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India
This Week in AsiaPolitics

India’s protesting farmers joined by their wives and mothers on International Women’s Day

  • The women farmers joining in the protest say they want the government to recognise their labour contribution and struggles
  • Indian authorities have blocked the protesters from marching on to New Delhi and refused to meet their demands

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Women farmers joining the “Delhi Chalo” protest movement at the Shambhu border on International Women’s Day. Photo: Sarwan Singh
Kaisar Andrabi

At dawn on Friday, Baljeet Kaur, a farmer from Punjab, led a group of 200 women to the village of Shambhu in the state with one mission in mind: to join the ongoing farmers’ protest in India on International Women’s Day.

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The 38-year-old mother of two from Chamuru village said that it was important to raise awareness of the struggles faced by women farmers in India on this day.
“If today, people across the globe are celebrating Women’s Day, I joined our ongoing protest to convey a message that bolsters our legitimate struggle for the welfare of thousands of women farmers who toil on farms, enduring sunburns to sustain their livelihoods,” she told This Week in Asia.

At Shambhu, near the border with the state of Haryana, protesting farmers from the “Delhi Chalo” (Let’s Go to Delhi) movement were prevented by government forces from advancing towards the capital.

Thousands of women farmers from various parts of Punjab and Haryana converged at the protest site on Friday, protesting against what they see as the government’s inflexible response to the demands of the farmers.

The protesters want the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to fulfil promises made in 2021 on minimum support prices (MSP) for crops and a waiver on farmers’ debts before they call off their protest, which began on February 13.

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