Government of India (GoI) has also declared 15th October as Mahila Kisan Diwas. UN observes this day as International Day of Rural Women (IDRW) , which emphasises “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”
Women significantly contribute to the sustenance of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods, agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land and natural resource management, family incomes, health and education leading to improved quality of life and overall well being. Census 2011 data shows that 65.1 percent of female workers depend on agriculture, either as labourers or cultivators as opposed to 49.8 percent of male workers. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women participate in 48% of agriculture-related employment in India and around 7.5 crore women are actively involved in livestock management. But this contribution still remains unrecognised.
So, the primary objective of this day is to bring about an awareness regarding the importance of women empowerment in agriculture and bring about fruitful investments to enhance their participation and productivity, as also create and sustain agriculture based livelihoods of rural women. Mahila Kisan Diwas was celebrated at ICAR Institutes and Krishi Vigyan Kendras across the country to recognize the contribution of women in Agriculture.The tagline for the initiation is – ‘Sashakt Mahila, Sashakt Bharat’ (empowered women, empowered India).
