In Photos: The Women on the Front Lines of India’s Farmers’ Protest

It’s almost lunchtime at the border village of Tikri, which falls between the northern Indian state of Haryana and India’s capital New Delhi. Three young college women, aged between 20 and 22, walk swiftly towards a large gathering of over 10,000 mostly women. It’s March 8, the International Women’s Day. 

“We came here just the day before yesterday, by bus,” Preet Dhillon, a college student who travelled over 250 km to reach here, told VICE World News. “My tests are going on, but I’m still here.” Her friend, Prabhjot Kaur, a masters student from the same state, chips in, “It’s my first time here and we can see how difficult it is for the protesters, especially girls. There are fewer facilities like washrooms for women, but this is a small price to pay for something bigger.” 

“I will not go back until the government withdraws these ‘black’ laws,” Kaur, 22, adds. 

Since Nov. 25, 2020, hundreds of thousands of farmers have been occupying different parts along the Delhi border to protest against the controversial farm laws that were passed in Sept. 2020. The laws open up the enormous farming sector to private buyers. The government claims that they will modernise agriculture, but farmers call the new rules “unconstitutional” and will give a monopoly to corporates. 

Dubbed the world’s largest ongoing demonstration, the protests have triggered international conversations and brutal crackdown by state forces. From the beginning, the women farmers, spanning age groups, have been taking the lead to highlight the role of women in farming and the protests.

An Oxfam India study showed that 85 percent of rural women contribute to agriculture. Only 13 percent of them own land. They also face challenges in getting bank credit, access to technology and market opportunities. And then there’s the burden of taking care of domestic activities. 

On March 8, the farmers’ unions organised a march by over 40,000 women farmers from different states to the Delhi border. Women wearing bright yellow dupattas (scarves) – symbolic of the mustard fields of their states – staged a sit-in, sang songs of revolution and raised anti-farm bill slogans. 

In January, the Supreme Court suggested that women and old people return to their homes because they “need not be there”. Through fiery speeches and statements, the women at the protests said an angry “no”. 

“We either die and go back, or win and go back,” said a woman protester, who chose to stay anonymous. She had marched from Haryana last month to join her family who had been at the Tikri border since November. 

Throughout the day, groups of women poured into the border, either by bus, tractors or on foot. “We believe that someone or the other from families of our region should be at the border every day. We take turns to stay here and back home too,” said Kaur, who travelled with her maternal grandfather. “We will stay here for as long as possible.”

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