Mahila Kisan Sansad, especially during the 2021 protests, included lack of land ownership and recognition, wage inequality, demands for equal pay for equal work, insufficient participation in decision-making, and various technical and institutional barriers. Women also faced physical and mental challenges due to the combined burden of household chores, agricultural work, and animal husbandry, as well as the impacts of climate and economic crises. In response to these challenges, women farmers called for self-reliance, greater financial independence, and more active participation in the movement. They also engaged with national and international media to promote their involvement in the struggle.
Ultimately, women’s roles have evolved, and they are now significantly involved in mobilizing, organizing, and leading peasant women, becoming more self-reliant through direct participation rather than remaining in the background. The Mahila Kisan Andolan and other women’s movements from the 20th century to the present have led to crucial laws, policies, and schemes aimed at empowering women educationally, economically, and politically. The active participation of peasant women and agricultural labourers in the nationwide farmers’ movement of 2020-2021 has paved the way for a peaceful revolution, emphasising that there is no room for violence in a democracy.
