Towards recognising women farmers
Maharashtra has passed the Women Farmers’ Empowerment Bill, which grants women independent legal recognition as farmers regardless of land ownership. This legislation aims to address long-standing gender disparities in agricultural policy and data collection.
Why it matters
It provides legal visibility and potential access to resources for millions of women who perform agricultural labor but have historically been excluded from official farmer status.
Picture a farmer. The image that comes to mind is of a man. But when one looks at who is actually farming, she is increasingly likely to be a woman. This perception-reality mismatch is caused by age-old practices of collecting data, designing policies and defining who a farmer is. It makes millions of women who work on farms, make agricultural decisions and contribute to production nearly invisible. That may, however, finally be beginning to change.
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