The Leader Lies in You (Success Stories of Women Farmers in UP, India)

The Leader Lies In You
- Success stories of women

farmers in UP
About CNS
CNS envisions a just social order by achieving development justice
for all (health, gender, economic, re-distributive, social and climate
justice).
We work towards:
• Enhancing visibility of neglected issues related to development justice, in particular,
health, gender and corporate accountability, by documenting voices of key affected
populations, among other constituencies, in our rights- and evidence-based thematic
news coverage;
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and
• advocating and campaigning for policy, programmatic and social changes to achieve
development justice for all.
The credit for this article series and publication goes to:
• Shobha Shukla, CNS Managing Editor | Email: shobha@citizen-news.org

• Rahul Kumar Dwivedi, CNS Special Correspondent | Email: rahul@citizen-news.org
CNS (Citizen News Service)

C-2211, C-block crossing, Indira Nagar, Lucknow-226016. India
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Documentation support
CNS is grateful for technical guidance and financial support from Oxfam India office in
Lucknow, UP, towards documentation of this article series.
2|The Leader lies in you - Success stories of women farmers

, C-2211, C-block crossing, Indira Nagar, Lucknow-226016. UP. India
Phone-fax: +91-(0)-522-2358230, Email: editor@citizen-news.org
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Table of contents
February 2015 | Shared under Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License
S.No. Content Page No.
1 Introduction 5
2 Hard work is key to success: Kamlesh 7
3 When the going gets tough, the tough gets going: Islawati 11
4 From adversity to prosperity: Preeti 16
5 Where there is a will there is a way: Teeja Devi 22
6 A woman of substance: Kalawati 28
7 God helps those who help themselves: Kunta Devi 33
8 Slow but steady wins the race: Lilawati 39
9 She who does not tire, tires adversity: Savitri 45
10 Only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work: Leela Shikhdhar 50
11 Be the change you want to see in the world: Pushpa Devi 56
12 Authorities Speak 62
13 Annexure 1: List of ten women farmers and contacts 67
“80 percent of rural women in India are engaged in agricultural

works but only less than 13 percent women own any land. They
work as laborers doing much of the preproduction, production,
harvest and postharvest activities but the contributions of
women farmers always go unrecognized.”
Source: Landesa and Oxfam India's factsheet on ‘A Land Of My Own’ campaign for
women's rights over property

Introduction
About 72 per cent population of Uttar Pradesh is involved in agricultural activities and
women play a significant role in agriculture. According to Food and Agricultural
Organisation (FAO) only 9 per cent of rural Indian women own land, although nearly
80 per cent contribute as agricultural workers (NSSO, 2011). The agricultural sector is
the largest employer of women. A considerably higher proportion of the female
workforce compared to males is in agriculture.
Some of the basic problems faced by women farmers in Uttar Pradesh are:
• Women farmers do not have the basic identity as ‘farmer’. Due to

prevalent negative mindset in the society, they are largely considered to
be a ‘helping hand’ of men and supposed to play supportive roles and
hence deprived from decision making and control over agricultural
production processes.
• Women are deprived from their legal rights including ownership over the
land. Even where they hold title, their rights are de jure and not de
facto.
• Women farmers are out of mainstream of the agriculture development.

Agricultural extension programmes do not address the needs of women
farmers, rather they are discouraged.
• Women farmers are virtually ‘debarred’ from availing credit facilities

from banks and other lending institutions due to typical nature of certain
eligibility conditions such as ownership of land.
Analyzing the problems, it was felt that despite the very significant role in
agricultural production, women farmer's contribution has never been acknowledged,
recognized and rewarded. Non-recognition of women as farmers affects their self-
confidence and dignity, and makes them to accept themselves as second-class
citizens. The importance of this particular issue of non-recognition of women as
‘farmers’ has been felt and realized by several non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), civil society organizations, farmer unions, media, etc and they have been
raising their voices from time to time. It was felt that there is an urgent need to
strengthen these efforts to fight for the rights and interests of woman farmers in
Uttar Pradesh. In the light of these needs, Oxfam, along with several other NGOs,
small woman farmer unions and civil society organizations initiated an intensive
campaign named -AAROH- (since October 2006) in all districts of Uttar Pradesh (UP)
to establish the identity of women as agriculture farmers and to fight for their rights
and interests. To support the campaign through programmatic intervention to

establish women as farmers and enhance their economic leadership, grassroots
programming - aiming to support immediate needs of women farmers for increasing
productivity, increasing income and improving access to resources and market - was
also initiated in 2 districts namely Shahjahanpur and Pilibhit where, through
vegetable cultivation, women farmers are trying to establish their identity as farmers.
During the journey several women farmers established their identity and got
recognized at various levels.
With support from Oxfam India, Citizen News Service (CNS) team led by Managing
Editor Shobha Shukla and Special Correspondent Rahul Kumar Dwivedi, documented
the journeys and successes of ten such women farmers who have established their
identity as women farmers and enhanced economic leadership of women farmers in
different regions of UP state such as Purvanchal, Central UP, Pashchim UP,
Ruhelkhand and Bundelkhand.
“Invest in women’s needs. Women are the key to

food security. Investments in agriculture must
involve women and address women’s needs within
agriculture and related sectors. Women’s access to
inputs and financial services must be improved in
order for their potential to be realized.”
Source:
Oxfam briefing paper: Investing in poor farmers pays: Rethinking how to invest in agriculture,
online at: www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-129-investing-in-poor-farmers.pdf

Hard work is key to
success: Kamlesh
Inspiring story of a woman farmer Kamlesh, 50 years old, from
village Daulatpur, block Sarsawan, district Saharanpur
50 years old Kamlesh is the mother of 5 children—3 daughters and 2 sons. Her two
daughters are already married and one of the sons has recently joined a job in
Mumbai after doing his B.Tech.
Childhood
Kamlesh comes from a farmer’s
family and was married into a
similar one. Out of her 3 sisters
and 2 brothers, only one brother
could study and become a
veterinary doctor — the others
could not due to poverty. But
she was good at farming and
was also adept at stitching,
knitting, embroidery, cooking
and other household work. Yet
all her womanly skills became
the cause of many a discomfort
after marriage.
Life after marriage

At the age of 21, she got
married in a joint family
comprising her husband, his two
sisters and his three brothers
and their wives. Her husband’s
parents were dead and his elder
brother’s wife was the family
head. She felt threatened by
Kamlesh’s accomplishments and
made life miserable for her. “My
sister-in-law was a terror for
everyone and would instigate

my husband to beat me. My husband is good at heart but would get carried away with
her constant bickerings and beat me. I faced a lot of mental and physical torture.
Eventually conditions became so bad that my husband and I had to move out along
with our two daughters and one son.”
Her work and achievements

Her ouster from her in-laws house proved to be the turning point in Kamlesh’s life.
She and her husband laboured hard to improve their lot. They did not even have a
roof over their head and had no one else to fall back upon. It was a ‘do or die’
situation. While Kamlesh was used to working in the fields even before marriage, her
husband (though being a farmer’s son) knew nothing about farming. He had aspired to
do some white-collar job but had to give up his studies after Class 10 due to his
father’s sudden death. Kamlesh taught him the nitty-gritty of farming.
Kamlesh started growing vegetables like cucumber and beans at a time when none of
the other villagers were doing so—it was only later that others followed suit seeing
the results of her work. Through this then novel venture, and by dint of her hard
work, Kamlesh managed to save enough money to buy 4 bighas of land, in addition to
the 20 bighas, which her husband got from his ancestral property.
Kamlesh is a member of the Aaroh Mahila Kisan Manch since the past several
years and has been part of several women’s movements. “I was actively involved,
with several likeminded women, in an antiliquor movement to get a liquor shop
removed in a nearby village Pather. We sat on a dharna for over 3 months before we
could succeed in our mission. This went a long way in controlling alcoholism in the
village. It saved many families from the disastrous effects of the menfolk frittering
away all their earnings on liquor.”
Her earnings
She makes a yearly profit of INR 4-5 lakhs.
On women farmers
“Women farmers are recognized more as house makers and less as farmers. They
should get recognition for their labours outside the home also. It is very important for
women farmers to have land, property and house in the joint name of husband and
wife so that the husband is not able to sell anything without the wife’s consent. There
have been many cases where a drunkard/gambler husband sold his property leaving
his family in the lurch. So there must be some legal documents ensuring the wife’s
financial security.”
Land ownership
Kamlesh owns 4 bighas of land in her name that she had bought. Getting this land
registered in her name was a joint decision made by her and her husband—it gives her
financial security to tide over any future emergency. The land, which her husband

inherited, is in his name. Due to her legal ownership of land, Kamlesh is able to avail
of government facilities like buying high quality seeds, manure and pesticides at
reasonable prices from the farmers’ cooperative society. She also has a kisan credit
card (KCC) in her name, which helped her to take loan to buy her land.
Women’s education and marriage

Though not educated herself, Kamlesh recognizes the importance of
literacy for women. She ensured that her 3 daughters were educated enough—of
her two married ones, one has studied till Class 12 and the other is a graduate. Her
unmarried daughter is currently doing her graduation.
She also believes that girls should not be married before the age of 21 years.
“A small family is a happy family. But it also depends upon individual attitudes.
A large family can live happily and a small family can be unhappy. But now the trend
is to have not more than two kids and I agree with it. More kids means more
expenditure. Having a small family would ensure better education for the children.”
Now and then

Kamlesh has seen a lot of change in farming patterns and techniques over a period of
time. Earlier she would grow only sugarcane that was an annual crop. Proper means of
irrigation and good manure were also not available then. So not only was the yield
low, but profits were less too. But now she has grown wiser and does multi cropping.
“I grow one or the other crop the whole year round. After cutting the wheat, I plant
cucumbers, then 15 days later I sow beans, and after that wheat again; and in
between other seasonal vegetables, which I sell in the mandi at Saharanpur. So my
land never remains uncultivated. I have also installed a tube well in my fields and
have bought some buffaloes and cows whose dung I use as manure.”
All this has not only increased productivity but profits have also sky rocketed. “Earlier
there was never enough to eat. But now through multi-cropping my earnings have
increased manifold. I make a yearly profit of INR 4-5 lakhs—cucumber alone fetches 1
lakh after taking out cost of inputs. Then there is wheat and its husk also to sell.”
Women empowerment
“It is very important for women to be self -reliant. They should be empowered enough
to stand on their own feet. We should not be dependent upon others. Self help is the
best help. Earlier there was not much of respect for me in my husband’s eyes. But
now over a period of time he and others have started realizing my worth. I have
made a position for myself by my consistent hard work. I have become
stronger—emotionally and financially-- with every passing year.”

