In Lakhai upazila of Habiganj, women labourers are taking part in farm work on an equal footing with men, and their earnings have brought better living to about 2,000 families in the upazila.

Although some people look on women at work with prejudice, farmers have welcomed them. For some farming tasks, women labourers are now in greater demand than men.

About 2,000 women from Gopalpur, Agapur, Mahmudpur, Morakori, Bulla and Bhabanipur villages in Lakhai work in the haor every day. They transplant rice seedlings, clear weeds and dig earth alongside men, and are paid almost the same as men. This has eased want in their families and reduced the shortage of farm labour.

In the fields at Kasimpur, women were busy transplanting rice seedlings alongside men, working in orderly rows and keeping pace with them.

Middle-aged workers Saraswati Das, Bishuka Das and Falani Das said the wage for transplanting one bigha in the current Aman season is Tk 1,000. Six women together can plant two bighas between morning and midday, so each earns about Tk 350 a day.

They said women work in the fields for about four months in the transplanted Aman and Boro seasons. On other days of the year they dig earth, clear weeds and do other jobs. For these jobs the wage is somewhat lower than men's, but they are content with the income.

Local farmer Kaddus Mia told Banglanews that when cultivating his land he hires more women than men, because women are very good workers and their wages are somewhat lower than men's.

Md Ali Akbar, a former agriculture officer in Habiganj, told Banglanews that women now do farm work not just in Lakhai but across the district. Although some people look on them with prejudice, they have a role in the agricultural revolution, and this must be seen positively.

Source: Banglanews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.