What do you understand by the term 'feminization of Agricultural' labour force?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Women are emerging as the major source of agricultural labour force
Option (1) Women are emerging as the major source of agricultural labour force — Correct. In poor areas the men spend much of the year working outside their villages, so cultivation has become primarily a female task. Women are emerging as the main source of agricultural labour, and this is what the term ‘feminisation of agricultural labour force’ means.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.5 Circulation of Labour … The large scale circulation of labour has had several significant effects on rural society, in both the receiving and the supplying regions. For instance, in poor areas where male family members spend much of the year working outside of their villages, cultivation has become primarily a female task. Women are also emerging as the main source of agricultural labour, leading to the ‘feminisation of agricultural labour force.’ The insecurity of women is greater because they earn lower wages than men for similar work. Until recently, women were hardly visible in official statistics as earners and workers. While women toil on the land as landless labourers and as cultivators, the prevailing patrilineal kinship system, and other cultural practices that privilege male rights, largely exclude women from land ownership.” |