Agriculture has always been seen as a male-dominated profession, but Parmeswary Krishan goes to prove it wrong.
She is a young farmer from Teluk Panglima Garang, who also has a degree in Geography from University Science Malaysia.
She expressed her thoughts on combating gender norms in agriculture during an interview with Tamizhar Media, SEPAM segment. SEPAM is a platform that offers exposure for individuals or youths who give our community a great example based on their achievements in various fields and to benefit our society.
Parmeswary created a plantation in her backyard in January 2020 and has been working on the farm since. Her interest in this field was born out of her fondness for ‘Geography’ after her secondary school education with the help of her teacher, Puan Fauziah.
On the other hand, her father, who operates a betel leaf farm, never failed to inspire her as well as her mother, who taught her that females are capable of multitasking and doing a heavy load job.
She points out that farming or agriculture are perceived to be a male-dominated profession, regarding it as hard and tiresome work to be done in those days. But things have changed now, making agriculture much simpler.
We now have ‘roof-top farming,’ ‘hydro farming,’ ‘aqua farming’ and so on.
However, women still remain less interested in agricultural farming and Parmeswary feels it is because of some stereotypes that have lasted for generations. Some mothers are concerned about their daughters being tanned because agriculture is a job that you will often have to do under the scorching sun.
So, even though they’re keen, they don’t prefer to do it as a profession.
As in Parmeswary‘s case, she also dealt with a similar situation. A lot of people used to criticise her for the passion she’s pursuing. But she never allowed their discouragement to affect her in any way. In reality, these critiques have only fueled her to continue to strive for what she believes in.
She also claims that women are the ‘backbone’ of the agriculture industry, because it is not a male-dominated industry.
Farmer doesn’t mean male. The word farmer is a common gender. Though, a job opportunity is often granted to the male till date.
She believes that things will eventually change in the industry and women who are interested in farming will definitely have more career opportunities in the industry, and in the future.
At the end of the day, when folks asked her what was the whole purpose of this concerted effort? This is what she had to say;
Parmeswary concluded by saying that she holds the view that providing the next generation a proper environment, a quality food supply, can be accomplished by taking care of the nature in which we live. Nature is such a blessing, that it will be the greatest gift to offer to the next generation. Agriculture is also the only way to preserve nature.
Being in this field is definitely hard but if you are keen to learn the trade, it will bring you great knowledge and you’ll also be the primary change in both society and nature.
Learn more of her farming trade and tips on her Instagram page and also Facebook page. Parmeswary Kishan, you’re a great inspiration in choosing this profession as your career. Good luck on your future undertakings.
Source: Tamizhar Media
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