Message to other women farmers
“Women should fight for their land/property rights and have ownership of land.
There is no place of fear in a woman’s life. She should have the courage to
move forward along with the men and deal with them sternly if they become a barrier
in her advancement. Men need to be shown their place (lift a rod to set them right).”
10 | T h e L e a d e r l i e s i n y o u - S u c c e s s s t o r i e s o f w o m e n f a r m e r s
When the going gets
tough, the tough gets
going: Islawati
Inspiring story of another woman farmer, 42 years old Islawati,
from village Chachikpur, block Bhitti, district Ambedkar Nagar
42 years old Islawati is the mother of five children—4 daughters and 1 son who lives
with her sister in Ahmedabad and is studying in Class 10. Islawati lives with her
husband Ram Kewal Verma, her parents-in-law and her 3 daughters—the eldest one is
married.
Childhood
Islawati comes from a well-off
family. Daughter of a printing press
owner of Gosaiganj, she spent a
happy childhood in the company of
her parents and her two brothers
and one sister. All the siblings are
married now. Apart from being good
in studies, she was well versed in
farming also and would help her
brother in the fields as her father
had no time for it because of his
involvement with the printing of one
of the two newspapers that
Gosaiganj boasted of in those days.
Her elder brother ran a brick kiln.
Life after marriage

When Islawati got married at the
age of 20, she had passed her class
12 examinations and was studying in
BA but she failed the exam, as her
in-laws were not interested in her
completing her education. The marriage proved to be a big letdown for her. It was
like a new birth for her-- and not a good one at that. There was no importance of
education in her new home. Her farmer-husband has 4 brothers and the eldest one
was the head of the household. Her husband was not educated, and perhaps this was
the reason that she was not allowed to continue with her studies. Except for her,
nobody in her in-laws place had had any education. Islawati knew English and Hindi
typing and even applied for the post of a clerk, but was not allowed to appear for the
test. After the birth of her eldest daughter, there was a division of her husband’s
family property and he had to leave the house with 12 bighas of land as his share, but
no roof over his head. Now the responsibility of looking after the family fell upon
Islawati.

Islawati was not new to working in the fields. But she had to work very hard after her
husband separated from his family. By saving small amounts of money she was able to
educate her children and bring up her family. She honed her farming skills too. She
started growing vegetables like chillies, tomatoes, cauliflower, brinjal and potatoes.
She would do the entire work single handedly—ploughing the field, planting and
watering the plants, weeding, plucking the crops and selling the produce in the mandi
(market) in Gosaiganj 6 km away.
She has also been growing peppermint and managing a peppermint oil plant for the
last 10 years. Over a period of time she has bought 4 buffaloes too.
Islawati is a member of the Aaroh Mahila Kisan Manch since last 5 years. “Being a
part of this group has increased my self-confidence. It has also helped me become
self-sufficient and as far as possible I do all the farming work myself. I do not consider
any work below my
dignity. My husband also
helps me. I want to keep
on learning new things and
achieving more and more
in my life. This urge to do
more keeps me going. I
have always thought of
improving my lot by hard
work.”
Her earnings
In the earlier days Islawati
would have a yearly
income of around INR
50,000 (after taking out
cost of inputs). But now
her profit margins have
increased. Improved quality of seeds, better farming techniques (like use of
machines), use of pesticides and fertilizers-- all have led to higher productivity and
increased the yield per acre. Market prices of vegetables have also risen over a period
of time.
Growing chillies is the biggest money-spinner and profitable venture for her.
Another source of income is the milk of her buffaloes, which she sells to a sweetmeat
shop owner of the village.
Today Islawati’s annual earnings are around INR 2 lakhs.
Government schemes
“I never got the benefit of any government scheme/project for getting
free/subsidised seeds, manure and pesticides. I buy the pesticides from the local
shops.”
Women farmers
“Farming is hard work and not every woman’s cup of tea. I do not mind working in the
blazing heat. But all women cannot be that hard working. It is all in our minds.
Women farmers face a lot of problems. They have to look after the family, do
household work and also work in the fields. In my village, women who work in
the fields are recognized as women farmers. But in most places this is not so.
Women are the ones who labour the most but their work as farmers largely goes
unrecognized. This has to change. Women in our society are a repressed lot. Each has
to contend with different problems-
- be it of the in-laws, or of the
husband, or their poor economic
condition. Very often the men do
not want the womenfolk to work
outside the four walls of their
homes.”
Land ownership
“The 12 bigha land which we own is
in the name of my father-in-law.
But this does not bother me. I have
never felt the need of having legal
rights over the land I plough. The
family acknowledges my
contribution and I am happy with
that. In my case it does not
matter in whose name the
land is. But this does become
an issue for many women
where the husband does not see eye to eye with the wife. Women are only
recognized as someone’s wife. They are not given an independent entity. So perhaps
it would be good if they have some legal entity over the land they plough.”
Women’s education, marriage and family planning

“Education is very important as it opens our mind to new horizons. I have ensured a
proper education for my daughters. They are not only very good in their studies but
adept in farming too and help me in the fields.”
“Girls should not be married before the age of 22 years. I committed a grave mistake
by marrying off my eldest daughter after she passed class 12 when she was just 18.
She is the mother of two kids now. But now I have realized that early marriage stunts
the mental and economic growth of girls”.
“I have a large family but have learned from my mistakes. There is no wisdom in
having a large family. One should not have more than two children. But I am very
proud of my daughters and they are my biggest asset. I think daughters are far better
than sons and more helpful.”
Then and now

“Today I am a free bird and in a position to take my own decisions, but there were
problems’ galore in the initial years of my married life. Then I was under the control
of others.”
“There has been a major improvement in the economic status of my family over the
last 18-20 years. When my husband had separated from his brothers we did not even
have a roof over our heads. Today,
by dint of my hard work, I am
able to earn enough. Farming
(and to some extent animal
husbandry) is my only source of
income and has given me enough
money to build a house, marry my
daughter, and send my in-laws on
a pilgrimage.
I shudder to think of those days.

There would never be enough
money in the house. Once when I
fell sick there were not even 10
rupees in the house to buy
medicines. But now the darkness
has gone. Today I am a
successful woman because of
my determination and hard work. I constructed this house all by myself—
did not keep any labour. At times I myself wonder how I managed all this single
handedly—looking after my children, doing all household chores, managing the fields,
constructing my house, looking after the buffaloes. I have no regrets in life as today I
am reaping the fruits of my labour. Farming has given me a good life. I have a tractor
and two pump sets. Our yearly income is now INR 2 lakh.
Then I had nothing and now I have everything.”
On women empowerment
“There has definitely been a change in the mindset of women. I strongly feel that
women should be empowered and become economically independent. This
empowerment brings happiness. But one should have the guts to go about it.
Sometimes societal pressures deter women from realizing their dreams. We need to
have the courage to not succumb to our circumstances. My sisters-in-law make fun of
my go-getting attitude. They take life easily, and never aspire for a better living. But
I think there is much more to life than just having two square meals a day. Education
has got a lot to do with having an open mindset.”
“Moreover it is also about social and caste constructs. I have seen upper caste
rural women more concerned with maintaining a social image. They would rather
starve than go out and work, as they think that doing physical work outside their
homes is insulting and degrading. Perhaps women from low castes-- like me-- do not
pay heed to what ‘others would say or think.’ But we should believe in the dignity of
labour. There should be no shame in doing honest physical work. So caste does affect
our mental attitude. I try to deconstruct these caste images and have been successful
in influencing at least some women to follow my example.”
Message
“Women should be industrious and
hard working. We should do our
work with dedication. Each
moment of life is too precious
to be wasted or frittered away
in useless pursuit. Laziness is
the bane of progress. We must
understand that time is very
valuable and must teach our
children also to be hard working.
Confidence in one’s ability is very
important. Women must nurture
that inner fire in them to succeed.
There is no limit to what one can
achieve.”
From adversity to
prosperity: Preeti
Another inspiring story of a woman farmer: Preeti, 42 years
old, from village Bantaniya, block Chargaavan, district Gorakhpur
It is not uncommon to hear about tales of migration from villages to cities in search of
greener pastures. But, 22 years ago, a quirk of fate trans-located 42 years old Preeti
from the city of Gorakhpur to a village called Bantaaniya in Block Chargaavan of
Gorakhpur district.
Childhood
The youngest of 5 siblings—3 sisters and 2 brothers—Preeti grew up in Gorakhpur, a
town in east UP. She had a comfortable childhood as her father had a government job
in the railways. She had never felt that her parents discriminated between
sons and daughters until, soon after her mother’s untimely death, she
was married off in a rural family, much against her wishes.
Life after marriage

Preeti recalls the trials and
tribulations, which her
marriage at the tender age of
18 years brought upon her. She
had to leave the comforts of an
urban life to embrace the
hardships of the rural household
of her husband. She had just
passed class 10 and wanted to
continue with her education.
But she did not have the
courage to go against her
father’s and brothers’ wishes
who believed that there was no
point in educating girls as they
were not supposed to take up a
job. They thought it best to get
rid of their responsibilities by
marrying her off. Like a dutiful daughter, as girls are supposed to be, she meekly
sacrificed her dreams to enter a new and difficult phase of her life at a very young
age.
Her marriage was a big letdown for her. Her in-laws were basically farmers and not
very well off. It was a joint family of parents-in-law and her husband’s four brothers,
where she was the number 3 daughter-in-law. She had no options but to fit into the
framework of a docile and shy daughter-in-law and abide by the wishes of her elders.
She lived in a mud house (with no toilet) whose rooms would flood in the monsoons,
so much so that there was no place to cook food. This was in stark contrast to her
brick-walled house in Gorakhpur with all basic facilities.
She mostly stayed indoors and was too immature perhaps to even think of women
empowerment. It was a difficult life in the village and she suffered, as there was no
other option—where would she go with her 3 kids—2 daughters and 1 son. But when
the going became very tough she and her husband separated from the rest of the
family.
Her work as a farmer

It was only later when she came in contact with some NGO group that she became
emboldened enough to fight for her and other women’s rights.
Preeti’s journey to become a successful woman farmer has been a difficult one—more
so because she was from an urban background and had no idea about what farming
was. But then she turned to farming, as that was the only recourse left for her to
come out of the trap of poverty. She says, “I was not educated much, but wanted to
improve my economic situation. I wanted to educate my children to give them a
better future. I never sent them to a government school as they are no good."
She had it in her to learn new

things and slowly learnt how to
sow and reap paddy and wheat.
Now, “I do everything on my
own—sowing, ploughing of
fields, reaping the harvest
and even selling my crops
in the mandi. I started by
growing vegetables like spinach,
carrot, radish, and peas. I
would travel long distances to
sell the vegetables. But now I
also grow wheat and paddy.
How many other women can do
all this all by themselves?”
Ten years ago she got trained to make organic manure and pesticides after coming in
contact with Gorakhpur Environment Action Group (GEAG) and since then has been
using organic manure (compost) prepared by her. This has proved to be a real game
changer—“Earlier we would use urea chemical fertilizers and our earnings were less.
But vegetables grown organically, being healthier and tastier, are more
in demand and fetch a higher price too.”
“Farming has helped me a lot. I grow something or the other all the year round. The
paddy that I grow feeds my family. The vegetables are money earners. I have self-
educated myself on farming techniques. I only took training to make manure and then
taught this to other women too. I have been associated with the Aaroh Mahila
Kisaan Manch (women farmers group) since the last 10 years and have also
motivated other women farmers to become its members.”
Land ownership
Her husband is not into farming and works as a labourer specializing in fitting marble
tiles. He was given 1 bigha land as his share in his father’s property. Preeti managed
to take 1 more bigha from the parental property share after a long drawn out legal
battle.
“I really fought for many years to get my husband’s share of land. After my father-in-
law died my husband was not very keen to fight for his rightful share of land. But I
stood my ground and today I have this land with me. The 2 bighas of land are in my
husband’s name, but I think that at least all land should be in joint names of
husband and wife and then the husband would not be able to sell it
without his wife’s consent.”
Fighting for women’s rights

