Women farmers' suicides in India are under-reported, "conveniently" manipulated

Counterview Desk
A factsheet on women from farm suicide affected households, prepared by Seema Kulkarni of the Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (MAKAM), a civil rights advocacy group, has said that more than three lakh women farmers in India have been left to fend themselves after their husbands committed in avout two decades time years since mid-1990s. Their situation becomes even more vulnerable as they are not recognized as farmers but merely as housewives.

MAKAM note on women farmers' suicide:

As per official data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 332,798 farm suicides have taken place in India between 1995 and 2016, with 94% of these being of men. 19,968 female farmer suicides have been counted into this reporting. This means that 312,830 women in these households have been suddenly left to fend for themselves, and manage the home and the farm. These official numbers are of course quite under-reported and conveniently-manipulated, compared to what might be the real situation out there.
Invisibilisation of women as farmers has also meant that the very high number of suicides that are recorded as ‘suicides of housewives’ go unrecorded as female farm suicides since there is no rural urban categorization in the NCRB’s Annual Report on Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI).
While the matter of reportage of incidence and prevalence of farm suicides is a matter of contention, with government agencies accused of manipulating the data, the matter of female farmer suicides is also very contentious and is hardly articulated.
This is all the more so given that women are simply classified as ‘housewives’, especially in an unpaid work setup, which many women farmers are caught in. Women farmers are not recognized as farmers even in their death by suicide, given that they are often landless or the household’s land is not in their name.
Surviving stigma and debt: Those that are left behind are left to face stigma and debt. It is often seen that the woman farmer has to bear the brunt of accusations that she might have triggered the suicide by the spouse. Along with dealing with a personal loss, she has to also deal with the financial liabilities and the outstanding loans.
Poor social security support from the state: Delays in extending paltry ex-gratia payments, sanctioning of widow pensions, extending food security benefits, support for children’s education and health care are some of the major concerns reported by women from these households.
Violence and sexual harassment: Whether it is to access social welfare benefits for which they are eligible or to claim their rights over property, women have consistently reported sexual harassment and violence meted out to them to avail of their entitlements.
Denial of land rights: The process of transfer of land titles in the name of widows has been extremely lethargic. While families resist transferring titles in the name of the widow, especially a childless one or one without a male heir, the state on its part is not proactive in ensuring that land titles are transferred, debts are cleared in order to enable the woman to get back to being able to support herself and the family.
Continuing with the same unsustainable farming paradigm: Most of these women are rendered as wage labourers either on their family farms or outside. With no land in their names, they are unable to continue farming. The family on the other hand often continues with the same unsustainable paradigm of farming, in the absence of any state support.
MAKAAM calls for one comprehensive overarching policy for women from farm suicide affected households.

Comments

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Search This Blog