A law to give women farmers their due
Women cultivators need explicit legal recognition, direct access to benefits, and gender-sensitive farm policy
- Women are central to Indian agriculture but remain under-recognised in law, policy, land ownership, credit access, and compensation systems.
- Farm laws and support schemes should explicitly treat women cultivators as farmers in their own right, not only as family helpers.
- Direct recognition of women cultivators can improve access to disaster relief, crop insurance, and scheme delivery.
The Indian Express commentary argues that women are central to Indian agriculture but are often not recognised as farmers in law and policy. The issue matters because legal invisibility affects land ownership, credit access, insurance, disaster compensation, and the delivery of farm support schemes.
UPSC can frame the issue around gender gaps in agricultural ownership and entitlement, the design of farm schemes, and the mismatch between women’s work in cultivation and their legal status in land and welfare systems. A mains answer can examine why direct recognition of women farmers improves equity, data quality, credit access, insurance coverage, and disaster compensation delivery.
Related dispatches