The difficulties which women of
her village faced everyday
encouraged her to do something
for betterment. She was closely
involved in establishing
women’s self-help groups (SHGs)
in the village and motivated
women to join them. “We
increased our kitty to INR
50,000 through small individual
contributions of INR 10, 20 or
30. In case of need they can
take loan from it at nominal
interest.”
An improvement in economic status and general awareness has helped Preeti mobilize
the village women to fight for their rights and negotiate better to redress their
problems—“I try to empower other women too and train them in any new technique
which I learn, and collectively we fight for our rights. I feel rural women are more
ready to fight for their rights out of economic necessity. Urban women are more
complacent as their husbands have jobs and perhaps this financial safety makes them
unresponsive.”
Besides being a successful farmer, Preeti has been at the forefront of fighting for
development and gender justice: “We have some important achievements. We women
collectively managed to force the RPF people not to release the water from their
flooded compound into our fields and homes during every monsoon. We did a lot of
dharnas (sit-ins) and then only did they improve their drainage system.”
“We are also agitating for proper functioning of the public distribution system (PDS).
There are many anomalies in villages regarding functioning of ration shops. Although
ration cards of all the villagers have been made, only some, whose cards have been
put online, are getting the rations from PDS. Even they are not getting their full due—
they are entitled to receive 35 kg
in a month but the shopkeeper
doles out only 10 kg and makes an
entry of 35 kg. We have been
protesting and demonstrating
against this anomaly and have
even approached the DM. but
besides enquiries being made, the
situation has not improved.”
“Recently I came to know that a

woman was given wheat at rate of
INR 10 per kg instead of INR 6 per
kg from the ration shop on her
white coloured card (yellow card
holders get it at INR 10 per kg). I
threatened to report the shop
owner and then he mended his
ways and returned the excess
money he had charged from some
women.”
Some self-styled local political

agents/middle men in the village
would collect INR100 from each of
the 400 households on the pretext
of getting some village work done
at the district level, saying that
they had to pay bribes to get the work done. One day Preeti thought that enough is
enough. She asked them to give the villagers an account of the expenses incurred,
which they did not. So, at her behest, the villagers stopped giving them money and
themselves started going to the city to meet the officials and saw that no bribe had to
be given. Thus Preeti helped stop the illegal practice of money collection.
Women farmers
Women farmers face lot many other difficulties too. It is not uncommon for their land
to be usurped by antisocial elements who do not allow them to till their land. Or else
very often the husband sells the land without the wife’s consent, for short-term
financial gains. Preeti has helped many such women and managed to get back their
land by acting as the go between.
She rightly feels that women and men have to collectively fight for the irregularities
that have become part of our system, more so because of public inaction—“We do not
get our rights on a platter-- we have to fight for them. I always help other women to
get their rightful due.”

Preeti believes that it is very important for women to be educated. She has helped
many women to at least be able to write their names—by using charcoal pieces while
working in the kitchen, when nothing else is available.
Learning from her personal experience, Preeti is against child marriage—

“Girls should not be married at a young age. I bore the brunt of early marriage but
will not let my daughters be married off quickly. My elder daughter is doing her
graduation, and the younger one is in class 12. I will not marry them till they finish
their education.”
“I also believe that we should

limit our family. I have borne 3
children, as I was ignorant about
family planning methods. But one
should not have more than 2
children. A small family is indeed
a happy family.”
Never say die

There is a sea change in the Preeti
of today as compared to the meek
and submissive Preeti of yester
years. Financially she is better off
and her living standards have
improved. She has also bought
some land to build another house by taking loan from the bank. All this has bolstered
her self-confidence. She proudly claims that she is now fully capable of running and
managing her family even in the absence of her husband, who in any case does not
help with her farming. Preeti concedes that although he does not help her with
farming, he does acknowledge his wife’s capabilities, and does not act as a stumbling
block too. “He has given me a free hand and I manage everything single handedly—
right from doing household chores, to working in the fields, to looking after my
children’s education, to helping and galvanizing other village women.”
Preeti has conquered many male dominated bastions and treaded upon
paths, which others would normally fear to step upon. She is at the
forefront of spearheading demonstrations to fight for not only the rights of women
farmers but of all the villagers—forcing authorities to get the drains cleaned, voters’
list corrected, waterlogging removed; ration cards anomalies rectified; freeing land
from encroachers—the list can go on and on. No wonder that even people of her
native town of Gorakhpur marvel at her achievements and look upon her with
reverence.
Message
Preeti offers sane advice—“Other women should take a lesson from me. After my
marriage I had lost all hope and resigned myself to my fate, thinking that this was the
end of my happiness. But slowly I gathered courage and changed my own fate through
my hard work. Where there is a will there is a way. Life is too short and precious to
be wasted away within the closed walls of our homes. We should learn from, and
teach others
continuously.”
Where there is a will
there is a way: Teeja Devi
An inspiring story of courage of a woman farmer, Teeja Devi, 55
years old, from village Lakshmipur, post Jhangaha, block
Khorabar, district Gorakhpur
Childhood
55 years old Teeja Devi was born in village Bargadavaan in a family of farm labourers.
The youngest of all siblings (1 brother who died recently, and 2 sisters), her father
died even before she was born. A father less Teeja had a tough childhood. She grew
up amid fields, and from early childhood farming became part of her daily life.
Life after marriage

Teeja studied till class 5 and then was married in a rural household of Lakshmipur--a
nearby village. Teeja reminiscences--“I was too young when I got married, perhaps a
child bride. So I have no recollections of my marriage. The only thing I remember is
that I was brought in a bullock cart to my in-laws house”.
Life was not easy in her new household either. Her husband, Shyam Prasad, was
jobless. From doing her daily household chores in a joint family to helping in tilling
the land, Teeja performed all her
duties with aplomb.

There was just 1 bigha of land on
which she grew millet, corn, wheat,
paddy, and lentils. Farming was next
nature to her as she had been
involved with it since early childhood.
And so was fighting for one’s rights.
But when it came to division of family

land, her husband was handed over
fallow land, while the other brothers
kept the fertile land as well as some
prime land near the main road.
Teeja blew the bugle of revolt and after many difficulties managed to get the
farmland redistributed fairly among the brothers. Later, she also managed to get her
husband his rightful share of the prime land too, which his brothers were trying to
usurp. She now lives in a house built on this land with her husband, son, daughter-in-
law and 2 grandchildren.
Teeja concedes that there were many changes in her farming techniques after she
came in contact with GEAG and they saw her ability and interest in farming. She was
designated a model farmer and also became a member of Aaroh Mahila Kisan
Manch. Getting involved with such organisations further helped her develop her
potential as a woman farmer leader. Through them she got lot of information about
organic pesticides, and organic manure, which she had not known before. She also got
trained to make organic manure, pesticides (100gm kerosene oil, 10 phenyl tablets
powdered and mixed with 5 kg ash), dyes, and even organic urea with the help of cow
dung, cow urine, jaggery and gram flour.
“I am an independent woman farmer. I do not depend upon my husband to help

me. I do all the sowing of crops myself. I grow paddy, wheat, mustard, maize, millets,
til (sesame) and vegetables on the two and a half bigha of agricultural land which my
husband inherited. I sell my agricultural produce in the nearby market that is 1 km
away and also in the mandi in Gorakhpur.”
However things are not always rosy. Like so many other farmers, Teeja also has to
contend with vagaries of weather. “This (1st week of October, 2014) was the time to
grow green leafy vegetables like spinach and they would have fetched a high price
too. But the fields are flooded with rainwater and by the time they are good enough
to sow these vegetables the prices would fall. So that is a huge financial loss for us. I
will have to grow other vegetables which may not be that profitable”.
Teeja’s husband (she calls him

Maalik—meaning master) has
never interfered in his wife’s
work. Rather he is very proud
of her achievements. He has
always co-operated with his
wife in all her social work and
fight for the rights of the
villagers. He, along with other
villagers, also encouraged her
to fight the elections for the
panchayat membership.
Teeja enjoys working for the

betterment of her people. She
finds meetings and
interactions with other people/groups very stimulating—“By talking with others I
increase my knowledge and also put forward my views with confidence”. She
teaches in the kisan schools of 19 blocks where she trains other women in
farming techniques and in making organic manure and pesticides.
Teeja has been an active leader of the Aaroh campaign, which has helped her not
only improve her knowledge and understanding but also to mobilize other women
farmers. She has always displayed strong leadership qualities and challenged
irregularities/corruption rampant in many government departments. Teeja’s life is a
veritable treasure of real life personal anecdotes—each one being more inspiring than
the other.
Some of her notable achievements are:
(i) For the past 25-30 years Teeja has been on the board of
members of the gram panchayat (village council). But when she
stood for elections for the first time she faced a tough time—“When I went
to file my nomination papers I was told that my name was not in the voters’
list. I had been living in the village for so many years and my name was not
in the voters’ list! I refused to take this lying low. When the Block
Development Officer (BDO) paid no heed to my protestations, I straight
away went to the DM’s office with an application. He was very helpful and
got me the Vidhan Sabha elections voters’ list, which obviously had my
name. Now the BDO had no option but to accept my papers. But on the
election-day when I went to cast my vote I was again told that my name was
not in the village voters’ list, even though it was on the list which the DM
had given me. When I refused to be cowed down by their tactics I was
advised to go to the Block Pramukh. It was already 4pm but I went by cycle
to the Block Pramukh’s office. The guard said it was impossible to get the
village voters list that day. I told him that I was going to appeal to the DM.
This created some fear in the people who were sitting there with the guard.
Even though they made fun of me when I told them that I was a candidate
for member of gram panchayat and my election symbol was ‘chair’, they
had to search for the correct voters list,
which was eventually found buried under
stacks of papers in the room of the BDO.
But I knew that by the time I would reach
my village it would already be past the
voting time of 5pm. So I went to the
police station and told them my problem.
They sent two policemen with me.
Accompanied by the policemen and the
ADO I went to the polling booth. The
same persons who would not allow me to
cast my vote earlier in the day stood up
with folded hands and let me do the needful. If that day I had behaved as
an illiterate and stupid villager I would have lost the battle. I was elected as
a member of the panchayat. After that I stood for elections five times and
won every time. It was only once in between that I did not stand for
elections (a member is elected once every 5 years)”.
(ii) There was a chak road of the gram samaj in her village. The gram pradhan
of the village was getting some construction done on this land for the
pradhan of a nearby village to whom he had probably sold that government
land. When Teeja heard about this illegal construction being done (chak
road is a public thoroughfare on government land that cannot be sold
and/or used for any construction), she confronted the pradhan and
threatened to go to the police station if construction was not stopped. She
was told that the area was not marked as a chak road. She went to the
Lekhpal in Rustampur who also reiterated the same thing. With her
presence of mind, she then asked him to show her the map, even though
she knew she could not read it. But this did the trick—the lekhpal was taken
aback. He had not expected this from an illiterate person like Teeja. He had
to show her the map and accept that it was indeed a chak road. He had no
option but to get the construction stopped. In this way Teeja managed to
stop illegal usurping of government land.
(iii) “I do have a ration card. But last week we got very poor quality wheat. So I
sent a sample of it to the Lekhpal at the tehsil with a written complaint.
Although no action has been taken as yet, I will keep on following the case
till justice is done”.
(iv) “As a responsible member of the panchayat, it is my duty to work for the
wellbeing of the villagers. Some persons were not getting their pension for
physically handicapped. I followed up their case at the tehsil level and got
them their rightful dues”.
(v) “A government tap was lying

defunct and nobody seemed
interested in getting it repaired. I
got an application signed by all the
villagers and sent it to the BDO.
The tap was mended within a few
days and has become functional
once again”.
(vi) “A girl from another village was

married to a boy from my village.
But after marriage he ill-treated
her and would beat her up black
and blue. The girl’s parents did not
help either. I filed a court case on her behalf. The husband compromised in
the court but later threw her out of the house and dragged me to court
also. But that did not scare me. I stood my ground. I arranged for a job for
the girl as a domestic help. She is now safe and financially secure
and is not dependent on others.”
On land ownership
Although the land, which Teeja tills is in the name of her husband, he dare not sell it
against her wishes. “If I want I can get it in my name today. Once he wanted to sell
some land. I told him to give half of it to me and then do whatever he
wanted with his portion,” she says.
On women’s education, marriage and family planning

