Tom Pietrasik Video & Photography

Sehrulnisa at home with her youngest son Akhtar Ali, 9, and husband Barqat Ali, 55. ..Sehrulnisa, 45, has 12 children. A Muslim resident of Deramunshi village, she is an active member of the AROH campaign. In 2007, Sehrulnisa's husband attempted to sell the family's six bigha of land ((one bigha = 1,300 sq metre) . Upon discovering this, Sehrulnisa met the local subdivisional magistrate, informed him that the sale threatened the wellbeing of her family and successfully prevented the sale. Sehrulnisa explains that, had the sale had gone ahead, "my children would have had to go to work and I would have had to take them out of school. Families who don't have agricultural land are basically day-wage labourers; many live in dire conditions, with torn clothes." Sehrulnisa's own experience has informed her position as an advocate for the rights of women, "I cook the food; go to the field with my husband I have to do work; look after the children, take care of their education; so why shouldn't women have their rights to the land protected if they do all of this?"..In the north Indian state of UP (Uttar Pradesh), women are responsible for 70 to 80 percent of agricultural work but their contribution remains neglected at all the levels: family, social, economic and policy. Over three quarters of UP's households are involved in farming of which 91% percent operate on land that is marginal and small. Small and marginal farmers often lack access to major agricultural services, such as credit, extension, insurance, and markets...On October 15, 2005 a movement called AROH was launched campaigning for the recognition of women as farmers. A federation of women farmers popularly known as "Aroah Mahila Kissan Manch" has been formed in all the districts of Uttar Pradesh. AROH has begun lobbying the UP government for women to be registered as joint owners - with their husbands - of land. At present only 6.5% of women own land in UP. AROH encourages women's co-operatives and other forms o