Amidst A Labour Crisis, Women In Haryana Are Taking Charge Of The Paddy Transplantation. Let No One Tell You Women Can’t Do Something

One of the perks of working for a woman-oriented website like Hauterfly is that my faith in our gender has grown immensely. I am not saying women are the best thing to ever happen to mankind but let’s face it, we are just as good and capable (though we will all be dead before anyone admits this). However, the truth is, much to our dismay, there is nothing we can do about stereotypes that will make them vanish overnight. But we can keep feeding society examples of women who have proven that owning a uterus doesn’t make us weak or incapable of doing physical work that is usually associated with men. 

Today, I have a pretty great example of women like that. You see, in Haryana, a state that is known for its ugly gender-bias, women have stepped up and are now the reason the paddy cultivation in the region has not suffered. 

Okay, let me give you some context. In Haryana, the paddy transplantation is in full bloom at the moment. To ensure that the crops don’t suffer due to the lack of labourers who usually work the fields, the local women have taken up this challenge. 

Also Read: Indian Women Can Help Create An Alternate Fuel And In These Times, This Could Help Them With Livelihood

Women take charge of paddy sowing amid migrant labour shortage in Haryana – chandigarh https://t.co/3dizvLNBqB

— My Punjab Live (@punjab_my) June 30, 2020

Leelawati, the group leader of women labourers in Darar village of the Karnal district, said, “On the request of farmers, I formed a team of 15 women and started transplantation. Farmers were ready to pay more as they were in desperate need of help but we decided not to exploit their helplessness and only charge Rs 3,000 per acre.” 

The farmers in the paddy sowing regions like Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar are now dependent on these local women to transplant the paddy. These women are landless labourers who offered to help the farmers out and have even agreed to work for lesser wages to make this easier on the farmers. 

Som Prakash, a farmer from the Dhanokheri village of Karnal district said that these local women are charging Rs 3,000-Rs 3,5000 per acre whereas the workers would charge Rs3,500-Rs 4,500 per acre. He also added that the women are working more efficiently as compared to the workers who work in haste in an effort to earn more money. 

You see, the farmers usually depend on skilled migrant workers to work on the paddy fields. But, since there is a labour shortage due to the lockdown, they had to rely on the local women to help them out. And admittedly, the women seem to be doing a much better job in lesser wages. Can someone please remind me who that genius was who suggested women are only meant for domestic chores? 

Again, this story proves that if society didn’t hold us back we would be able to do anything. Also, thanks to the lockdown women are taking charge everywhere! 

https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/this-woman-walked-160-kms-immediately-after-giving-birth-to-reach-her-village-shes-strong-but-the-plight-of-migrants-is-heart-wrenching/