Even though she could not go to school beyond class 5, Teeja understands the
importance of education. She took a lead in educating her daughter-in-law and helped
her complete class 10. She also encouraged her to work and got her the job of an
Anganwadi worker. Her granddaughter is a graduate. However, Teeja rightly believes
that literacy alone will not help—“Women need to have the drive in themselves to
develop their capabilities. Many of them get so involved with housework that they do
not want to learn new things. Unless they do things themselves they will not learn to
be independent and develop leadership qualities.”
“I am very much against young girls

being married off. No girl should be
married before the age of 18 years. I
ensured that my granddaughter
was married at 23 years of age
after completing her
graduation.”
“Families should be small. With

shrinking agriculture and less food
production, it is becoming impossible
to feed more mouths. Even if one
earns gold, one has to eat to live. So
lesser are the mouths to feed the
better it would be for everyone”.
On woman empowerment
According to Teeja, “There has been
a lot of change in my life since the
time I came to this village as a child
bride. Women are better placed today
to improve their lives and also to fight for their rights, although I have been doing
that from the very beginning. From personal experiences I can say that women have
the capacity to fight for their rights. But unless they come out of their houses, meet
other people, and voice their opinions, they will not be able to progress. I am just
literate enough to sign my name but I am very much aware of my and other people’s
rights and am ready to fight for them.”
Message
“Women will have to find time from their household chores to mobilize together for
removing social ills like alcoholism, child marriage, illiteracy, and even for ending
corruption in governance.”
A woman of substance:
Kalawati
Another inspiring story of a woman farmer, Kalawati, aged 42
years from village Kaachha, block Bhitti, district
Ambedkarnagar
Kalawati comes from a family of small farmers. Hers is a ‘joint and happy family’
where she lives with her husband Madanlal, 2 sons, 1 daughter, 1 daughter-in-law and
1 granddaughter. Her postgraduate sons working outside the village are doing fairly
well and have helped her construct their own house in the village.
Her work and

achievements
Kalawati is indeed an industrious
woman. She has been into farming
for the last 30-35 years since her
early childhood. Besides tending to
her crops and doing all the labour
intensive work (like sowing/growing
of vegetables, mustard, gram
wheat, paddy, sugarcane, and
cutting of sugarcane), she also
tends to her cows and buffalos,
with very little help from her
husband. While the grains she grows
are consumed in the family, she is
able to earn money through sale of
buffalo milk.
Kalawati concedes that there is a

lot of difference in today’s farming
as compared to earlier days. Earlier
there was no proper arrangement of
manure and watering the crops.
Now things have improved
drastically. With better availability of manure and water, and improved farming
techniques the crop yield has increased.
Kalawati is an elected member of the panchayat (village council) and also an active
member of Aaroh Mahila Kisan Manch where all women farmer members work
together to improve their farming skills. She has been part of this Manch since the last
10 years. She loves to take part in their meetings and rallies and raise slogans like —
हम भारत की नारी हैं, फूल नहीीं च ग
ीं ारी हैं (we the women of India are sparks
and not flowers). Other women labourers/farmers look upon her as a sort of
leader. If there is some work involving farm labour - like sugarcane cutting - women
workers contact her because of her ability to negotiate for better prices. Then she
arranges for a group of women to do that work and distributes the money as wages
among them.
Realizing their utility for marginal women, Kalawati has formed a women’s self-help
group (SHG). According to her, “SHGs are really very helpful for women like us. I
remember once in the early days, I borrowed INR 500 from someone, as a friend of
mine was in need of money. I was told to return the money in 10 days and also had to
work in their fields to cut paddy (for which I did get paid). This happened with many
of us. So I started a group with 7 members. Currently we have 14 members and each
member contributes INR 50 every month. The group is now 4 years and 8 months old
and today we have INR 35,000 in the bank, which is a big boon for all of us in times of
need. We can get loan from the bank at low rate of interest. This money we can
spend on farming related expenditure—manure, irrigation, and seeds; or for buying
livestock; or to meet some emergency expenditure. Even I took loan of INR 10,000 to
get a linter for the roof of my house. One member took INR 6000 for house repairs,
while another borrowed INR 10,000 for a wedding in her family and both returned the
money with interest. There has never been any default payment till now. Every month
we hold a meeting where we make a resolution, go to the bank, withdraw the money
and then give it to the woman member who had asked for a loan. I am running this
group myself. In case of a problem we go to the block level”.
Government schemes
Kalawati is not aware of any government scheme for the benefit of small farmers like
her. According to her, it is the big farmers who avail of all the benefits. “ I have
never got the benefit of government schemes. We do not even come to
know when seeds and manure come for distribution, as whenever we go and
ask for them we are always told that the stock is over. The last time it happened was
one month ago when people from the agriculture department had come and
distributed it. I am not aware that harijans (scheduled castes) like us are also eligible
to get anything from the government. Nothing is free for us. Of course things are
much cheaper if bought from the cooperative society but that is not for us. We buy
whatever little we can from the private market”.
Kalawati said that one has to pay bribes to get even a labourer’s job at INR 100 per
day in the village, and that too after much difficulty. She is also skeptical about other
government facilities for the poor. Even though she is entitled to get medical
facilities at subsidized rates in the hospital, when her daughter was sick and admitted
in the hospital, she spent around INR 15000 but was reimbursed only INR 6000.
Women farmers
Women farmers, like Kalawati,
labour hard, but there is very
little recognition of their work.
“Our menfolk do not even lift a glass
of water and expect us to do all
household chores besides labouring in
the fields. Now there is a slight
change in their attitude as we have
started demanding some care from
them.”
Kalawati feels very bad that even

though women do a lot of farming
work, they are not recognized as
farmers—the word farmer still
implies men only.
The biggest problem of women farmers is that their workload is twofold—they have to
do domestic work as well as work in the fields. They have to manage family and
farming both.
Land ownership
“There is one and a half bigha of land, which is in my husband’s name. Earlier it
belonged to his father and after his death it came to my husband. There is no land
in my name. We too have our rights, but when we ask for them we are
sweet talked and blackmailed emotionally—the husband would say everything
belongs to you only. There must be legal papers to prove our ownership too”.

Kalawati is strongly for girls’ education and has no intentions of getting her daughter,
studying in class 12, married till she is educated properly. She says that, “Earlier the
emphasis was on training daughters for household work like cooking, cleaning etc. but
now there has been a lot of awareness and people do send their daughters to
schools”.
Kalawati also believes in a small family. “One should not have more than two kids.
Given the high rate of inflation, if people have more kids they will not be able to
bring them up properly.”
Today and yesterday

Kalawati has seen a sea change in her 42 years of life. There is a huge difference in
today’s and yesteryears’ Kalawati. Her thinking has changed and her outlook has
broadened. Her economic condition too has improved drastically.
“Even though I do not have enough land to grow crops to sell in the market, there is
at least enough food in the family for all. I also earn by working on other people’s
farms and by selling milk. Our economic condition has improved a lot. Earlier there
was never enough food to eat in the house and we would rarely sleep on a full
stomach. But now the whole family gets to eat a balanced meal—lentils, rice, roti and
vegetables. We are also able to indulge in some luxuries like using toiletries of soap
and shampoo that were but a dream earlier—when we would make do with mud to
clean our hands and body. I am also able to afford to have a few decent sarees in my
wardrobe.”
Today, other women of her village take inspiration from Kalawati. They have seen her
grow from nobody — who did not have enough for two square meals a day — to
somebody of substance by way of money and woman power. Kalawati always had that
desire in her to move ahead in life and do things differently. Today she is recognized
as a woman leader. If she could do it, others can too by sheer dint of hard
work and the desire to succeed in life.
Her message
“I believe in self-help. Women are very laborious and industrious but they perhaps
lack in self-confidence and hence are diffident to move ahead and become self-
reliant. They feel intimidated by their husbands and refuse to join the work force,
even though they internally wish to. I encourage them to work outside their homes to
improve their financial and social status”.
God helps those who help
themselves: Kunta Devi
Another inspiring story of a woman farmer, Kunta Devi from
village Patna, block Sarsawan, district Saharanpur
One day, more than 20 years ago, Kunta Devi’s husband never returned home
from his workplace at a brick kiln and has been untraceable since then.
He seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving his wife alone with their 3
children—I daughter and 2 sons, with the youngest one barely 2 years old. Kunta does
not know if he is dead or alive. She now lives with her 2 sons and their wives and 4
grandchildren—3 grandsons and 1 granddaughter.
Childhood
Kunta was born in a fairly well off farmer’s family in Alampur village of Muzafara
block. Her father had 40-50 bighas of land. She was the eldest of 3 sisters and 2
brothers, and being the eldest daughter in the family, was the apple of everyone’s
eyes and pampered by all the elders. Except for her younger brother none of them
had any education. But she was good at farming.
Life after marriage

Kunta got married at the age of 17 years.
There were ups and downs in her new life in
a new family. Her husband was illiterate and
was slightly mentally challenged too. This
was Kunta’s greatest problem. He would
earn INR 5 per day as a labourer. Kunta
learnt stitching and started stitching clothes-
-working from home to augment the family
income. “Often I would ask my customers to
pay me in grain instead of money. So I would
manage to get not only INR 20 per month but
also 10 bags of wheat—which was more than
what my in-laws' family could grow on their
9 bighas of land”.
Kunta got a lot of respect from the other family members. But perhaps nobody
understood her agony of living with an abnormal husband.

After the division of family property they got 4 bighas of land. Kunta was unaware
that her husband had leased out this land to another party in exchange for some
money. After his disappearance she was told that she would get the land back only
after his return. Perhaps this first encounter with the big bad world sowed
in Kunta’s mind the seeds of standing up for women’s rights.
“I was not sure about the real status of the land. Perhaps people were trying to
intimidate me thinking that I was alone in this world with no one to help me out. But I
did not give in and stood my ground. My husband had sown sugarcane on that land.
Despite all opposition and use of force by the opposite party, I cut the sugarcane
crop. The police did not help me much either. But the villagers helped me. I also gave
an application in Disha organisation and they helped too”.
Till her husband was there, Kunta had done very little farming, as she was mostly
involved with doing stitching work and also teaching stitching to other village women.
But after he was gone she had to take care of her land as well. She took up the
challenge, came out of the confines of her home and became actively involved in
farming. As it is, people were eyeing her land and trying to occupy it illegally. But
she faced the world bravely and single handedly. Very many nights she would
sleep in her fields only to protect her wheat/paddy crops. She was also
smart enough to give an application in the police station against some persons stating
that ‘if anything untoward happens to
me, the onus would be on them’.
After some time another problem

cropped up. Some villagers blocked the
path in front of her house, leading to
the road, saying that it did not belong
to her and that she should find some
other path. “They were trying to take
advantage of my situation—I was
illiterate and without any male
member in the family to support me.
But I was not to be cowed down.
I fought and won the case after a
long drawn out legal battle”.
Kunta grew wheat, paddy and grass on

