Women of rice, women of millet : a comparison of female participation in wet and dry cultivation in Tamil Nadu, South India

• Main Author: Nanaumi, Yumiko
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: McGill University 1995
• Subjects: Rural women > India > Tamil Nadu > Social conditions.; Women agricultural laborers > India > Tamil Nadu.; Women rice workers > India > Tamil Nadu.
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23233

Women's status in Indian agrarian communities has been discussed in terms of cultural and agricultural practices, which affect women adversely in the northwestern wheat region and favourably in the southern rice region. The correlation is tested by the female farm labour participation (FLP) rate and the juvenile sex ratio (JSR). === I examine the correlation between women's contribution to agriculture and their status in wet paddy and dry millet regions in Tamil Nadu. Compared to northwestern India, the JSRs are more balanced and FLPs are high in both regions, yet the implications of high FLPs differ. Thanjavur shows a high female labour participation in peak seasons, but year-round underemployment. In Kongu, the cultivation of garden crops requires both male and female labour throughout the year. === The contrasts originate from varied factors such as ecology and irrigation, cropping system, the distribution of land wealth, and on- and off-farm employment opportunities.