Muhammad Saleem

Experts have urged the government to devise policies aimed at the uplift of rural women, recognising their key role in the country’s economic progress.

Talking to WealthPK, Dr Shahzad Ahmed of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), said that rural women were playing a pivotal role in the development of the agriculture sector. “Like male workers, rural women also give their blood and sweat to meet the food needs of Pakistan.”

He said that the hands of rural women were cracked from labour as they rose before dawn to work shoulder to shoulder with the male members of their families. “However, it's ironic that their names are often missing from reports and policy documents,” he regretted. 

“The time has come to empower rural women – not as an act of charity, but as an issue of justice,” he said.

Ahmed said that a pilot project should be launched to provide rural women with land, training, and essential tools to ensure their financial independence. “In our society, most daughters do not inherit land – they inherit just responsibilities. We have to honour the hands that feed the nation without any break and without any recognition,” he added.

“Rural women are an invisible force behind our food, our fields, and our future. They work in silence, yet efficiently, and grow the crops that feed millions,” Ahmed said.

He pointed out that these women remain unrecognised and unpaid, even though people at the helm of affairs are fully aware about their plight. "Behind every harvest lies a rural woman’s untold struggle, shaping both our rural and national economy,” he said.

Ahmed said that while male farmers manage the fields, women juggle responsibilities both at home and on the agricultural land. “They cook food, provide clothing, and host guests at home. Their contribution to economic growth, food security, and development of the agriculture sector cannot be ignored,” he asserted.

Shehryar Ahmed of UAF told WealthPK that the university was actively training female students to help them contribute more effectively to the nation. He said that the university was also producing educational material for both male and female field workers to strengthen the national economy through improved agricultural practices.

He said that the role of rural women in farming is crucial, as they work in the fields, care for livestock, gather fodder, collect water, and manage household chores. “In every segment of the agricultural process – from sowing to harvest – these women actively perform their duties at each stage.”

Ahtshamul Haq, a farmer, said that rural women’s contribution to agricultural development is not appropriately recognised at the official level. He mentioned that in villages, women start working before sunrise, feeding animals before heading to the fields. “They work tirelessly all day like machines. But it is painful that most of these women don’t receive fair wages,” he said.

Haq said that the harvesting season was underway in Punjab, and many rural women have travelled with their families, even to far-off areas, to earn a living. However, he said that the wages of these women remain lower compared to those of male workers.

“It’s painful that women contribute significantly in the fields, but the land is owned by men. They have no say in how it is used or how the profits from selling crops are spent. Without women, farming would cease in Pakistan,” he underscored.

Credit: INP-WealthPk