Sowing Seeds Of Equality - Women Farmers And Land Ownership Rights In India - Legal And Social Dynamics In 2024
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Category: Property & Real Estate
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SOWING SEEDS OF EQUALITY: WOMEN FARMERS AND
LAND OWNERSHIP RIGHTS IN INDIA - LEGAL AND
SOCIAL DYNAMICS IN 2024
KM Manisha Gour, School of Legal Studies BBAU Lucknow Prof Sudarshan Verma, School of Legal Studies BBAU Lucknow
1. Introduction
1.1 Contextual Overview: Historical and Cultural Context of Women Farmers in India
Being an agrarian country, Indian agriculture has never failed to involve women in it. Nevertheless, their role has always been neglected and their contribution in farming has always been overridden by male dominated culture and norms. Indian agricultural history and women’s role have been pinned down to Patriarchal framework of male-identified cultivation with decision-making powers and women’s supportive roles only. Nevertheless, women have always been productive participants in all the sections of agricultural production right from planting to reaping but their efforts are not documented in the records1. Culture and social structure especially in rural areas have however maintained this invisibility. Fundamental gender biases have been quite prominent in Indian society, and one of them has been the denial of resources, and this in respect of land as well.
Prevailing practices in property rights have assigned ownership of land mainly to men, with women, for instance, being barred from owning or even inheriting land under most of the customary laws. This exclusion has farreaching effects on women’s economic status and decision-making powers because, besides being a productive resource, land as security2 and source of income and power in those societies. The Europeans later on came to rule India and this move cemented gender biases on land ownership even more. Zamindari and Ryotwari systems implemented colonial laws on land 1 Agarwal, Bina. A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia. Cambridge University Press, 1994. 2 Roy, Ananya. City Requiem, Calcutta: Gender and the Politics of Poverty. University of Minnesota Press, 2003.
ownership and these again played a negative role towards women by denying them assumed customary rights of land ownership. Landed interests succeeded after Independence in effectively excluding gendered facets of land reform from any attempt at reformist policies that reshaped the social distribution of land. Women were not involved in the process as was evident from most of the titles being registered in the names of the male members of the family3 .
1.2 Significance of Land Ownership: Economic Independence and Social Empowerment
Control of land by female heads especially in the agricultural countries such as India is perhaps one of the most effective ways of making women economically empowered and socially liberated. To the rural society of India, the land is not only an instrument of production; it is an emblem of authority, stability and prestige. Among the issues affecting women, the ownership of land results to an increase in the economic status and of power in bargaining within the home and in the society. 4 Liberty economically, property rights of land grants women an ability to access credit, investment in inputs in production of food and crops, and authority to decide on farming practices without interference.
Research has it that women with power of making decisions about land resources are more likely to allocate resources more conducive to family needs, education, health, and food security thus improving the welfare of that particular family. It is to their advantage and at the same time it is advantageous to the larger society since there is a ripple effect. 5 Lastly, socially, land ownership disrupts the patriarchal relations in rural homes, as/functions as a bar to the women. That moves the power of decision-making from predominantly male authority to the female authority, thus empowering women in the family. The subject of land ownership specifically for women in such a society where women are subject to discrimination and violence and in most cases fall victim to domestic violence is a plus for them.
Moreover, the rights in the land are associated and correlated to the role of women in leadership and governance within the local jurisdictions. Land ownership makes the women obliged to
3 Deere, Carmen Diana, and Magdalena León. Empowering Women: Land and Property Rights in Latin
America. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001. 4 Sharma, Ruchira. "Land Ownership and Women's Empowerment: A Study in Rural India." Journal of Rural Development, vol. 37, no. 4, 2022, pp. 567-589. 5 Government of India, Agricultural Census 2021-22. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 2022.
participate in village council and other decision making bodies that affect development agenda of the villages.6 These disadvantages notwithstanding, the situation on the ground is far from this impression that individuals and institutions have of themselves. As per the AI’s Agricultural Census of India (2021-22), women form around 42% of the workforce in agriculture but control only about 13.9% of the land7. Such a divide illuminates the most pervasive sexism that characterises the agricultural industry. Restricted land holding among women is one of the biggest challenges to their all round development and participation in agriculture.
