Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a single largest national trade union of over 3.2 million poor self-employed women workers from the informal economy. Over 2/3rd of SEWA’s membership is rural and majority of these rural members are poor smallholder farmers with land ownership less than 2 acres.
Organizing these women for over 5 decades, SEWA has seen that some of the most common challenges faced by these rural workers are irregularity of work, low and unequal wages (based on season, gender etc.), unskilled labor force, lack of employment opportunities, lack of skill development, degradation of the soil & other natural resources, income & food insecurity even after working for long hours, lack of access to technical and technological skills, affordable and reliable energy, modern tools and equipment, direct market and lack of awareness about various govt programs, infrastructure and subsidies.
Therefore, to make agriculture sustainable for these small farmers, to build their climate resilience, facilitating adoption of a climate-smart agriculture, SEWA initiated its Agriculture Campaign in 1985 based on four pillars viz (1) Capacity Building, (2) Facilitating affordable access to Agro-inputs and technology (3) Facilitating access to finance and (4) Facilitating access to market.
While the Agriculture campaign emphasizes on developing farm as an enterprise – thereby shifting focus from mere subsistence to viability and profitability, increasingly frequent climate and market shocks in the recent past is forcing the rural youth – especially men, to migrate to cities in search of work in non-agriculture sector, while women are left behind to manage farms and households.
Yet, due to patriarchal norms and socio-cultural barriers, despite contributing immensely – time, labor and resources, poor women workers in the rural areas do not have visibility or identity as a farmer. These women most commonly do not have legal ownership of the land they till.
Without their names on official land records, they are excluded from farming schemes, subsidies and benefits, agricultural extension services as well as affordable and direct market access. These constraints have a direct impact on the reducing the productivity of women-led farms and hence their income – trapping these women and their households into a vicious circle of poverty and indebtedness.
Let us understand this better by looking into the lived experience of Rajooben, a smallholder farmer from Surrendranagar and a member of SEWA since past 10 years.
My husband had 2 brothers and 2 sisters and my father-in-law owned 3 acres of land. My husband was in army and served on the border while I stayed with my in-laws and took care of my children, in-laws and our share of agriculture.
Five years ago, my husband passed away, opening a pandora of challenges for me. Since my name was not added in my husband’s inheritance certificate and land entitlement, I couldn’t get any govt benefits like widow pension, 3-acre land allotted to Army widows, Kisan Sanman Nidhi Yojana, Subsidy on certified seeds and fertilizers etc. It became extremely difficulty for me to make ends meet. I was forced to work as an agricultural labourer in my own field.
At SEWA, we strongly believe that poverty is a form of violence perpetuated by the consent of the society and asset creation in the name of the women is the surest way to overcome this poverty.
Understanding the challenges faced by women farmers due to exclusion of their names in land entitlements, SEWA realized that inclusion of woman’s name in their family’s land documents – not just creates asset ownership but also builds women’s identity as a farmer and facilitates economic security for women.
Therefore, expanding the scope of the Agriculture campaign to also incorporate the policy lens, SEWA’s grassroots leaders have started rallying to create awareness and education around this issue amongst members and their families, encouraging every woman to secure her family’s future by ensuring her name is listed on their land.
In one of SEWA’s meetings, I heard about the benefits of adding woman’s name in land entitlement. I also learnt that this process can be done while the landowner – meaning my husband is alive or even posthumously by establishing legal inheritance.
Being a semi-literate widow, I felt defeated as I didn’t have any knowledge about the legal formalities to be undertaken or the documents that will be required. But I had hope because I knew that SEWA sisters have always stood by me in my difficult times and even now, they will help me. But the process was not easy.
Agricultural Land ownership in rural India is most commonly shared by the extended family. I faced resistance from my husband’s family, including my two brothers-in-laws as well as my father-in-law – all of whom held stakes in the land.
My father-in-law initially refused to support adding my name. Even today, widows in rural areas frequently encounter prejudice from families, communities, and authorities when seeking legal rights. But SEWA advised me that women must advocate for their rightful entitlements.
SEWA stood with me during this tough phase, explained my family how adding my name in the land entitlement would make me eligible for government support, thereby creating financial security for the whole family and thus convinced them.
The process of including woman’s name in the land entitlement, is a long process that requires various documentation and approvals from various district and local authorities. A complete file of required documents would include Aadhar card, Inheritance certificate, Consent letter from all family members, Application form, Affidavit, 7/12 land records, Pan card, 5 witness to sign the application and Husband’s death certificate.
SEWA has trained a cadre of young grassroots leaders as “E-Sakhis” who help members in applying for these type of documents, online banking support, mobile recharge, e-commerce transactions, railway and other transportation bookings etc. In the process, these young E-Sakhis also earn a decent and dignified livelihood for themselves.
SEWA’s E-Sakhi helped me prepare the whole file and submit it to the respective local authorities. However, the struggle didn’t end there. Village officials, Sarpanch and other government officials sent the documents back several times for corrections and re-verification. The entire process took 4–5 months and involved multiple visits to various village level, block level and district level offices.
But SEWA’s E-Sakhi stood by me throughout this process, giving me strength and encouraging me, helping me complete all documentation, and coordinated with legal professionals. Eventually, after 5 months, the legal process was completed successfully. The entire procedure cost ₹4,500 to ₹7,000, but my name was finally added to the land records.
With her name added in the land entitlement records, Rajooben has now started receiving INR 6000 annually through the PMKSNY which she is able to use to purchase inputs for her field and also for meeting her household needs. Understanding the complexity of the process, Rajooben has also included her children’s name in the land entitlement from now itself, so that they do not have to undergo the same challenges that she faced.
Now, this land is mine, and I have also added the names of my two daughters and grandson in the inheritance certificate. Though my daughter is married and stays at her in-laws, our children can now benefit from Govt schemes
SEWA sisters stood by me at every step and accompanied me to various government offices. At one point, I had lost hope. But SEWA never let me feel alone. I strongly believe SEWA is not just a union —it is a source of strength for every woman. Today, I can proudly say I am not just Rajooben—I am a self-reliant woman farmer!”
Rajooben,
Smallholder farmer,
Surrendranagar District
