By – Kadambari Chand

Abstract

Increasing participation of women in labour is often seen as a step leading towards empowerment. However, the relationship between labour and empowerment is far more complex than conventional development narratives. Using Uttarakhand as a case study, this article explores the feminisation of labour and managerial feminisation in reality; it discusses the effects that feminisation has on the lives of women in Uttarakhand. Finally, it looks at policies which might actually lead to women in rural regions gaining empowerment and agency. 

Introduction

Uttarakhand has long been characterised by fragmented landholdings and difficult terrains, making it much more challenging to live in the region. All these reasons have encouraged men to migrate towards the cities or join the army to earn a livelihood. In recent years, this migration has only ever increased due to educational reasons, employment, and in search of better facilities; people are moving away from villages extensively. 

Migration has long been shaping the gendered division of labour in Uttarakhand. Due to men migrating to cities, women who have been left behind became responsible for undertaking the majority of agricultural labour, livestock management and the collection of fodder, fuel, work and water, alongside domestic and childcare duties. This makes them the primary managers of both the household and agricultural duties and raises a question of whether this change in division of labour would give the women more power and agency. 

The Feminisation of Labour in Uttarakhand-

Due to the migration of men in search of livestock, the entire responsibility of performing and looking after almost all of the agricultural tasks falls on the shoulders of women, unlike in many other parts of India where men and women share the agricultural tasks. Furthermore, the mountain’s geography requires women to spend long hours collecting wood, fodder and water and transporting these resources. This leads to women taking on the double burden of both productive and reproductive labour.  This phenomenon has been described by scholars as feminisation of agriculture, referring to not merely increasing participation of women in agricultural work but also transfer of agricultural responsibilities resulting from male migration.  The feminisation of the rural economy in Uttarakhand is characterised by a significant increase in women’s workloads. Data from 2011 to 2021 shows that average work hours for women have risen from 6.5 to 7.1, even going to 12 to 14 hours in districts like Almora and Pauri. 

Women, although the primary cultivators, are responsible for the full spectrum of agricultural activities from sowing to harvesting. However, a critical distinction must be made between labour feminisation and managerial feminisation. In Uttarakhand, while labour feminisation is widespread, managerial feminisation remains elusive. Often women find themselves performing male tasks, but they limit themselves to farming assistants due to persistent psychological and social subordination. 

Does More Work Mean More Empowerment? 

Itishree Patnaik argues that the process of feminisation of labour, instead of reflecting genuine empowerment, reflects agrarian distress. Women are performing more work because they have few alternatives and not because they have greater economic or social power. The assumption that increased participation in labour automatically produces empowerment has been widely challenged by scholars of feminist political economy. Nalia Kabeer argues that empowerment should be understood through three interconnected dimensions, namely, resources, agency and achievements. The relationship between work and power is further complicated by the internal dynamics of the migrant household. While the absence of a husband might theoretically grant a woman more autonomy, after the absence of a husband, patriarchal power does not disappear and is often transferred to other male relatives or senior family members. In most cases, the father-in-law and the mother-in-law become the new heads of the household, controlling the money and resources from agriculture as well as the daughter-in-law’s mobility and agency. 

Although policies or governmental schemes in Uttarakhand might point towards more empowerment and agency, the ground reality speaks differently. In public spheres, women’s participation has increased but is often superficial. Although there is a 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions in Uttarakhand, many women function merely as proxies for their male relatives, with meetings often scheduled at times conflicting with their household work. Apart from this, women’s mobility remains restricted by social norms and fear of public criticism, further isolating them from predominantly male networks that control access to resources like water and machinery. 

The Psychological and Health Dimensions of Overwork-

The feminisation of labour has also led to a lot of health problems in women for these reasons. It imposes a heavy toll on women’s mental and physical health. The combination of physical overexertion and the emotional strain of an absent spouse has led to rising rates of depression and isolation among rural women in Uttarakhand. Women often suffer from “joint-related illnesses” and nutritional deficiencies, as they are frequently last to eat within the household. Furthermore, these problems have led to younger generations of women not wanting to stay in the villages, increasing the problem of rural flight. 

Bridging the Gap from Labour and Agency-

For the increased responsibilities of women in Uttarakhand to translate into meaningful empowerment, systematic changes are required.  Empowerment begins at the level of collective consciousness, but it must be externalised through greater physical mobility, remunerated labour, and a decisive role in household and community governance. 

The most significant structural barrier to women’s empowerment in Uttarakhand is the lack of independent land rights. Although women are the primary tillers of the land, less than 10 % of women in the state own land in their own names. This gender gap in ownership is the single most critical contribution to the gender gap in economic well-being and social status. Since land ownership is required as the primary collateral for credit, property-less women are frequently excluded from governmental schemes like Kisan Credit Cards and essential extension services. Providing women with legal land ownership, through joint titles or single ownership, is essential to strengthen their bargaining power within the household and ensure their economic security in case of widowhood or marital breakdown. 

True agency depends on financial and physical autonomy. While remittances increase household income and are major financial instruments, this ensures women have mobility to interact with markets and male-dominated networks for resources like irrigation and machinery without social stigma. Economic participation cannot dismantle patriarchal structures; it should also be matched by a fundamental redistribution of assets that recognizes women as autonomous economic agents. 

Conclusion

 Uttarakhand’s experience is proof that equating power with work is not an optimal method to look at women’s empowerment. The feminisation of labour in the hills is a survival strategy born out of economic necessity and does not lead to empowerment in any way. While women have demonstrated remarkable resilience in shouldering responsibilities of “ ghost villages”, their expanded economic roles have not yet translated into dismantling of the patriarchal structure that governs resource ownership and decision-making. 

Meaningful change will never come as long as women remain property-less, taking on the positions of assistants in their own households. Their empowerment would act as a double-edged sword, making them contribute more work and receive no agency in return. Substantive empowerment requires a shift from labour-intensive survival to asset-backed agency, demanding a radical reordering of gender relations that ensures women in Uttarakhand are not just left behind to work but so that they gain empowerment in a real sense. 

Author’s Bio

Kadambari Chand is a second-year student pursuing a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science at O.P. Jindal Global University. Her interests lie in understanding how class, caste, religion, and other intersecting structures of power shape political and social life.

Image Source : https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/women-farmers-are-leading-northern-india-subsistence-regeneration