The Women at the Forefront of the Indian Farmers’ Protests

Farmers in India have been camping out in protest on the outskirts of Delhi since the beginning of November 2020. This comes after the Indian government passed three new agricultural laws on the 17th September 2020, which will loosen rules around sales and pricing and potentially destroy farmers’ livelihoods. 

The protesters have been surrounded by barricades and barbed wire. They have had their water and food supplies cut off. According to a farmers’ union, over 248 protesters have died so far. On the ground in India, it’s the teachers and nurses, housewives and grandmothers who are holding the front line. 

In January the Chief Justice of India asked lawyers to persuade elderly people and women to leave the protests. In response, women from the rural states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh took hold of microphones and shouted back a unanimous “No!” Jasbir Kaur, a 74-year-old farmer from Rampur in western Uttar Pradesh said “Why should we go back? This is not just the men’s protest. We toil in the fields alongside the men. Who are we – if not farmers?”

This wave of protests has prompted thousands of women like Jasbir Kaur to make their voices heard. The protests provide a unique opportunity to address the gender imbalance in Indian society. “Women are not seen as farmers. Their labour is immense but invisible,” says Jasbir Kaur Nat, a member of the Punjab Kisan Union, but at the protest sites, Indians of all ages, genders, castes and religions are united by a common goal. 

Activist Nodeep Kaur 

Nodeep Kaur is a Dalit labour rights activist and member of Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan (MAS), one of the many unions protesting against the government’s new laws. Kaur was arrested on the 12th January when protesting outside a factory on the outskirts of Delhi. She was in Haryana jail for over a month, and was tortured and sexually assaulted in police custody.

In India’s caste system, Dalits, once pejoratively referred to as ‘untouchables’, remain oppressed by tradition and society. Discrimination and human rights abuses against Dalits in India is common. Nodeep alleged that Kundli Station House Officers spoke disparagingly about Dalits during her 46 days in jail.  

Beyond India

Singer Rihanna and environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg have drawn global attention to Indian farmers’ fight against the government’s new agriculture laws, shining a spotlight on its suspension of internet services at protest sites around New Delhi.

Poet and activist Rupi Kaur has been a vocal supporter of the protests since their inception. Using her platform to speak out against the “harmful” situation, she held an event in collaboration with Mandeep Punia, a reporter who was on the frontlines during the protests. 

In Birmingham, Preet Kaur Gill, daughter of a farmer and the first Sikh MP in the UK, has been lobbying several MPs to raise awareness of the farmers’ protest. Supporters, such as Valerie Vaz (shadow leader of the House of Commons), and Seema Malhotra (MP for Feltham and Hounslow), have signed a cross party letter sent to Home Secretary Dominic Raab. The letter requests that he meet with Preet Gill – and all of the MPs who are supporting her – to explain how the government plans to respond to the concerning new developments at the farmers’ protest.   

The Power of Collective Effort 

Jasleen Kaur, an accountant from Abohar, Punjab, said “Women show so much resilience; they are holding the protests together. Women are united here – no one is going to back down – we are in this together and we won’t back down until the laws are repealed.”

Conscience Collective are inspired by the purpose and resilience of the women protesting in India. Forming a community that overcomes barriers of age, gender, caste and religion, the protesters are motivated to raise their voices and find reserves they may not have known existed. 

Through Conscience Collective we aim to draw people together and create networks of women with a similar goal: to make the world a better place. Through our collective efforts, we can raise our voices against environmental and social injustice, and drive forward an agenda based on inclusion, education, and environmental accountability and responsibility.

Written by Caitlin - Conscience Collective