India, Nov. 15 -- Like millions of other women in India, Rinku Devi has had little say over major chunks of her life. When she was yanked out of school after Class 6, she didn't demur. When her father made her start working in the fields, she couldn't say anything. Even when her last name transitioned from Kumari to Devi, her participation in the decision-making was unfortunately minimal. Aise hi hai, this is how it is, said the resident of Bihar's Araria district.

Now in her early 30s, Devi's life runs in cycles of deprivation. Her husband is a manual labourer who accompanies a group of men in the village - some of them related by blood, others by caste - to Haryana every crop season. She works in other people's fields and as a contract...