her small piece of land. Later when
her sons were old enough to help her,
she would lease other people’s fields to grow crops. “One bigha would yield around 5
quintals grain in a year out of which I would sell some and keep the rest to feed the
family”.
Now she also grows some lentils (urad) and has also planted eucalyptus and poplar
trees; so cropping area has decreased. But then she is able to earn more by selling the
wood of these trees—INR 50,000 at one go. ‘So I lose some and win more’.
Kunta feels that crop productivity has increased due to better farming techniques.
“My knowledge about farming techniques has increased thanks to my coming in
contact with organizations like the Aaroh Mahila Kisan Manch. By attending their
meetings I have come to know of many new things—availability of better seeds, timely
planting of the crops, better use of fertilisers and pesticides, and dealing with crop
diseases. Earlier I would do farming in a haphazard manner. Today I am more
organized”.
“I was also sent by Aaroh to Jalandhar to attend an 8 days’ training camp. Later I was
given a machine to spray pesticides, which has proved very helpful for me in my
farming”.
Kunta is not only a member, but also the treasurer of a Kisan Club (Farmers’ Club).
“We have formed small groups. Usually these clubs are for men farmers, but the clubs
under Disha Organization have male as well as female members.”
Kunta believes in the power of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and has formed one herself.
“We started by taking a contribution of INR 20 per month from each woman member.
Initially we would give loans of INR 500 to members in need. But our kitty has grown
over the years. The bank has also helped us. We are now able to give/take loans of
INR 25,000-50,000. Of course the money is always returned with interest. This has
proved to be very helpful for all
the members”.
Kunta has helped many

women in need. One such
woman was living in extreme
poverty. There were many mouths
to feed and very little income. “I
helped her to form an SHG and
taught her the dignity of labour. I
told her—it is better to earn
and eat rather than beg to
eat. With a small loan from the
SHG she helped her husband start
door-to-door sale of clothes. She
is much better off now. I helped another woman with a loan of INR 50,000 to set up
her own business”.
Government schemes
“I have never got benefit of any such scheme. These schemes are for the
big farmers and not for marginal landholders like us.”
Women farmers
“I did not face any problems as a woman farmer—or rather I faced them headlong.
Once you come out of the four walls and have the will to succeed nobody can stop
you. Difficulties may be there but they are not insurmountable. If you have the
determination to work hard, then all difficulties will be overcome. But this does not
mean that the life of a woman farmer is easy.”
Land ownership
“I strongly believe that that there must be some land in the woman’s name so that
she has financial stability in case her husband or children become wayward. My 4
bighas land was earlier in my name after my husband left. But when my sons got
married I transferred it in their names—giving 2 bighas to each. But I want this land to
be transferred in their wives’ names. I have a patta on the 3 biswa land I got from the
gram samaj”.

“Education is very important for women. But equally important is to be fearless and
have that inner fire to learn and do new things.
I tried to educate my children as much as my circumstances could permit. In fact my

daughter has studied till Class 12 and is more literate than my sons. They wanted to
study more but my financial condition did not allow me to do so. For me it was better
that my sons learn some trade and help me out”.
“I am totally against early marriage. I

married all my children when they were
21-22 years old. Whether it is a son or a
daughter, they should not be married
till they are 21 years of age, become
economically independent and are
mentally mature too. At times,
incidents of sexual violence, which are
so prevalent today, compel parents to
marry off their daughters early on. But
early marriage is a no win
situation for all—parents as well as the person getting married”.
“A small family is a happy family. I had 3 children then I had got myself sterilized,
much against the wishes of my husband and other family members. But I think that
even 3 children are just too many. There is no point in having a long line of kids with
no means to feed, educate and bring them up properly. I got both my daughters-in-
law sterilized, once they had 2 kids each-- much against my sons’ wishes”.
“The life of a woman is not easy. Many of them are not allowed to step out of their
homes. They are socially repressed and quietly tolerate a lot of injustices. But I try to
help such women and ask them not to succumb to societal pressures. Husbands and
other family members should not deter us in our path of empowerment. Women will
have to step out of their homes; meet and talk to more people for improving their
understanding and for getting new ideas”.
“I tell even my daughters-in-law not to get cowed down by others, or me, but chalk
out a future for themselves. SHGs have gone a long way in empowering women by
making them financially independent”.
“It is important to be fearless and have that inner fire to learn and do new things. I
am illiterate, yet I have been to Nainital, Lucknow, Jalandhar, and Dehradun. We
have to get rid of our internal imaginary fears and face the world boldly”.
Then and now

“Today I am much better off. My standard of living has improved and so has my self-
confidence. I now own a buffalo and a cow. I sell some of the milk and the rest is
used in the family. Today I am an established woman farmer. I do all the
work—cutting the fodder, milking the cows, and working in the fields.
I am a member of the gayatri parivar (a religious order with modernistic views) and
have imbibed good learnings from their discourses. From them I have learnt not to
fear challenges but face life fearlessly as it comes.”
Message
“Speak your world. Women should not remain quiet out of fear and false
sense of pride. They should not be scared of the outside world but face it with
confidence and fight for their rights. One must neither suppress others nor get
suppressed by them. Even if you have no one to support you, there is no point in lying
low. So rise to the occasion and fight it out. If you walk the straight path
you will never be defeated.”
Slow but steady wins
the race: Lilawati
Another inspiring story of a woman farmer, Lilawati, 66 years
old, from village Aitha Hussainpur, block Bhawalkhera, district
Shahjahanpur
This is the inspirational story of Lilawati-a teacher cum farmer. The mother of 7
children—4 daughters and 3 sons, of whom one son died at the age of 25 years—66
years old Lilawati lives with her retired husband, 2 sons and their wives, a widowed
daughter-in-law (who is a teacher) and 5 grandsons and 5 granddaughters.
Childhood
“We were three brothers and two sisters. My father was a small farmer but both my
parents died when I was very young. My elder brother brought us up and married me
off when I was 15 years old and had just passed class 5”.
Life after marriage

Lilawati was married into a poor
family. Her husband was the second
of four brothers and was studying in
class 6 at the time of marriage.
With the cooperation of her in-laws,
Lilawati managed to resume her
studies, alongside working in the
fields, and passed Class 10. She
encouraged her husband to study
even more and later take up a job
at the clothing factory in
Shahjahanpur.
Her work and

achievements
Lilawati started working to help
tide over a financial crisis. Her
family did not object to her working
outside the house as they saw that it was benefiting all of them.
In the initial years, besides working on her piece of land, Lilawati would also lease
fields of others and earn a living mostly through growing and selling of vegetables.
Through multi-cropping, Lilawati grows wheat, paddy, sugarcane and also
vegetables like potatoes, okra, bitter gourd, green chilly, and brinjal. When she had
less land she grew vegetables on just 1 bigha, but now she grows vegetables on 3
bighas and make a profit of INR 1 lakh per year from sale of vegetables alone.
Earlier she would use chemical fertilizers. So the yield was not good and profits were
less too. But later after coming in contact with Aaroh, she started growing
vegetables with the help of organic manure made by herself. This not only
increased the yield of the vegetables but also made them tastier and more nutritious
and they fetched a higher price. Application of new farming techniques, which she
learnt in training workshops at Bantaara ashram, also helped her to grow more with
less input costs.
Lilawati usually sells her produce in the local market but sometimes goes to the
district mandi as well, carrying them on her bicycle.
Lilawati has been actively involved with the Aaroh campaign since the last 3 years.
This has helped her get land registered in the name of women in many cases. She is a
member of Aaroh Mahila Kisan
Manch and has undergone
training in vermiculture and
trained others too to make
vermicompost. She has helped
others to realize the potential of
organically grown vegetables. She
does voluntary work as a ‘prerak’
(motivator) in three villages,
motivating them to do organic
farming, and inspiring them to
empower women.
She is the secretary of district

level vegetable producers group
in Bantaara, which has 2250
women members.
A go-getter, Lilawati keeps

herself updated by undergoing
training every month at Bantaara.
She has also been to other cities
like Lucknow, Pantnagar, Delhi, Faizabad, and Varanasi for trainings.
Under the Aaroh campaign she has taken part in panel discussions on use of organic
manure as an ideal farmer and has even been interviewed by Lucknow Doordarshan
(Television).
Lilawati boasts of many awards/certificates and has been felicitated for her work as a
woman farmer in Lucknow, Faizabad and Pantnagar. She has received citations of
honour from the department of agriculture, and a certificate from Landesa in Delhi.
Apart from being an accomplished farmer, Lilawati also taught in a government

school till her retirement in 2008 at the age of 60, where she began at a starting
salary of 49 rupees. As she was an untrained teacher, she did not get the full salary.
After retirement, she still keeps herself busy. Even now she cycles at least 10 km
every day and goes to Bantaara often, for some training or the other, or just to be in
the company of educated women.
“I constantly fight for the rights of

women farmers, despite all odds. I
organized a movement to raise voices
against the injustices heaped on them.
We marched to Lucknow and gave a
petition for redressal of our grievances.
In the petition we had demanded equal
rights for women in their property—like
land, house, and bank account. The
petition was accepted but action has
not been taken as yet”.
[A woman, by the name of Ramdevi,

praised the efforts of Lilawati and said
that: “Lilawati is a great help for
women in need. She teaches us how to
increase the yield of vegetables through
use of organic manure, pesticides. I
myself have learned how to make
manure from her. She takes us to many
meetings to increase our knowledge and
self-confidence. She is a great
source of encouragement for us
and also advises us to have our
land in our name but we do not want
to go against our family, although this is
how it should be”].
Government schemes
According to Lilawati, “I have got help from many government schemes.
Under one such scheme I took loan from the bank in Bantaara to buy good quality
seeds (and even distributed it to others). Later when I sold my crops I repaid the loan.
This has been a great help. I also have got many machines-- like pesticide sprayer and
other farming equipment through government schemes. I have helped other women
also to avail these benefits”.
Women farmers
“Many women who do farming are not recognized as farmers. They face
violence at the hands of their husbands. Their lives are miserable. Financial crisis is
always there. At times there is not enough money for feeding the family and
educating their kids. The more they can grow the better it is. At least they will be
able to get two square meals a day. Multi-cropping can help them grow for their own
use and also to sell in the market”.
Land ownership
“Women work in the fields but do not have land in their names. If land is in the wife’s
name the husband will not be able to intimidate her or throw her out of the house or
indulge in domestic violence. Land ownership is a big weapon in a woman’s
hand. It acts as a deterrent for men to beat their wives, sell their farmland, and/or
waste money on alcohol”.
“Out of the 40 bighas of land that I own, 5 bighas are in my husband’s name and the
rest is in my name. I have registered 2 bighas in the name of my widowed daughter-
in-law. I am in the process of getting land registered in the names of other daughters-
in-law too”.
Women’s
education,
marriage and
family planning
“I think education is very
important in one’s life.
Girls should be educated
to be economically
independent, so that they
have something to fall
back upon in case there is
problem after marriage or
even otherwise. Also if
they are educated they
are better able to educate their children. Unfortunately, due to economic problems I
could manage to educate my children only up to class 10”.
“Girls should also not get married at an early age. This not only compels them to
leave their studies midway, but also endangers their health. Being immature at that
young age, they are also not able to take proper care of their children and look after
their education. I did not marry any of my children young”.
“Families should be small so that the children get a good life and education. Too
many children spell trouble for all”.
Women empowerment
“I want women to be independent. They should not be begging for small sums of
money from their husbands. Women will have to come out of their homes. It is only
through exchange of ideas that we can become more empowered and
strengthened. I got the inspiration to move ahead in life by learning from others
who had similar achievements. Their lives encouraged me to work for my betterment
and I did what I knew best—farming and teaching”.
Then and now

