SRED’s Recommendations on Land Rights, Food Sovereignty, and Women’s Leadership

-It has to be understood that agriculture responsibilities lie predominantly in the hands of women farmers more specifically in Tamilnadu context. Recognizing women farmers as farmers is a gender mainstreaming process that has to happen with ministry of Agriculture. This means including women to be land owners and for credit support, capacity building and social security measures.

- Women’s collectives farms at the village level should be promoted to take up sustainable and agroecological agriculture in common lands. Budget for mentoring and administration should be allocated. This should include provision land distribution to the landless women of seeds, water resources, capacity building for organic farming and marketing. Dalit women collectives who are historically denied land rights should be given priority. To start with pilot projects can be tried in few districts. Women farmer collectives can be given lands under lease.

-Women agricultural workers should be recognized as workers and a board should be formed for their social protection. Decent wages should be defined.

-Periodic research has to be initiated on food and water insecurity and the gender implications at the state level.

- Clearing, desilting water resources should be carried out and the issue should be under the purview of local governance. Budget planning needs to be done accordingly.

-Research has to be initiated on political participation of women and relevant allocation should be made for capacity building and bringing in corruption free local governance with more women leadership. The issues involved in Dalit women exercising leadership and the caste discrimination faced by them should be studied and relevant measures with district administration and the Police should be carried out.

-There should be functional helplines for Violence against women. The facility should have efficient collaboration with the Police, Public health system, Counselling centre and a Short stay home. Budget allocation should be increased for these services. Rural women survivors do not have a place to go when they rebuild their lives when the families reject them. Budget allocation needs to be done for establishing multiple short stay homes and counselling centres at district level. Media campaign on violence against women should be in place.

-Mechanism should be in place to make Internal Complaints Committee and Local Complaints Committee of POSH functional to address the issues of sexual violence at work place. Understanding the issues involved in reaching Local Committees for informal and agricultural workers, possibility of having committees at Panchayat levels should be considered and their accountability should be defined. Larger media campaign and capacity building on POSH Act is required at grassroot level.

-Deaddiction services should be made available at the Primary Health care centre level.

-Capacity building on Sexual and Reproductive health Rights and service provision should be carried out with the life cycle approach. This service should include men’s responsibility on contraception.