Reframing Agrarian Distress as Structural Violence Against Women

Findings from Maharashtra, Telangana and Punjab

Dados Bibliográficos

ID24215465
AutoresSeema Kulkarni (0000-0002-2373-9065, Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM), Pune, Maharashtra, India), S Ashalatha (Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM), Pune, Maharashtra, India), V Rukmini Rao (0009-0003-4347-0950, National Facilitation Team, MAKAAM, Hyderabad, Telangana, India), S Seethalakshmi (Independent Researcher, Hyderabad, Telangana, India), Anupama Uppal (0000-0002-9297-0332, Punjabi University), S N Bhat (0009-0006-4317-3843, Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM), Pune, Maharashtra, India), N Indira Rani (0000-0003-2425-5625, Independent Researcher, Hyderabad, Telangana, India), Simran Vohra (0009-0005-8598-7821, Chandigarh University), Vanita Tumsare (0009-0001-0755-3762, Independent Researcher, Hyderabad, Telangana, India)
Ano2026
Volume33
Fascículo3
Páginas323-346
Data de publicação2026-10-01
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoIndian Journal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0971-5215 • E-ISSN: 0973-0672
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09715215261453432
OpenAlexW7214473554
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas8

Women constitute the backbone of Indian agriculture, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the rural female workforce, yet they remain systematically excluded from land rights, institutional support and policy recognition. Drawing on a large mixed-methods study in eight distress-prone districts across Maharashtra, Telangana and Punjab by the Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM) and Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (MAKAAM), this article conceptualises agrarian distress as a form of structural violence against women, which is often unrecognised. Rooted in long-term engagement with women farmers and workers, the analysis moves beyond episodic accounts of violence to examine how caste, gender, labour regimes and ecological change produce everyday, normalised forms of violence. Combining survey data on over 3,000 women with qualitative interviews and collective documentation, the article shows how landlessness, informal labour, debt and state neglect shape women’s work, health and exposure to violence. It concludes by outlining pathways towards a gender-just agrarian transformation grounded in women’s rights, recognition and collective leadership.

agricultural crisis · Caste · everyday violence · farm debt · Gender inequality · informal employment · Land rights · landlessness · Maharashtra · Punjab · state neglect · Telangana · women farmers · Women's health · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Land Rights and Reforms · Social and Economic Development in India