In a welcome throwback to its once-progressive character, Maharashtra now has a law specifically on women farmers’ right to land and access to benefit schemes. The Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill, 2026, tabled in the state assembly last week, was unanimously passed and should soon become law. This holds promise for millions of women involved in the agricultural sector across the state—a staggering 88 per cent of rural women here—of not only rightful ownership of land and benefits but also the status and dignity that has been long denied to them.

The law matters because in Maharashtra, and in the rest of India, the formal definition of a ‘farmer’ has been tied to land ownership,........

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