1.3 Objective of the Chapter: Analyzing Legal and Social Perspectives in 2024
As the goal of this chapter is to review the legal and social status of women farmers’ right to land ownership in India, this chapter explicitly and implicitly has to grasp the recent and current situation up to 2024. Indian law regulating the ownership of land as a property is quite wide and comprehensive which is covered by several constitutional provisions, statutes and judicial decisions. The legal measures to recognize and protect women’s rights in land ownership have been taken, for instance through the amendments to the Hindu Succession Act of 2005 that tried to grant daughters the same rights as sons in inheriting the family property, but the problem of implementing such reforms still persists and is accompanied by numerous difficulties. 8 To a large extent, this chapter aims at analysing the impact of legal reforms in addressing gender inequalities in the area of land ownership.
It will examine how these are being implemented and how they are being stretching out in the conscious horizon in rural India where the precedents are standardized laws which are regularly accompanied by customs. It will also discuss the judiciary in protecting women’s rights and the issues relating to land in specific cases and the consequences on gender equality in the agricultural sector. Besides the legal perspective, the chapter will look at the social factors which have kept women locked out of the ownership of land. Some of them are; gender stereotyping, ignorance of the 6 Drèze, Jean, and Amartya Sen. An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions. Princeton University Press, 2013. 7 Government of India, Agricultural Census 2021-22. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 2022. 8 National Commission for Women.
Impact of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 on Women's Property Rights. 2023.
legal framework, and resistance from family members especially male. Consequently, this chapter will describe how these social relations operate across various regions of India with special reference to the state-wise distribution of land and how customs affect the position of females . 9 Besides the legal disability that has been mentioned in the chapter, there are several social factors that join in discouraging women from accessing the land. Some of these barriers include; cultural issues; where the wife and her lawyer have to overcome patriarchal attitudes, lack of knowledge on legal rights and or cultural perceptions from male members of the family.
In the chapter, these dynamics of social structure will be described with respect to how they exist in various regions of the country, focusing on the state-wise differences in land rights and how local culture affects women’s entitlements. 10 In addition, the chapter will also explain more recent events in 2024 that have taken that continue to define the state of discussion of Women Land Rights in India. This involves analysis of emerging policies, shifts in legal frameworks particularly at national level and emerging civil society campaigns that are highlighting issues to do with rights in land particularly as regards to gender. The chapter will also make the analysis of the above developments on the ground and evaluate progress and existing difficulties based on recent research and data 11.
Last of all, the chapter is anticipated to give policy recommendations on how the rights of women towards lands in India can be enhanced. The foregoing suggestions will be based on critical consideration of the current legal and policy environment, as well as benchmarking on universally acceptable standards. It is an aim of finding what and how may be done to bring parity in women farmers accessing land right and empowering them to come out as productive, efficient and effective plus contributing to agricultural economy of India12. 9 Rao, Nitya. "Customary Law and Women's Rights in a Changing World. " Development and Change, vol. 50, no. 1, 2019, pp. 183-205. 10 Singh, Anjali, et al. "Recent Trends in Women's Land Ownership in India: An Analysis of Census Data. " Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 59, no. 32, 2024, pp. 34-42. 11 Sharma, Kriti.
"Policy Challenges and Opportunities for Women's Land Rights in India. " Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 21 12 National Commission for Women. Impact of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 on Women's Property Rights. 2023
2. Historical Background
2.1 Traditional Land Ownership Norms: Examination of Patriarchal Norms and
Customary Laws that Have Historically Restricted Women’s Land Rights The history of the ownership of land in India demonstrates that it was customary for centuries to ignore the women’s ability to own or have access to the land. The hierarchical order of assets in traditional Indian society was ordinarily topped by the possession of land, which was an index of power and prestige. Nevertheless, this important resource was only available to the males for being considered as the major earners and providers in the households. This exclusion of women from owning property in form of land was boosted by custom and traditional practices, religious practices, and the general culture of the society. In many regions of India customary law was laid down by regions, communities and religion but there was consensus that women could not inherit land.
For instance, in the Mitakshara school of Hindu law that applied most part of northern India, ownership of property was vested in males only with the widowed women having only a right to maintenance and residence13. Daughters could not claim the self-ownershop as an heir; women were more often than not dependent on the position of a man in the family, whether this man was a father, husband or son14. This legal regime could be said to have locked out women from the possibility of getting a grant of title in their individual capacity. As for the prescriptions of other religions, these also had an impact on the regulation of rules for the ownership of land.
