Status of women empowerment for enhancement of sustainable quality of life
Loading...
Date
2018-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand)
Abstract
India is dependent on agriculture and it is the largest employment sector of the nation. Farm women play a vital human resource in agriculture as well as in domestic management and allied activities. Farm women are considered as the backbone of agriculture in India. Most of the time farm women carry water, fuel, wood and fodder materials from long distance under difficult terrains which involve carrying loads on head, back and shoulder. All of these contribute to increase in physical loads, musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. The present study entitled “Status Of Women Empowerment For Enhancement Of Sustainable Quality Of Life” was carried out purposively in Uttarakhand as women are extensively involved in agricultural & allied activities. Moreover due to male migration, the farm women are the main sufferers. Therefore, mainly considering this fact the study was undertaken to assess the farm women’s pain & discomfort, constraints and empowerment status and to enhance their quality of life effectively. So, that their skill in various activities may lead to increase in efficiency and productivity. Random sampling techniques were used and for the data collection 200 farm women as total sample were chosen. The data was collected personally through interview technique with the help of pre- structured questionnaire. The results revealed that majority of the farm women had mean age of 43.13 years and they were carrying load since more than 6 years. Most of the farm women were illiterate and their total monthly income was found to be Rs. 8,592. Most farm activities for women were tedious, back breaking and have associated occupational health hazards. Heavy physical strain, overwork fatigue, mental stress and other problems occurred
while performing farm activities which lead to drudgery and many other health related problems. The most common activities performed by farm women were carrying load, collection of fuel/fodder, harvesting, transplanting/ sowing and weeding. Women in agriculture mainly use the traditional tools and implements. These
available tools are not women friendly and most of them not aware about any drudgery reducing tools/ implements related to fetching fodder activity. Most of the farm women reported that their work was heavy on daily frequency with more than 8 hours a day. Most of them carried 30-40 kg load on their back. The most common affected region among the farm women are neck, shoulder, upper back, lower back, ankles/ feet, wrist/ hands, elbows and knees in last 12 months. At baseline, symptoms severe enough to reduce activities during work were most common in the wrist/ hands, knees, shoulder, and lower back, hips/ thighs and upper back. Twenty per cent of farm women were selected for experiment data which were in the age group of 25 - 40 years. Anthropometric data was measured for only those farm women who were actively involved in fetching fodder activity. The age, distance travelled, time spent, and amount of load was kept constant to each combination. The physiological data was collected from 5th minute till 15th minute for each combination and recorded till the responses came to their resting level for rest periods to recovery periods was analyzed. The highest mean value of HR during activities was 114.42 beats /min, EER 9.47kj, during cutting the grasses and for carrying load, it was found 124.62 beats/min. and EER 11.09 kj during work. It was found that cutting the grasses was physiologically least demanding than those of carrying load on back. The highest values of physiological responses were perceived exertion while carrying 30-40 kg loads on their back. A non-significant difference was found in age and years of carrying load and amount of carrying load, but age and distance of carrying load and duration of work showed significant difference regarding main factors. The positive correlation was found between age and BMI. However, there is a need for further detailed study in actual condition which may reduce pain & discomfort of farm women. Farm women face constraint like personal, economic, technological, political, physiological, psychological, and agricultural and marketing constraints, due to which level of participation of farm women is low. So therefore there is an urgent need to implement tools/ technology, provide skill in training and develop guidelines that can improve the empowerment status and enhance sustainable quality of life.