“I have faced many problems in
my life, but with dedication and
consistent hard work I have
worked my way up the ladder.
When my kids were small, it
would be an ordeal to buy even a
copy or a pen for them. There was
never enough money to buy more
than one or two pair of clothes in
the entire year. But now I have
everything. I can even afford to
hire a tutor for my grandchildren.
Earlier I had only 5 bighas of land,

but gradually I managed to buy
more—I educated my children and
increased my landed property as
well. Today I have 40 bighas of
land.
I had started work with the

wooden plough, but today I own
two tractors. I have grown from
strength to strength. When I had
less land I grew vegetables on just
1 bigha, but now I grow vegetables on 3 bighas and make a profit of INR 1 lakh per
year from vegetables alone.
Today people respect me. I have made a name for myself through my hard work. I
have had to cross many hurdles before reaching this milestone of importance.”
Message
“We should live and let live in peace and harmony. My message is to educate children
and have a small family for economic prosperity. Women will have to get rid of
misconceptions about they being the weaker sex. They have to demand equal
rights in all spheres of life. When men and women work together and share the
benefits of their hard labour together, only then can there be real progress and
happiness”.
She who does not tire,
tires adversity: Savitri
Another inspiring story of a woman farmer, Savitri, 45 years
old, from village Chawani Dera, block Badhokhar Kurda, post
Kanwara, district Banda
Savitri, a mother of 6 children—5 daughters and 1 son—became a widow 12 years after

her marriage, when her husband, the eldest of three brothers, died of electrocution.
Her two daughters are currently doing their graduation; one is studying for a diploma
in ITI; another in Class 11 and the youngest is in Class 9. Her son is a graduate. They
all studied in the village government school till class 8, after which they studied in
Banda, 20 km away, commuting every day.
Childhood
Narrating her tearful story, Savitri said that fate had been unkind to her from her
early childhood. Her father died when she was a child. They were two sisters and one
brother. Savitri had to discontinue her studies after Class 8, and had to stay home to
do household chores as her mother would go out to work in the fields. Her brother
was in service elsewhere.
Life after marriage

Savitri was married at the
tender age of 16 years into a
farmer’s family. Her
husband, the eldest of 3
sons, was into farming.
Although Savitri did not know
much about farming, she
happily helped him on the
fields. Her happy married
life came to an abrupt
end with her husband’s
sudden death. Till her
husband was alive, things
were okay. There was
poverty but no mental stress.
There was never any disagreement between the two. But within 15 days of his death,
life turned bitter for her.
Her in-laws threw her out of the house. They wanted to keep her son but wanted her
to leave the house with her 5 daughters. She was brutally beaten, threatened and
abused by her father-in-law and her husband’s younger brothers. They even
threatened to kill her. She sent 3 of her children to her parents’ home for some time.
But even the 3 who were with her in their father’s house were not given enough food
to eat. Savitri had no other option but to start working as a farm labourer to make
ends meet.
Then, on the advice of a well-wisher, she knocked the doors of the court and
managed to get some monetary compensation and 2 bighas of land from the 22 bighas
owned by her father-in-law.

After her husband’s death Savitri saw many troubled days. After being thrown out of
her in-laws house, with no roof over her head, she worked as a farm labourer on other
farmers’ fields, and later, after getting the 2 bigha land, did some farming on her own
land. She started by growing paddy and wheat. Then seeing others growing
vegetables, she also gave it a try and began growing chillies, potatoes, cauliflowers
and brinjals. She shudders to think of those days. Farming was difficult work for her,
as she was not well versed with farming techniques. She would buy seeds from the
market, ready the plants and then plant them in her field.
She became a member of the Aaroh Mahila Kisan Manch 3 years ago.
“This proved to be a boon for me in many ways. Slowly I learned new farming
techniques and was encouraged to do all the farming work myself. I am a self-
trained farmer”.
Now she is able to do all the work by

herself—ploughing, sowing, irrigating,
weeding and harvesting. She also manages
by herself the few animals—some goats, 1
cow and 3 buffaloes—that she has bought
over a period of time. Her daughters also
help her now.
In the absence of owning any source of

irrigation, she borrows water from
others’ tube wells and irrigates her
fields at night, as nobody lends it to
her during daytime.
Aaroh taught her the benefits of organic farming. So, along with urea, she now uses
organic manure also, which has helped her increase the crop yield. But she definitely
finds vegetable growing more profitable than growing paddy or wheat.
She is also part of a goat-rearing group.
Savitri has also done some training of a veterinary compounder from Rae
Bareli, Lucknow and Banda. She is now skilled to treat diseases in goats, cows and
other animals—she can even give them injections.
Despite her own mountain of problems, Savitri helps other women in need as much as
she can. She attends meetings and lends her solidarity for any cause related to
helping women in distress and for women empowerment.
Her earnings
Savitri earns money by selling the vegetables she grows in the market and/or door to
door in the village. She is able to sell some milk of the buffaloes she rears. Through
her veterinary work she is able to earn INR 1000 extra per month. There is no other
source of income. But she is not able to calculate how much her yearly profits are.
Government schemes
“I have never got the benefit of getting any manure or seeds through any
government scheme”.
Savitri does not even have a ration card and so does not get anything from the public
distribution system. According to her, “The gram Pradhan wants a bribe to get this
work done and I do not have money to pay him. I have been running from pillar to
post- from the block to the tehsil-but have not succeeded as yet in getting a ration
card made for my family”.
Women farmers
“Life of women farmers is
tough. Farming is not easy,
more so when one has to deal
with vagaries of nature.
Drought is their biggest enemy
and so is the hard work
involved—working under the
blazing sun and sometimes
having no time to even eat.
Thirst and hunger become
immaterial at times”.
Land ownership
“The 2 bighas of land is in my name, which has given me some sense of
security”.

“If girls are educated and capable of working they can fend for themselves and not
face the problems which I faced, partly because I was uneducated. Education is
important to make women economically independent. Despite facing so
many hardships I have given a proper education to my children”.
“Girls should never be married early, like I was. I faced so many problems in my
new home from an early age. My daughters are studying in BA, but I have no
intentions of marrying them just now. I did marry my eldest daughter when she was
just 15 years old. But I will not repeat the same mistake with my other daughters”.
“Families should be planned to be small. In a large family with limited means,

children do not get enough and proper education”.
Then and now

Even now Savitri survives by doing some farming and by working on other people’s
fields. She is however happy that there is definitely a change in her economic
situation. “Earlier I would not know whether there would be anything to eat tomorrow
or not. There was no one to help me. But now my children have grown up, are getting
a good education and that is a reason to rejoice. They are my biggest asset. So life is
better. I am happy that I have fought against all odds and come out a stronger person.
But still I wish there was some more source of income for my daughters’ marriage”.
As long as she earns enough to keep the home hearth burning and educate her
children, Savitri is happy.
Message for other women

“I have faced very difficult times, yet
I survived and improved my financial
condition. So one should always try to
better her situation and not give up
easily. Getting connected with
organizations like Aaroh always helps
as it encourages us to fight for our
rights and maximize our potential”.
Only thing that overcomes
hard luck is hard work:
Leela Shikhdhar
An inspiring story of a woman farmer, Leela Shikhdhar, 38 years
old, from village Shaila, block Puranpur, district Pilibhit
Childhood
Leela Shikhdhar was born in a farmer’s family of village Gabia and has 3 brothers and
1 sister. She could not pursue her education beyond class 8 because her mother got
sick and she had to tend to family duties such as cooking, managing other household
chores and supporting her siblings.
But after her marriage she managed
to finish her high school. She was
never involved with farm work as a
child.
Life after marriage

Leela was married at the age of 13
years, in a farmer’s household that
owned 30 bighas (6 acres) of land.
Her husband, the eldest of 3 male
siblings, had studied till class 7 and
was into farming. Two years into
her marriage, Leela had serious
menstrual problems and there were
remote chances of her recovering
from her illness. Her husband had to
contribute his income to the family
pool and had nothing left to spend
on her illness. Since her
husband’s family declined to
pay for her medical
treatment, her parents bore the
cost of seeking medical advice from
several private doctors, including faith healers. Eventually both she and her husband
were asked to leave the family house without being given any share in
family property.

Establishing their own house and making an independent living was a major concern
for them, but they managed to survive. Both of them started working as daily wage
labourers to earn their livelihood. Meanwhile Leela’s health also improved and she
became the proud mother of 2 sons in quick succession.
After sometime they could save enough money to rent 2 bighas of land for contract
farming and began growing pointed gourd (parval) vegetable on it, while continuing to
work as daily wage labourers. They would take their vegetable produce on a bicycle
to sell it in Puranpur mandi. At this point of time, they were managing to save INR
10,000 – 15,000 every year after taking care of the living expenses. Within 2-3 years
they could save enough to invest in opening a small roadside grocery shop. But
unfortunately Leela was once again struck with a severe illness and the shop had to
be closed. All the family savings were used up during the next 2-3 years of her
treatment. None of her extended family from her parents or her husband’s side came
to attend to her. Those were testing times. Her husband would do the farming and
labour work while taking care of her and the family.
But then she regained her health and since then has not become sick ever and both
her children too have grown up healthy and well.
Leela had no previous experience of farming. She learnt her lessons in farming-- such
as sowing, weeding, ploughing,
and harvesting-- while working as
a farm labourer. Now they own
2.5 acres of land and also have 3
acres of land leased from
someone else for contract
farming. So now they are doing
farming over 5.5 acres of land.
Today she grows spices, brinjal,
banana, potato, turmeric, etc.
She sells her farm produce to
local middlemen who sell it in
Delhi.
Leela is also actively involved

with Aaroh Mahila Kisan
Manch. Her engagement with
Aaroh led her to get trained in
vermi-culture and vermi-
composting, with support from Vinoba Sewa Ashram. Earlier she had no knowledge
about its benefits, but now she has shifted fully to organic farming from chemical
farming. This has increased her farm’s productivity—for example, her neighbour’s
field is able to produce 20 quintals of bananas per acre with chemical based farming
while her organic farm gives a yield of 30 quintal per acre. She also saves money that
was spent earlier on buying urea as there is no need of urea in organic farming. The
risk of crops getting infected is also less in organic farming.
Leela is actively involved in promoting organic farming in the village, by

training other women farmers. She shares her own experience of using vermi-compost
with them to encourage them to try it and see the benefits for themselves.
She has also led and organized struggles on issues of proper drainage or when some
land-owners were not letting people use paths that led to their farms etc.
“I also roll beedis (leaf-rolled tobacco) to make extra income. I do not eat tobacco
but the company’s contractors come and give us tendu leaves to roll them into
beedis. Every night after dinner, before going to bed, I would roll 500 beedis. This
extra daily income of INR 40 has helped me to buy new clothes for the entire family
for the celebration of puja festival (dussehra) this year. I have also trained at least 20
more people in beedi rolling and earn extra income within the confines of their
homes. I know that tobacco use is bad for health and no one consumes tobacco in our
house”.
Earnings
By shifting to organic farming Leela has increased her annual savings
manifold from INR 10,000 – 15,000 to over INR 100,000. Occasional beedi rolling
adds to her income.
Government schemes
She has benefited from
government schemes such as
receiving fertilizers and insecticides.
Her bank keeps her updated with
information about government
schemes for agriculture sector.
Land ownership
Leela has a separate bank account as
well as a joint account with her
husband. But the 2.5 acres of land
they own is in her husband’s name.
Leela never thought of having the
land in her name, as she believes
(like so many other women do) that she is not separate from her husband and the land
belongs to both of them. She feels that her husband is responsible and loving and so
she will never assert for her legal ownership or property rights—not even joint
ownership on paper.
“But if the husband is alcoholic then the land should belong to both husband and wife,
and even the bank account should be in their joint names. An irresponsible husband is
quite likely to sell his land/house/property, putting the wife and children in grave
trouble. So in such circumstances joint ownership and property rights for the woman
must be there.”