Hindu law recognized the property of stridhan, which was property given to a woman at the time of her marriage; however, this was mainly of the type that was movable as was the practice for women in ancient India to receive jewelry as stridhan during marriage. As it was established, when women did get land as their Stridhan, they were merely titular heads of the property, with males exercising actual control of it. 15 Mary E. John also speaks of Muslim personal laws that dominated the relations of land ownership among Muslims in India and that curbed women’s rights to own and dispose of land. In this respect, while Islamic law recognises the ability of women to inherit property and 13 Agarwal, Bina. A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia (Cambridge University Press, 1994), 32-34.
14 Chakravarti, Uma. Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist Lens (Sage Publications, 2003), 45
15 Ibid., 46.
property rights, the ratio given to female heirs is far below that given to males, particularly in cases where religious interpretations reflect pre-Islamic Arabian Patriarchal influence16 . This ensured that women continued to lag behind in matters involving inheritance especially of land, which was one of the main assets. Customary laws governing the ownership of land in tribal societies were similarly far more stringent, in many cases. As in many tribal cultures of the past, land was owned in common and use rights vested in male head of households. Desire for land was associated with women and rarely were they acknowledged as the legitimate owners of the land and in most circumstances they had to be accompanied by close male relatives. These cultural norms, which were part and parcel of the region’s culture, sustained gender terms and never allowed women to be economically liberated.
This paper shows how the continuation of such patriarchal norms and conventional legal systems averted women’s rights to land in India. These practices in a way continued to lock women back into a position of economic dependency while at the same time maintained social norms that subordinated women. 17 The marginalization of women with regards to their rights of property ownership especially land left them and their families unable to engage in farming activities, avail credit or otherwise achieve a livelihood and as a result remained poor and sidelined.
2.2 Colonial to Post-Independence Era: Impact of Colonial Land Policies and Post
Independence Land Reforms on Women's Land Rights The new legal and administrative systems brought in during the colonial era in India made changes to the rights in land but did not bring any lasting change in the status of women as regarding their rights in the land. The colonial British government brought in innovations in systems like the Permanent Settlement by civilizing the country of Bengal by changing the facets of the land and its control through different systems like the Ryotwari and the Mahalwari systems which revolutionized the relation between the state to the owners of the land18. However, these policies were mostly formulated and implemented with the focus on revenue 16 Kelkar, Govind. "The Feminization of Agriculture in Asia: Implications for Women's Agency and Productivity," Economic and Political Weekly 44, no. 49 (2009): 36. 17 Roy, Anupama.
Gendered Citizenship: Historical and Conceptual Explorations (Orient Blackswan, 2005), 78. 18 Raman, Vasanthi. "The Implementation of Land Reforms in India," The Journal of Peasant Studies 33, no. 2 (2006): 153.
mobilisation and centralization of state power over land than serving social justice and gender justice. In the Permanent Settlement in 1793, the British legal rights of a landlord or a zamindar was recognized as owner of the land and the proprietor of a fixed land revenue to the British . It consolidated the ruling power of a patriarchal landed gentry whilst at the same time perpetuating women’s exclusion from the ownership of the land. 19 The Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems that were prevalent in other parts of India assigned land as directly owned by the state and the cultivators were given status of proprietors based on which the lands were taxed. However, these systems also paid scant regard to women’s land rights because the titles to lands came to be registered in the names of male family heads.
20 The formal legal codes that began to be written in the middle of the nineteenth century, for instance the Indian Succession Act of 1865 and the Hindu Wills Act of 1870, gave some formal recognition to the rights of women to own property but these were severely circumscribed and secondary to those of male heirs. 21 For example, the right of a Hindu woman to inherit property was qualified where she was married, not otherwise, the Hindu Wills Act I of 1870 evidenced the naive mentality of the authors of these legislation’s based on thoroughly patriarchal values of Victorian England. 22 The British Rule over the Indian territory was instrumental in bringing a remarkable change in the political structure and legal regime over the property rights over land but was least sensitive towards the emancipation of rights of women over properties.
The British colonial administration, therefore, brought about new systems of land revenues including the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the Ryotwari system, and the Mahalwari system virtually overhauling the land tenure system and the relation of the state and the landlords. Nonetheless, the-practical aim of such policies was more to increase the revenues collected by the state and to strengthen the state’s ownership of the land than to pursue a social justice agenda that included women and the marginalised23.
19 Ibid., 154.
20 Ibid., 155.
21 Agarwal, Bina. A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia, 5
22 Menon, Nivedita. Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond the Law (University of Illinois Press, 2004), 83.
