Ethnic female farm workers face wage disparity in Barind

RAJSHAHI, May 5 (BSS): Despite identical work to male in farming fields, the female agricultural workers especially coming from the ethnic groups are still facing wage disparity in the region particularly in the vast Barind tract for long.
Traditionally, most of the ethnic female members work in agricultural works like sapling transplantation, weeding and harvesting side by side with their male members. Interestingly, the female workers are more experienced and efficient in works than those of their male counterparts. They also manage their households and nurse their offsprings.
A good number of women in the region work in crop fields as day labourers. But all of them are given less wages than their male labourers.
Around three lakh ethnic people live in the Barind area comprising 25 Upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabgonj districts. More than 95 percent of them, irrespective of male and female, are involved in agricultural works. Around 40,000 of them sell their labour to other fields almost round the year.
Mainul Islam, a farmer of Kakonhat in Godagari Upazila, said the female workers are more efficient in seedling transplantation and its nursing. Besides, they show equal competence in weeding, paddy harvesting and threshing. Many of the land owners choose the female workers in farming activities as their wage is less to some extent than the male ones.
Many NGOs are working in the name of realising due rights of the ethnic women but none of them has initiative to draw attention of the policy makers in this regard, he alleged.
Kolpona Mormu, a day-labourer of Golai village under the same Upazila said the employers give us Tk 150 as daily payment while Tk 200 for the male workers. The malpractice is taking place for long and none is concerned in this regard. Normally, the female workers don't protest against the wage disparity in this region.
"Though the female workers are more honest to work than the male workers, they get less wage as they are most vulnerable in the present social context", she added. Raj Kumar Shaw, Executive Director of Anagrasar Samaj Unnayan Sangstha, alleged that if they claim equal wages to their male counterparts they get, the employers will become reluctant to engage them in work for next time.