Female Farmers And 'That' Man

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Resemblance of any character, alive or dead, with any character portrayed in this article is the fault of that character and not my own.

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A certain man has advised the Sindh government to increase the limit of land allotment—from 16 acres to 25 acres—for landless farmers, and directed that female farmers receive priority in the programme. The directive came at a meeting to review progress in the distribution of state land among landless farmers under the ‘Women’s Emancipation Programme’.

In a land, where feudals take over lands owned by poor peasants, who will live to see women farmers striking it out on their own? One can safely assume that now both the land allotted by the government and the women will end up being the properties of the local feudal so in love with both the objects of desire.

Briefing the media on the meeting, another uncertain spokesman said that 45,000 acres of land had already been distributed among poor and landless farmers since the programme was launched in November last year. He said seventy percent of those who had been allotted land were women, and the same ratio would persist.

Who will actually verify such phenomenal claims? How many women will survive on agriculture alone, say, after five years? What will happen to their land? And what will happen to the poor women up in Swat or other places terrorized by the Tall Eban? Those women cannot even catch sight of their own men’s faces, leave alone the lush greenery of an open field.

In India, the Andhra Pradesh government has admitted that twenty farmers committed suicide in the Indian state over the last forty days. Why? They are trying to find that out. Now if men are committing suicide because they cannot make ends meet, what chance do female farmers have in Pakistan?

Briefing the media on the meeting, another well-informed man said that around 45,000 acres of barren land would be distributed among 4,196 farmers. He said that all these landowners could acquire fertilisers and seeds through Benazir-cards, to be issued in the name of female members of the families.

The ‘acquisition of fertilisers and seeds’ idea is a very strange message. Since the poor female farmers will be unable to use a computer—leave alone log in at Chowq—may I request those who can spread the word around, to let the poor folks know what is coming at them the through this grand scheme?

Your days are numbered, you usurious credit-card issuing bankers! Every PPP worker will enter heaven—unquestioned by the stern angels—holding one such card issued at the directive of a certain man whose ideas are beginning to get on our nerves.