An influential US-based magazine has featured women farmers protesting against the government of India on its March edition’s international cover. The cover was released by TIME magazine a day before the protests marked 100th day and became a talking point on social media platforms.
The cover story — titled ‘I Cannot Be Intimidated. I Cannot Be Bought’ — quoted Punjab Kisan Union member Jasbir Kaur Nat, a mobiliser at the Tikri protest site, saying women are often not seen as farmers. “Their labor is immense but invisible. Women are changing women here. They are claiming their identities as farmers,” she added.
“This law will kill us, will destroy what little we have,” Amandeep Kaur, another woman farmer from Talwandi in Punjab, told the magazine.
Lakhs of farmers have camped outside Delhi for over three months, demanding the withdrawal of the three legislations that they say will hurt them and benefit large corporations. However, the government has maintained that the new laws will give farmers more options in selling their produce and lead to better pricing.
In January, the Supreme Court had suspended the implementation of the laws until further orders.
The last round of talks between farmers and the Centre happened on 22 January – since then, the negotiations have reached a stalemate. Prior to that, on 20 January, the farmers rejected the Centre’s proposal to suspend implementation of the three agricultural laws for 1.5 years, and stuck to their demand of repealing the laws.
