Farmer protests: Women take centre stage

New Delhi, Mar 08: Thousands of women farmers held protest marches and delivered speeches at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur protest sites at Delhi's borders on International Women's Day.

Noting that women contribute significantly to the country's farming sector, the organisers have laid out elaborate plans to let women farmers manage the stage, arrange food and security and share tales of their struggles on the occasion.

"The stage is being managed by women, the speakers are all women and the issues that are being discussed are of both farming and women farmers more specifically," farmer leader Kavitha Kuruganti told PTI on Monday.

"The discourse of the debate is focusing on women farmers. The debate is also on the contribution of women in this movement," said Kuruganti, who is also a member of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha.

She added that the participation of women has increased significantly with the arrival of "thousands of women".

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi border points for over 100 days, demanding the repeal of farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for their crops.

International Women's Day is celebrated across the world on March 8 and it is a day when women are recognised for their achievements, according to the United Nations.

This year's theme -- 'Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world' -- celebrates the tremendous efforts by women in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the pandemic, and highlights the gaps that remain, the UN Women stated.