“I believe it is very important for everyone, especially women, to be educated and
self-reliant to lead a life of dignity. This is also the surest way to ensure that next
generation children will also get proper education”.
“Getting proper education also makes a girl more employable and makes
her financially secure. When a girl takes up a job it has a positive influence on the
entire household.”
“It is improper to marry a girl at 13 years of age (like I was) and girls should not be
married till at least 18 years of age. If the girl is interested in studying then
marriage should take a backseat and she should focus on studies even if it
means postponing marriage till 30 years of age”.
“A small family is a happy family. A proper and healthy upbringing of kids is only
possible when family size is small. I had visited Kolkata once in my childhood and
read the family planning slogan
‘दो बच् ,े सुखी पररवार’ (two
children, happy family) and
made up my mind to keep my
family small. I am happy that we
have kept our family small to two
children.”
Now and then

Eventually, as the years rolled by,
Leela and her husband have
established themselves as successful
farmers. Earlier were the days of
deprivation--– be it of resources or
being denied the simple pleasures of
participating in festivals. Her parents-
in-law did not allow her to go to festivals like the Navratras and confined her within
the house limits.
“When my husband’s family deserted us, we did not even have a utensil to cook our
meals in. We were forced to beg and borrow from others. Today I own 8 cooking pots
of different sizes and have enough to meet my needs. I can now afford to use cooking
gas, and have bought a washing machine too. From 2 sarees I now have 20 sarees. It is
only hard work that can change lives. The harder one works the luckier one
gets”.
When they were working as daily wage labourers they were very worried on how they
would be able to fend for the needs of the family and educate their children. But with
hard work and persistence, life did bring sunshine in their lives. Leela is slowly able to
realize her dreams of giving a comfortable life to her family. She wanted her sons to
have motorcycles to go to college and has managed to do so. Both her sons are about
to complete their graduation from a university.
All the loans (around INR 4 lakhs) she had to take during her illness and for renting
land have since been repaid. They also saved enough money to buy a swampy land,
which they have filled with mud over time and constructed their house.
Women empowerment
“If we work hard then only can we
hope to change our lives. We
cannot spend INR 5 and earn INR 2.
We need to ensure we are earning
enough to meet our needs and
saving for a rainy day and also to
indulge in some luxuries once in a
while. Without hard work,
persistence and commitment we
cannot hope to change our lives.”
Message
“Women should come forward and
do work – not just household work
but also share work in the farms
with their partners and family
members. When both husband and
wife will work together as
equal partners then only will
families progress more”.
Be the change you want
to see in the world:
Pushpa Devi
Another inspiring real-life story of a woman farmer, Pushpa
Devi, 30 years old, from village Dhaurpur, post Jagan Pura,
district Jalaun
Pushpa lives with her skilled-worker (कारीगर) husband and four children—2 girls and 2
boys. Apart from being a woman farmer, she also doubles up as an ASHA bahu
(Accredited Social Health Activist worker).
Childhood
Pushpa was born in a family of farmers in Khurd. They were 6 siblings (4 males, 2
females). Her father passed away when
she was very young, and her mother and
brothers took up to farming so that
family sustenance could be maintained.
Pushpa studied till class 8 and then got
married bringing her education to an
end.
Life after marriage

Pushpa got married when she was 13.
Her husband was studying in high school
then. “When I came to my parents-in-
law’s place after marriage for the first
time, a warm reception was given to
me. But after that life turned sour.
They did not leave any opportunity to
make me feel that I was failing to fulfill
my responsibility as a daughter-in-law. I
was even thrown out of the house on
one occasion. I was not allowed to step
out on the road or speak with any
outsider. My husband too sided with his parents and would physically beat and abuse
me. This continued over time and slowly we drifted apart from the family”.
One Manorama didi has been a very positive influence in Pushpa’s life. “She organized
us women into a self-help group (SHG) and convinced my husband too, who was
earlier opposing my association with her initiative. Now he himself comes to the
meetings and is taking the work forward proactively. Also since he got associated
with this movement he has never raised his hand on me”.
Her father-in-law owns 14 bighas of land for agriculture. He has not yet divided the
property between his two sons but has given 2 bighas each to them and rest 10 bighas
are with him, which he sub-lets to other farmers.

Her husband earns enough to feed the family. But Pushpa argues that life is not
just about feeding one’s family. A positive influence came into their lives when
she and her husband got associated with the movement. She started doing her own
farming after getting associated with the SHG and has been doing farming since 4
years now.
Pushpa had never done any farm activity while at her parents’ place. Her
participation in farming increased over time at her parents-in-law place. Slowly she
was allowed to do activities such as take the cattle for grazing, deliver lunch for men
folk working in the fields, take grains for grinding, and take care of cattle livestock,
and as she gained experience in a range of farm activities she eventually ended up
managing her own farms. She did learn it the hard way on the field, but it is panning
out well.
After separating from her parents-

in-law, she worked as a farm
labourer in the fields and her
husband worked as an artisan. But
when her husband got 2 bighas of
his family land, she first grew rice,
wheat, and til (sesame). They
would sell the produce in ‘Konch’
market and/or door-to-door in the
village itself, and also to anyone in
the village who was organizing a
marriage feast etc.
When she bought her own land,

after getting influenced by the
SHG, she went for vegetable
farming of potato, brinjal, tomato and onion.
“The Samooh (SHG) has 10 women farmer members, and we used to deposit INR 30
every month; now we deposit INR 50 every month. I took a loan of INR 100,000 to buy
my 2 bighas of land, which I repaid to the SHG from the income I earned from
agriculture”.
Now she uses organic farming methods only. All members of SHG collectively generate
organic fertilizers at one place. Yield is more with organic farming she says.
Pushpa is the treasurer of the SHG and a member of Aaroh Mahila Kisan Manch.
She has also received formal training in farming in Lucknow and Orai. Her association
with the Aaroh Mahila Kisan Manch and the SHG has been very positive. Her
experiences of attending different meetings in Lucknow, Delhi and other places have
boosted her confidence to challenge wrong doings in society.
Pushpa has mobilized women to protest against corruption in the public distribution
system (PDS). They collectively kept banging their utensils till the contractor yielded
under pressure to resume supplies of kerosene, rice etc to deserving women.
“Similarly we had lobbied for

getting a woman elected as
village Pradhan (Head). Our
village has had a history of
poor work done under male
pradhans. We campaigned
actively for a woman
candidate, Chandan Devi, and
she won.
She did far more development

work in the village than any
other previous pradhan. Under
her, a lot of decision-making
and discussion took place
collectively, unlike in case of
male pradhans, who usually
run the show single handedly
or behind closed doors. She
could not contest the next
time, as the seat was not
reserved for women but for a
harijan. So now we again have
a male pradhan”.
Pushpa narrated another struggle during a polio vaccination drive in her village. Once,
when she was on duty as Asha bahu, children had turned up to get vaccinated, it was
nearly mid-day but vaccines had not arrived. She called up the coordinator, and he
asked her to send her husband to collect the vaccines from him (he was 3 km away in
Jaganpura from her place). When she insisted that her husband could not leave his
work, the coordinator threatened her that she will not receive her INR 75 for her duty
that day. Pushpa called the Chief Medical Officer and narrated the entire episode.
When the CMO acted upon her complaint vaccines reached her soon after.
Earnings
She is able to earn an annual income of INR 100,000 per bigha of land. She also makes
money working as an Asha bahu and her husband earns as an artisan.
Government schemes
Pushpa has never received any benefit from government schemes as “We fail to get
information in time”. She does not have a BPL/APL card (below poverty line/above
poverty line card). So they are not able to get any benefit of the public distribution
system. Her father used to have a ration card. The village Pradhan has told her that
since her father has a card she will not get any card till he is alive.
On women farmers
“Menfolk, more often than not, do not recognize the agency of women
farmers despite their equal, if not more strenuous, contribution to
agriculture and also to household chores and other family
responsibilities. Women’s work is often a thankless job and we need to assert our
right to get recognition for our work and life of dignity. Our agency needs to be
recognized”.
On land ownership
“My husband does not own
any land. I own 2 bighas,
and one residential plot. A
woman needs to have the land
rightfully in her name so that she
can fend for her and her children
with dignity if circumstances go
against her.
If we do not stake our legal right

to property and land then we are
the ones who are increasing the
risk of being in a very bad state if
men turn their backs on us at any
point of time. Relationships may not last forever and if a man and woman decide to
part their ways or the man walks out of the relationship, which is not uncommon,
then at least the woman will have the land to earn her livelihood and fend for her and
her family’s needs”.
On women’s education, marriage and family planning

“I firmly believe it is very important for women to study – if she has studied well then
not only can she teach other women and children but also progress easily in her own
life. Denying education to women is only going to make their lives more miserable if
circumstances turn adverse. I am continuing my education and have filled the form
for Class12 exam. My children are studying in primary school. I will give all of them a
good education”.
“No one should get married early. It is important for boys and girls to finish
education, become self-reliant and then marry. Especially when girls are married
early they become physically weak and likely to get sick too”.
“Family size should also remain small. My family size became big but I will say that
one should be careful to keep the family small – so that we are able to meet
everyone’s needs in the best possible way. When we have more children, then we are
more likely to think on lines of prioritizing education of male child over female child –
which is so unfair. So I will strongly advocate for smaller family size and no gender
bias when it comes to education for
children”.
Then and now

“Life has changed a lot in terms of
how I myself and others perceive me.
Earlier I was not allowed to step out
of the house but now I confidently
talk to and help other women too. I
also feel comfortable in organizing
and conducting meetings, associating
with other Asha bahus and going
house-to-house for child
immunization. I can fearlessly talk
with confidence to menfolk. Earlier
we did not have anything of our own
but now we own farming land, we
own our house, and are able to meet
our family needs and responsibilities.
In farming, water was always a

scarce resource. So finally we
succeeded in saving and getting a boring well drilled.
I have had to work hard over years, save bit-by-bit and also seek help from self-help
group to buy my land. The going has not been easy but I am proud that with my
determination and help from right minded people and groups I am where I am today
and that is no mean achievement. I have even gone back to my studies.”
Since she got associated with the movement for land rights of women farmers, Pushpa
became convinced of the importance for women farmers like her to own their land
legally.
“It is very important for girls and women not to tolerate violence and speak up.
Breaking this silence is very important in the fight we are waging to recognize our
agency in development justice. If things do not seem to change despite raising one’s
voice then we must take legal recourse and reach out to organizations or SHGs to help
in our fight for justice.”
Message for other women

“It is important to understand that no one can do it all alone. The fight for
ending gender based discrimination and injustice is a long road ahead. We need to
unite and organize ourselves, encourage each other, share our learnings with each
other and progress collectively. We need to mobilize people to come together for a
cause – be it reclaiming your right from your husband or father-in-law or any other
person. And it is never too late to make a start”.
Authorities speak
Our team interviewed few government officials, in districts where champion women
farmers hailed from, to gauge policy makers’ perspectives and opinions. Below is a
snapshot. These interviews were done in Hindi language and translated in English to
the best of our ability. We apologise for any human error if any.
Mr Ram Ganesh, District Magistrate, Jalaun

