Speakers highlight plight of women in agri

As an agricultural country with 70 per cent of its population associated with agriculture, Pakistan has to recognise women’s participation in the workforce, stressed speakers at a press conference held to mark International Rural Women’s Day on Thursday by Working Women Welfare Trust (WWWT).

The latest statistics indicate 67 per cent of the female labour force is associated with the agriculture sector, they said but agricultural labour is doomed to earn a modest living with deplorable working conditions.

Rural women, despite contributing towards all kinds of labour in farming and cottage industries, fall among informal and unpaid labour, according to the speakers, who included WWWT Vice President Rehana Afroze, advocate Dr Rana Khan and secretary Naseem Bukhari.

The speakers pointed to the issue of malnutrition prevalent among women in agriculture and lack of maternal care. There is no concept of maternity leaves for rural working women, they argued.

Besides fewer educational opportunities for girls, intimidation, harassment and torture of women are common, they said.

Women are excluded from economic rights such as share in property or business or any form of economic autonomy as it not considered acceptable, emphasised the speakers, elaborating on the marginalisation of rural women in the agriculture sector.

The WWWT press conference welcomed the Sindh Women Agricultural Act 2019 and stressed the need for the law’s phase-wise implementation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2020.