Woes of women farmers
"I did not face any problems as a woman farmer--or rather I faced them headlong," Kunta says. "Once you come out of the four walls and have the will to succeed nobody can stop you. Difficulties may be there but they are not insurmountable. If you have the determination to work hard, then all difficulties will be overcome. But this does not mean that the life of a woman farmer is easy.
"I strongly believe that that there must be some land in the woman's name so that she has financial stability in case her husband or children become wayward. My 4 bighas land was earlier in my name after my husband left. But when my sons got married I transferred it in their names--giving 2 bighas to each. But I want this land to be transferred in their wives' names. I have a patta on the 3 biswa land I got from the gram samaj."
Women's education, marriage and family planning
"Education is very important for women," Kunta says. "But equally important is to be fearless and have that inner fire to learn and do new things. I tried to educate my children as much as my circumstances could permit. In fact my daughter has studied till Class 12 and is more literate than my sons. They wanted to study more but my financial condition did not allow me to do so. For me it was better that my sons learn some trade and help me out.
"I am totally against early marriage. Whether it is a son or a daughter, they should not be married till they are 21 years of age, become economically independent and are mentally mature too. At times, incidents of sexual violence, which are so prevalent today, compel parents to marry off their daughters early on. But early marriage is a no-win situation for all--parents as well as the person getting married. I married all my children when they were 21-22 years old.
"A small family is a happy family. I had 3 children then I had got myself sterilized against the wishes of my husband and other family members. But I think that even 3 children are just too many. There is no point in having a long line of kids with no means to feed, educate and bring them up properly. I got both my daughters-in-law sterilized, once they had 2 kids each--much against my sons' wishes."
On women empowerment
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