“Government is running several schemes for women’s empowerment via its different
departments. For example there are dedicated departments facilitating programmes
at a district for education, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), prohibition
of alcohol and other addictions, among others. I believe education is one of the
most important tools for empowerment of girls and women for which
government is running ‘Ma Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya’ in every block,
providing education to girls from economically weaker sections of society. There are
other schemes for personality development such as ‘Kishori Shakti Yojna’, ‘Balika
Samriddhi Yojna’ (which provides insurance on birth of a girl child and it matures
when the girl attains the age of 18), among others. For farmers there are several
schemes rolled out by the agriculture department including subsidies for small and
marginal farmers, fertilizer subsidy, farming equipment subsidy, or provision of hybrid
seeds, etc. ‘Indira Awas’ is also now only given in women’s name, ‘patta’ for farm
land is also done in her name, and likewise women also get a priority for ‘samajwadi
pension’ etc. Eligible women can also benefit from widow pension scheme.
There are social and cultural barriers faced by those in need, but such challenges are
everywhere and we need to address them to the best of our ability. Gulabi Gang is
active here and is trying to address violence against women issues and empower
women.
If a woman buys land then UP government is also providing subsidy on

the stamp duty to further encourage people to support the assertion of land rights
of women. It builds enormous confidence in women who own land. Also it is important
to recognize that it is the women who toil the hardest on the fields when
compared to men. But hard work of women seldom gets recognition when we talk
of agriculture. Change is ushering slowly but steadily and women farmers are
asserting their rights and claiming their long overdue credit. They participate in
meetings meaningfully, manage their farming well and also demonstrate leadership
effectively.
Now there are banks that are wholly managed by womenfolk-- for example there is
such a bank in Lucknow. These banks prioritize women while disbursing loans and that
is another reason why land should be registered in women’s name. If she owns the
land then it becomes easier for the bank to process loans for tractor, and other
farming equipment etc and another benefit is that all this equipment will also be in
her name. This will further enhance her security and give her more confidence.”
Mr Ramesh Gautam, Assistant Development Officer, Vikas Khand

Sarsawan, Saharanpur
“One problem faced by farmers
here is that they do not get
payment in due time for sugarcane
farm produce.
We implement other schemes for

farmers effectively such as
distribute zinc to small and
marginal farmers without delay.
We have about 20,000-25,000
farmers in the entire block, 3-5% of
which would be women farmers.
In eventualities such as death of

husband, women get land
transferred in their names (when their children are still minor) or at times when they
are buying new land then they may register it in their names. We give 25% subsidy in
‘jipsa’ zinc to women farmers.
We get seeds and insecticides distributed among the farmers and also take soil
samples for laboratory analysis and share the report with farmers regularly. Kisan
Credit Card (KCC) is another scheme popular among farmers. Barring 1-2 exceptional
cases, all farmers have KCCs. Spray machines, etc are provided at 30% subsidy.
Women in this area are likely to be relatively more educated than men. Our DM, BDO
and other officers usually insist that women, if elected to posts such as Pradhan,
should participate in meetings themselves.
Every week we conduct a meeting. Village development officer and Gram Panchayat
officer are posted at village level. They provide all information related to government
schemes at village level. Then there are dedicated officers at block and district levels
too to help with information dissemination.
Programme supporting Self-help groups (SHGs) has now been renamed as National
Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). This scheme gives benefit not just to women below
poverty line (BPL) but also to those who are listed as above poverty line (APL) but are
identified by a Gram Sabha as slipping towards BPL. 10-12 such people come together
to form such a group, open a bank account and deposit INR 50 every month. Then a
half-yearly review is done, and revolving fund is provided to those in need.
If the vision of women empowerment has to be realized then they should
get their due participation and representation at every level. They should
get their share in every job, joint ownership of property and land, and be joint
account holders in banks with their male family members.”
Mr AC Sharma, Deputy Director (Agriculture)

“I believe that women have a very unique role in post-harvesting
technology. When seeds are procured then it is the women who manage these
seeds. We are organizing discussions, trainings
and other programmes on post-harvesting
technology at different levels such as Judicial
Panchayat, Vikas Khand as well as district level.
We try to ensure women’s participation in this
process.
Although I do not have the data but it appears

that 70-80% of cultivable land might be
registered in the names of male farmers and 20-
30% in names of female farmers.
In agriculture women have a very unique role

although they may not get recognition.
Separating seeds from the farm produce,
identifying seeds, storage, etc all are managed
by women. Insecticide storage is also another responsibility she dons, keeping them at
a safe distance away from children and ensuring these do not harm other family
members. Women also play key role in vermiculture and vermicompost
processes and managing livestock too.
I will also like to underline another major issue of importance: about 15-20% of
farm produce is wasted due to improper storage facilities. We need to raise
awareness on how to save these food grains that get spoilt during storage. There are
ways to store them safely and prevent them from getting spoilt. Women can play a
key role here. From 10th October 2014 we are organizing such awareness camps and
will do our best to engage female as well as male farmers. If women farmers are
engaged meaningfully we will be able to save these food grains that get ruined during
improper storage--so do we believe.
We need to raise awareness and public consciousness of the fact that if male and
female farmers work together as equal partners with dignity then only we can be
successful in food sovereignty.”
Dr RK Yadav, Deputy Director (Agriculture), Shahjahanpur
“Vinoba Bhave had initiated a
movement, Aaroh, to end gender
based discrimination and inequities
deep-rooted in our society. It demands
equal rights without any prejudice of
any kind for men and women both, be
it land rights or property rights. It is
common knowledge that it is the
women who are toiling harder in the
fields compared to menfolk, then why
should they be denied due credit and
recognition? Why should a woman’s
agency be not identified in terms of
the role she plays in agriculture? I
believe Vinoba Sewa Ashram’s Aaroh
programme is doing very commendable work and we fully support it and participate in
its activities.
It is very important for women to assert their rights and have the land registered in
their names, because only then they can avail of government welfare schemes such as
Kisan Credit Card (KCC) etc. Government too has mandated that 30% of all
beneficiaries of agriculture-related schemes should be women.
Agriculture department is facilitating several such schemes such as National

Agriculture Development Scheme, under which we distribute quality and verified
varieties of seeds. We also help people install solar water pumps and other
equipment.
Increasingly more people are coming forward to support women to assert their claim
over land and get recognized, as well as avail of benefits provided by the government.
Still there is a long way to go, as gender based discrimination is deeply rooted in our
society and will wane off over time.
We publicize information about different schemes in agriculture by publishing it in

newspapers, distributing pamphlets, organizing village/block level meetings, etc.
We also motivate our staff, particularly our female staff, to go out in the field and
mobilize women farmers to come forward and claim their due benefits.
National Mission on Agriculture Extension Technology is another old scheme with a

new name. This is also of immense benefit for agriculture sector.
No government scheme says that women should not be prioritized as beneficiary. Now
we need more movements such as Vinoba movement to mobilize women to come
forward and utilize these benefits. One suggestion is that if we reduce the interest
rate for loans taken by women, then perhaps men too will get another incentive to
give women their due rights in property and land. This will have a spillover benefit in
terms of women’s empowerment.
Giving recognition and land rights to women does not mean ignoring
men, rather we strongly support community farming where men and
women both do agriculture as equal partners with dignity. It is only in the
interest of a family to give women their due recognition and legal rights. For example
rarely one finds a woman getting drunk, but it is common knowledge to find men
wasting away their time and money in addictions. So, joint ownership of land between
a man and woman in a family is not only in the interest of the family’s welfare but is
also a deterrent for men who go astray.
I believe that Leelawati and Savitri, both women farmers of

Shahjahanpur, are pearls of our region. They are living examples of
being the change with integrity. I have witnessed all their work personally and
have visited them on their fields – it is indeed inspiring how they have stood with time
and commitment. Savitri, for example, is a knowledge resource when it comes to
agriculture and is a leader too. Look how she speaks and dominates discussions and
meetings, which is difficult for a man to beat!
Thinking of the way forward I firmly advocate that education is the key to
accelerate women’s empowerment. It is very important for girls and women to
get educated, as best as they can. This will usher in a social change, and it is already
happening to a certain degree.
I also recommend that literate women farmers should read the daily newspaper and
follow other news from radio. It is important to be aware and conscious of what’s
happening around us. There is a lot of agriculture-related information on mass media
and women must have a way to access it and keep a track of it.
It is not that other women cannot do better than champions such as Savitri or
Leelawati, but they are not getting access to opportunities and exposure and not able
to struggle for it. It is important to make it easier for women to come forward and
avail their rights.
One suggestion is to organize Mahila Kisan Sammelan (A conference only for

women farmers), which will mobilize many more women farmers and/or women
interested in pursuing farming to come forward and use such events as game-changer
events in their lives.”
Annexure 1
List of women farmers identified by Oxfam India, Lucknow office team and partners in
different parts of Uttar Pradesh is given below:
Sl. Region District Block Village Name of the
No woman farmer
1 Vindhya Jalaun Nadi gaon Dhorpur Pushpa Devi
Kaimoor
2 Vindhya Banda Badhokhar Chhawani Dera Savitri
Kaimoor Kurda
3 Central UP Ambedkar Bhitti Kakshasari Patti Kalawati
Nagar
4 Central UP Ambedkar Bhitti Chachikpur Islavati
Nagar
5 Purvi UP Gorakhpur Khorabaar Laxmipur Teeja Devi
6 Purvi UP Gorakhpur Chargawan Bantaniya Preeti Devi
7 Pashchimi UP Saharanpur Sarsawan Daulatpur Kamlesh
8 Pashchimi UP Saharanpur Sarsawan Patna Kunta
9 Ruhelkhand Pilibhit Puranpur Shaila Leela Shikhdhar
10 Ruhelkhand Shahjahanpur Bhawalkhera Aitha Lilawati
Hussainpur
No shortcut to success, no
substitute to hard work…

The Leader Lies in You (Success Stories of Women Farmers in UP, India)

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The Leader Lies In You

- Success stories of women

• Shobha Shukla, CNS Managing Editor | Email: shobha@citizen-news.org

CNS (Citizen News Service)

2|The Leader lies in you - Success stories of women farmers

S.No. Content Page No.

2 Hard work is key to success: Kamlesh 7

4 From adversity to prosperity: Preeti 16

5 Where there is a will there is a way: Teeja Devi 22

6 A woman of substance: Kalawati 28

7 God helps those who help themselves: Kunta Devi 33

8 Slow but steady wins the race: Lilawati 39

9 She who does not tire, tires adversity: Savitri 45

11 Be the change you want to see in the world: Pushpa Devi 56

13 Annexure 1: List of ten women farmers and contacts 67

“80 percent of rural women in India are engaged in agricultural

3|The Leader lies in you - Success stories of women farmers

• Women farmers do not have the basic identity as ‘farmer’. Due to

• Women farmers are out of mainstream of the agriculture development.

• Women farmers are virtually ‘debarred’ from availing credit facilities

5|The Leader lies in you - Success stories of women farmers

“Invest in women’s needs. Women are the key to

6|The Leader lies in you - Success stories of women farmers

Life after marriage

7|The Leader lies in you - Success stories of women farmers

Her work and achievements

8|The Leader lies in you - Success stories of women farmers

Women’s education and marriage

Now and then

9|The Leader lies in you - Success stories of women farmers

Life after marriage

Her work and achievements

Today Islawati’s annual earnings are around INR 2 lakhs.

Women’s education, marriage and family planning

Then and now

I shudder to think of those days.

Then I had nothing and now I have everything.”

Life after marriage

Her work as a farmer

She had it in her to learn new

Fighting for women’s rights

“Recently I came to know that a

Some self-styled local political

Women’s education, marriage and family planning

Learning from her personal experience, Preeti is against child marriage—

“I also believe that we should

Never say die

Life after marriage

Her work and achievements

But when it came to division of family

“I am an independent woman farmer. I do not depend upon my husband to help

Teeja’s husband (she calls him

Teeja enjoys working for the

Some of her notable achievements are:

(v) “A government tap was lying

(vi) “A girl from another village was

On women’s education, marriage and family planning

“I am very much against young girls

“Families should be small. With

Her work and

Kalawati concedes that there is a

Kalawati feels very bad that even

Women’s education, marriage and family planning