Rural Futures / Op-eds

Unpaid, Unseen, Unending: The Workdays of Rural Women

Published in Deccan Herald

by

Mar 18, 2026

A woman manually harvesting rice with a sickle. Women work almost continuously, with no clear breaks; only transitions between different kinds of paid and unpaid labour. | Image by Nanditha Gogate

When people speak of ‘work’, they usually refer to labour that is both public and paid; and most often, men’s. Men’s labour is tied to fieldwork, market activity, or seasonal agricultural cycles. Furthermore, it is believed they exert significant effort in the form of physical labour, and confront economic uncertainty and seasonal risks.

By contrast, even though women also work for long hours, and their contribution adds to the family’s income, they have neither ownership over it, nor control over its allocation. It is men who discuss purchases, savings, household expenditures, and farm-related investments.

This devaluation of women’s labour, both paid and unpaid, impacts how society treats their time, mobility, and right to rest. Men wake later in the morning and begin their day only when agricultural or wage-based work is scheduled.

When those tasks are completed, or when there is no immediate work available, men commonly spend time in public spaces, sitting at tea stalls, resting near roadside platforms, discussing politics or farming, or playing informal games. Rest, for them, is considered a natural pause after an effort; something earned, not questioned.

 

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Acknowledgements

Divyashree K for Deccan Herald 

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