Impact of Women Headship on Food and Nutritional Security among Landless Households in Rural Punjab Sachdeva Jatinder, Kaur Baljinder, Singh Satwinder, Singh Jasdev Department of Economics & Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004 JEL Classification: 112, 131, J16, R20 Online published on 16 September, 2014. Abstract The present study assessed the impact of women headship in achieving food and nutritional security of landless households in rural Punjab. A sample of 100 landless rural households comprising 50 female-headed and 50 female headed were selected from the central zone, a most agricultural advanced zone of Punjab state. The results showed that 64 per cent of the female respondents in the sample were totally illiterate and among the educated, not even a single female head was educated above matric. The living standard maintained by the female headed households was lower as indicated by the acquisition of assets. The men to women employment ratio were 1: 0.65, reiterating the low level ofemployment among women. The annual income ofonly 20 per cent of female headed households ranged between Rs 50–100 per annum, whereas it was about 58 per cent in the case of the mole headed households. To account for access to food for women and children, their monthly expenditure on food was token as a proxy to nutritional security. On on average, the monthly expenditure of female headed households on food wos Rs 1672 which was quite less thon the mole headed counterparts (Rs 2469). The female headed households received remittance from migrated husbands was found to be better in asset position. The study revealed that food insecurity is higher in female headed households than in their mole counterparts and the state needs to take rigorous steps to design policies that aim to improve women's health. Top Keywords Female Headed households, food security, rural, landless. Top |