Editorial: On Labour Day, Let’s Recognize and Empower Rural Women Workers

Editorial: On Labour Day, Let’s Recognize and Empower Rural Women Workers

This Labour Day, as we pay tribute to the contributions of workers across the country, let us turn our attention to the countless women in rural India whose labour sustains not just families and communities but the very backbone of our nation’s economy. From the fields of Punjab to the forests of Odisha, from brick kilns to anganwadis, women in rural India perform extraordinary work—much of it unpaid, unrecognized, and undervalued.

The Invisible Workforce

Over 70% of rural women in India are engaged in agriculture, yet only about 13% own the land they cultivate. They sow, harvest, weed, and care for livestock, often without contracts, wages, or social security. Their labour is considered “family support” rather than “employment,” a classification that strips them of rights and dignity. Beyond agriculture, they gather fuelwood and water, manage household chores, and care for children and the elderly—tasks essential to community life but excluded from economic statistics.

Even when rural women take up paid work—as construction labourers, bidi rollers, domestic workers, or MGNREGA participants—they earn significantly less than men. The gender pay gap in rural India is stark and persistent. According to NSSO data, women earn nearly 30–40% less than men for the same work, and often under precarious conditions with no job security, maternity benefit, or grievance redressal.

Unsafe and Unequal Spaces

Rural workplaces are rarely designed with women in mind. Sanitation facilities are inadequate, sexual harassment often goes unreported, and long hours are compounded by domestic burdens. Women often leave home before dawn and return after dusk, juggling work in the field and work in the home, with little rest and no recognition.

The burden of care work—cooking, cleaning, fetching water, caregiving—falls almost entirely on women. In many rural households, a woman’s day begins at 4 a.m. and ends well past midnight. This “double burden” not only exhausts her physically and mentally but also limits her opportunities for education, skill-building, or leadership.

Progress Hinges on Rural Women’s Empowerment

The future of India’s development is intimately tied to the empowerment of rural women. When rural women are educated, economically independent, and politically active, their families thrive, their children attend school, and their communities prosper. Numerous self-help groups (SHGs) across India have proven that women, when given collective strength and institutional support, can lead economic and social transformation.

Government schemes like MGNREGA, the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), and the PM Ujjwala Yojana have made inroads—but more needs to be done. It is time to move from welfare to empowerment. This means ensuring equal pay for equal work, expanding access to land and credit, investing in rural infrastructure (especially water, sanitation, and transport), and strengthening protections against workplace exploitation and harassment.

Moreover, unpaid care work must be counted and compensated. Public childcare centres, community kitchens, and policies that recognize domestic labour can help relieve the crushing care burdens rural women face.

A Call to Collective Action

On this Labour Day, let us remember that rural women are not just “beneficiaries”—they are workers, leaders, and agents of change. Their voices must be heard in panchayats, labour unions, and policy forums. Their rights must be defended in fields, factories, and homes.

India cannot progress if half its rural population continues to labour in silence and invisibility. True development demands that we honour rural women workers—not just with words, but with action that ensures dignity, equality, and opportunity.