Why Nearly Every Farmer Who Grows These Chile Peppers Is a Woman
April 19, 2026 | Source: Npr.org | by Kamala Thiagarajan
“Hard labor and sleepless nights,” says Pandiamma, 37, a farmer, as she crushes the crackling dried red pepper in her palm. “That’s what our lives are like when it’s the time of year to pick chile.” She opens her palm and shows me the shredded flakes. “And this is how wrung out we are at the end of it all,” she laughs. “But it’s worth it.”
Like many women in rural India, she goes by one name only.
It’s a searing hot day in Mattiyarenthal village, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In March, temperatures regularly touch highs from 95 F to 105 F. The sharp, pungent scent of chile peppers clings to the air. It’s just one of hundreds of villages in this area that grow this crop.