Female farm hands as well as day-labourers belonged to aboriginal marginal group of people under various upazilas of Rajshahi and other adjacent districts are being deprived of their proper wages. Even, after doing the same types of jobs for the same time with the male farm hands, the female aboriginal farm hands are getting only a half or even less than a half of the wages as against the male farm hands. Because of such a low wages, those aboriginal female labourers are finding it difficult to manage their families.
It is learnt, female members of aboriginal people of the region are the heads of their families and they manage every affairs of households including the feeding, earning and rearing of children of the families. However, for ages, the price of labour for female farm hands remained very low as compared to their male counterparts.
According to sources, around 5,000 female aboriginal people are engaged as farm labourers in Godagari and Tanore upazila of the district. A large portion of these female labourers earn their livelihood through their daily wages. Though the prices of every essential commodity including rice, pulse, edible oil has increased and the cost of educational expenses, travelling expenses have increased abnormally, there has been no increase of wages of these female farm hands for decades. As a result, female farm hands of the upazilas have demanded to increase their wages in comparison to the recent market price hike.
It is learnt, the daily wages of a male farm hand is Tk 400 to 500 whereas the wages of female farm hand is only Tk 200 daily.
Aboriginal farm hand Ranjana Mahato (33) of village Khirson Tikore under Tanore upazila informed the demand of female day-labourers and farm hands increases during the transplanting of Aman paddy saplings, weeding of plants and the harvesting but their wages is not increased. She informed, the daily wages of a female farm-hand and labourer was Tk 200 five-year ago and still it is the same.
In this connection she questioned, at present, the price of a kilogram of rice of Tk 60 and how an aboriginal family can be maintained with Tk 200 daily wages? She further mentioned, a female farm hand does the same work as their male counterpart. Mridula Mondol(18) at Bijonagar village under Godagari upazila informed, she has been studying in a local college. Side by side of her study, she also works as a farm hand in other's land to manage her education cost and other costs. But, the prices of everything including the study cost, transport cost have been doubled during the recent times but the wages of female farm hands has not been increased during the last one decade. She demanded, the wages of a female aboriginal day labourer and the farm-hand should be increased to at least Tk 400 daily. Professor Jogendranath Soren of Adivashi Unnayan Sansgtha under Godagari upazila informed, they have recently formed human chains at the Zero point of Shaheb Bazaar and at the upazila headquarters at Godagari and Tanore upazilas demanding increase of wages of the aboriginal day-labourers and the farm-hands, both males and the females and still demanding to the government to fix the daily wages of an aboriginal labourers and farm-hands in compared to the increase of price hike of the essential commodities. He also said, the wage disparity of a female day labourers and the farm hand is not justified. He demanded a minimum of Tk 400 daily wages for them.