Women at work

A group of fisherwomen during the federation meeting at coastal villages in Puducherry’s Karaikal district. | Photo Credit: MOORTHY M

The generation of women who grew up in the 80s and 90s were ‘educated’ (along with maths and science) on what was expected of them (us): study, marry, get a job that would ‘allow’ a prioritisation of family, have children — basically, don’t challenge the system. Many of my generation didn’t, for most of our lives.

The women in this story did, early in their lives. My colleague Nacchinarkkiniyan M. writes about how the women members of the fishing community in some of Tamil Nadu’s coastal villages are penetrating oor kootams, village assemblies that are traditionally male bastions, which make decisions on everything from domestic disputes to political matters. Read about how a small step on to a village stage can be a big step into community roles, for womankind. A large part of why they are able to step into decision-making roles is livelihood and access to finance.

Grassroots movements will hopefully lead to an upward diffusion of ideas. So it’s heartening to hear that the United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. Until we acknowledge that a woman is not a ‘farmer’s wife’ or someone who ‘helps her farmer-husband’, women will never be considered equal decision-makers in the field, even though they may be doing far more labour. Acknowledging women’s role in food production is a large part of problem-solving, both at the individual and global levels. By spotlighting women in agriculture, we can hope that their land rights will be affirmed and their voices on climate and ecology heard.

Women have of course always been at work, even if looking after babies and homes is not considered an economic activity. But when women in their 20s are formally inducted into an institution that was traditionally out of bounds, it makes us want to hold them close, and whisper into their ears that we live through them — our dreams are their reality. In ‘17 women look up to the sky’, read about the first batch of women cadets who graduated from Pune’s National Defence Academy, a 70-year-old institution.

Here’s what one of the cadets told our reporter Snehal Mutha about an exercise they had to perform as a part of training: “We had to climb a hill bearing weight as a part of Camp Rovers. Everyone was exhausted because it extends for five days. We hadn’t slept properly for three or four nights, and I felt like giving up. But my course-mate Srishti Singh started singing, and we kept climbing. The next thing we knew, the hill was conquered.” 

That’s what it feels like to earn both money and privilege, to feel seen and acknowledged for hours of labour, to be equal in pay and power. A hill conquered.

Toolkit

“It remains difficult and rare for women to obtain senior positions in the field of international affairs. Many women find that they have to suppress aspects of their gender to remain competitive in the industry,” says Nussaibah Younis, author of Fundamentally, shortlisted for Women’s Prize for Fiction. The book is a satire on international aid organisations parachuting into countries where they ‘save’ people. The prize was won by Dutch author, Yael van der Wouden, for her debut novel, The Safekeep. Wouden spoke a little about her experience as an intersex person in her winner’s speech.

Wordsworth

Sex ratio at birth (SRB)

The number of girls born for every 1,000 boys. In 2022, Bihar had the lowest sex ratio at birth, which had been in decline for three years, says data fromthe Civil Registration System’s Vital Statistics Report. While political parties across India have been wooing women with several schemes, at home, there is still a preference for male children, who are seen as part of the family, while a girl child is thought of as ‘belonging’ to the family she will ‘marry into’. Other States with low sex ratios at birth in 2022 were Maharashtra (906), Telangana (907), and Gujarat (908). Nagaland had the highest figure of 1,068, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (1,036), Ladakh (1,027), Meghalaya (972), and Kerala (971). India has slipped to the 131st position in the Global Gender Gap Index 2025.

Ouch!

I think one of the most beautiful compliments that you could give to a woman that you really admire is to wish for her to mother your children…

Musician Badshah, on X

Woman we met

Nitu Sharma, 42, has run a food cart opposite the Naggar Palace, in Himachal Pradesh, for 20 years now. She sells siddu momos and chai. “My first earnings amounted to ₹500, and I still have that note,” says Sharma, who has kept the pre-demonetisation money. She says she started the stall with her mother to support her parents, as they had six children to support, and she is the eldest. “I helped my sister finish her MA in English,” she says, with pride. Sharma never wanted to marry, but says the community is supportive. Her problem though, is with the pucca shops around, whose owners have tried to intimidate her into shutting down, even calling the police once. “They think women are weak,” she says, adding, “Ladies ko self-depend hona zaroori hai (Women must be self-reliant). People may support us, but we cannot keep asking for help.”

Published - June 15, 2025 09:32 am IST