Role of women in agricultural activities in sunountainous region of punjab
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In Pakistan about fifty percent labour force is provided by the rural women. Contribution of rural women in the
agriculture is underestimated. This study was planed with the objective to determine the involvement of the rural
women in the agricultural activities. Tehsil Faisalabad was selected for this study. Eight villages were selected at
random. From each selected village 48 farm families were randomly selected. Thus making a sample of 384 farm
families comprising husband and wife leading to a total 768 of respondents. The data thus collected were
analyzed and interpreted by using appropriate statistical package to draw the conclusions. Most of the activities
were dominated by the husbands with the remarkable contribution of wives, such as wheat harvesting, wheat
binding, wheat threshing, prepare land for sugarcane, sugarcane sowing, sugarcane peeling and binding, gur
making, rice sowing, weeding of rice, harvesting of rice. Whereas wives’ contribution was higher in seed cleaning
and picking of vegetables. Clear policies and strategies should be formulated on the promotion of women’s
advancement in agriculture
Keywords: Rural women, agriculture activity, vegetable production, participation level
INTRODUCTION
In Pakistan, as a developing nation, the situation is
more or less similar to the different developing
countries. Inequality between women and men can
take many different forms. Definitely, gender inequality
is not a homogeneous phenomenon, but it is a
collection of unrelated and interlinked problems
(UNDP, 1999). Strong gender disparities exist in
educational attainment between rural and urban areas
and among the provinces. In 1996–1997 the literacy
rate in urban areas was 58.3 percent while in rural
areas it was 28.3 percent, and only 12 percent among
rural women (ADB, 2000). According to UNDP (2003)
gender disparity can be seen and analyzed through the
lens of the gender-related development index (GDI)
and the gender empowerment measurement (GEM).
Pakistan’s GDI ranking is 120th out of 146 countries
while its GEM ranking is 92 out of 94 countries.
Women faced preferential treatment in every aspect of
life in side and out side the boundary wall (Jamali,
2009).
Women, as paid and unpaid labour, represent an
important source of total agricultural labour in the
region. In Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan,
Iraq and Mauritania, women were estimated to
constitute 55.3%, 53.2%, 50.7%, 40.7%, 34.7%, 30.7%
and 28% of total paid and unpaid agricultural work,
respectively. In Syria, women constituted 44.4% of
wage labourers and 60% of unpaid farm labour, and in
Tunisia, 34.7% of the total temporary paid labour were
women. In Somalia, women provided 66% of the
labour in subsistence farming. In Cyprus, women
constituted 44% of the total paid labour, while in
Pakistan; women comprised 42% of the total family
labour (FAO, 1995). Female labour participation rate is
18.93% compared to 71.97% for men in Pakistan
(GOP, 2007).
Women’s substantial contribution continues to be
undervalued in conventional agricultural and economic
analysis and policies, while men’s contribution remains
the central, often sole focus of attention (Jiggins et al.,
1998; Fabiyi et al., 2007). The women participate in
almost all agricultural activities except cutting of trees
and spraying of chemicals. It has been reported that
statistics collected in South Asia on female activity
rates do not reflect the actual contribution made by
women. In Pakistan, for instance, the Labour Force
Survey (LFSP, 1999-2000) initially excluded women
who reported housekeeping and other related
activities. In recent years, the LFS sought to include
women who worked on one of fourteen specified
agricultural and non-agricultural activities under the
classification of improved female participation rates.
This resulted in a huge discrepancy between female
crude activity rates.
Rural women are the main producers of staple crops
more to the production of secondary crops, such as
legumes and vegetables. These vegetables, which are
often grown in home gardens, provide essential
nutrients and can often be the only source of food
during times of food shortage.