In poor villages where men spend much of the year working elsewhere,…

In poor villages where men spend much of the year working elsewhere, women have become the main source of farm labour. Identify this trend. Which of the following is true of these women?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Until recently, they were hardly visible in official statistics as earners and workers.

Option (1) They have been termed footloose labour by Jan Breman. — Incorrect. Jan Breman used the term footloose labour for migrant workers who move between their home villages and richer farming areas. In this case the men are the ones who move, and the women stay behind and farm.

Option (2) Until recently, they were hardly visible in official statistics as earners and workers. — Correct. These women are part of the feminisation of the agricultural labour force. Until recently, their work as earners and workers hardly showed up in official statistics, so their labour went uncounted.

Option (3) Wealthy farmers employ them in preference to migrant workers. — Incorrect. Wealthy farmers prefer migrant workers to the local working class, because migrants are easier to exploit and can be paid less. The preference runs the other way.

Option (4) They earn higher wages than men because labour is scarce there. — Incorrect. Women earn lower wages than men for similar work, and this adds to their insecurity. The feature is reversed: men get the higher wage.

NCERT (2026-27): “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.”

In poor villages where men spend much of the year working elsewhere, women have become the main source of farm labour. Identify this trend. Which of the following is true of these women?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Until recently, they were hardly visible in official statistics as earners and workers.