A CAPE farmworker who spent most of her life working in vineyards said she has yet to see an on-site house registered in a woman’s name.
While female farmworkers enjoy rights they previously did not, there is still a lot of prejudice, Babara-Ann Beukes, 38, said on Monday.
“There are many issues that need to be addressed. On a farm the man is always considered right, and the man is always assumed to take charge.
“This, even though women do the pruning and men scatter snail pills. I have not heard of a house on a farm being registered in a woman’s name,” Beukes said.
Women on Farms project director Colette Solomon said males were still considered favourites when farm owners hired permanent staff. But during farming season, the number of female seasonal workers increased substantially.
“For every one male seasonal worker employed, there are 10 women. Typically, a farm can often contract 300 women workers for the season, most of whom live off the farm.
“During the off-season there are usually between only 15 and 20 women workers who are permanent and live on the farm.
“Thus, there are usually 10 to 15 times more women workers during the season, compared to the off-season,” Solomon said.
The project turns 20 this year, and works to strengthen the role of women who live and work on farms through socio-economic, rights-based gender education, advocacy and lobbying.
At the moment it’s busy with cases involving farmers not paying women the lawful minimum wage, women being verbally threatened with eviction, and farmers not paying women for working overtime.
“There have been advances in recognising female workers’ rights, such as the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, and Sectoral Determination for farmworkers. But in many cases the women see this as ‘paper law’ and not something that affects them.”
@FrancescaJaneV