The three farm laws recently enacted by the Union government, against which the farmers are protesting across India, especially on the Delhi border, would adversely affect women involved in the farm sector more than anyone else, said K. Neela, State vice-president of Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Sanghatan.
Addressing a gathering on the third day of a demonstration at Jagat Circle here on Thursday in support of farmers protesting on the Delhi border, she said that women, who managed over 45 % of the farmers families in the country, would be victimised by the laws, in the first place.
“More than 45 % of farmers families are led and managed by women who are involved in all sorts of agricultural labour, right from sowing to harvesting. The women’s condition is already pathetic in the country and the new laws would worsen that. The laws that are introduced to help big corporate companies involved in the farm sector would devastate the country’s rural economy and women would be the first among the rural population to starve, suffer and come to the street losing everything,” she said.
Strongly opposing the anti-cattle slaughter Bill passed recently in the Legislative Assembly, Ms. Neela said that the provisions in the Bill would also hit hard the women economically as a considerable portion of women in the rural areas were involved in dairy farming and allied activities.
“We should understand that a sizeable chunk of women in the rural areas are involved in farming, especially in dairy farming and activities involving cattle. The anti-cattle slaughter Bill passed in the Assembly would devastate the rural economy and the women would be at the receiving end,” she said.
To register their opposition to the three farm laws enacted by the Union government and the anti-cattle slaughter Bill passed by the State Assembly, the agitating activists disfigured the images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and industrialists Mukhesh Ambani and Gautam Adani with blank ink.
M.B. Sajjan from All India University Employees Confederation, Sangayya Halladamath from Samudaya Sanghatane, Pramod Panchal from Aland Young Writers Association, Jagadevi of Janwadi Mahila Sanghatan and others participated.