23 Ibid., 84.
The Permanent Settlement of Bengal signed in the year 1793 legalised landlords, or the zamindars as legal owner of the land to whom rent was payable as a fixed amount to the British authorities. This system solidified the authority of a male hegemonic agricultural elite leaving women out altogether in terms of accessing land. In the Ryotwari and the Mahalwari systems, which were practiced elsewhere in India, land was directly taxed by the state, where by cultivators were recognized as proprietors. However, these systems also neglected the women’s rights in as much as the land titles were registered in the name of the male breadwinners.
The first written legal codes which gave some legal recognition to women’s rights to inherit property were the Indian Succession Act of 1865 and the Hindu Wills Act of 1870 but these rights were again qualified rights and were secondary to the rights of the male heirs24. For example, under the Hindu Wills Act, the rights of a Hindu woman concerning inheritance of property depended on the condition that she remained chaste, which is something that was a mere reflection of the prevalent prejudicial attitude which regarded women as property. 25 The enactment of the Hindu Succession Act in 1956 was a turning point in the course of the campaign for women’s right to own land in India.
The Act provided that women were given rights to inherit property from parents to which till the Act of 1929 it was not a right for proprietary succession or any right in ancestral property, under Mitakshara Hindu law. Increased rights include the right of daughters to ancestral property by the 2005 amendment of the Hindu Succession Act that entitles girls and married daughters the same, equal to boys and unmarried ones respectively. 26 The positive change on women land rights was demonstrated in this amendment because it rejected the patriarchal presumptuousness that women could not inherit land. 27 Even then, the practical application of the said laws of land reforms and inheritance in the post independence era has been far from satisfactory and the status of women regarding the rights of the property remain vulnerable.
Some of the challenges that made women unable to claim their inheritance were; lack of information, shame and unresponsiveness from the male dominated public and administrative institutions. Further, owing to the persistent penetration of customary laws and informal practices in most regions of the country, even where the legal
24 Raman, Vasanthi. "The Implementation of Land Reforms in India," 159.
25 Roy, Anupama. Gendered Citizenship: Historical and Conceptual Explorations, 92.
26 Chakravarti, Uma. Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist Lens, 96.
27 Ibid., 97
rights have been formally secured for women it essentially remains a denied reality for most of them28. More attention has been paid to the fact that land ownership is also a gendered issue in the country within the recent past. Programmes like the National Policy for Empowerment of Women and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission have attempted to provide awareness, legal services and support to women Self Help Groups for owning land29. But it is also important to point out that there’s still a long way to go to guarantee women’s rights to own property, including land, in the same way as men. 30 This paper gives a key understanding of women’s rights to land in India, with the help of women’s land rights timeline, legal framework, social practices, and economic policies.
If at all women were accorded a minimal chance in the traditional society and the colonial and postcolonial land policies and reforms respectively, it was a joker that only pronounced their subjugation in matters regarding land ownership. There have been progressive changes in many legal systems in the past few decades but the endeavour towards women’s rights to ownership of land goes on though it is not devoid of more difficulties and possibilities of change.
3. Legal Framework
The constitutional, statutory and judicial provisions regulating ownership of the land in India are therefore an intermeshing of several provisions, laws and judgments. To the women farmers this framework holds more implications because it outlines their property rights and seeks to address injustices that were placed on them by the patriarchy systems. This part is devoted to constitutional and legal framework of women’s land ownership rights, important legislation and case law in India.
3.1 Constitutional Provisions
The political Culture of India has its Constitution which provides the general rights and freedom of the Indian individual especially the woman. Some of the articles of the Constitution
28 Kelkar, Govind. "The Feminization of Agriculture in Asia," 39.
29 Roy, Anupama. Gendered Citizenship: Historical and Conceptual Explorations, 112.
30 Menon, Nivedita. Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond the Law, 91
which may either have an absolute or a relative effect on women’s land rights include the following. India being a sovereign democratic republic provides equality before the law and equal protection of the laws within the territory contained in article 14 of the constitution. This provision is important , because it makes it possible to avoid discriminating against women in cases of disposal of land and its inheritance31. Article 15 gives equal status to every person irrespective of their religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Notably, Article 15(3) of the Indian Constitution empowers the State to make provisions for women and children, something that has been used in the development of laws that strengthen women’s property rights32.
Article 39(a) and 39(b) of the Constitution under the Directive Principles of State Policy requires the State to have a policy with the aim of ensuring that men and women have the right to an adequate means of livelihood and ownership and control of material resources of the community as to the best advantage of all the members of the community. These provisions underline the principle of progressive and non-discriminatory distribution of the national wealth and amongst them there is the provision on the non-alienation of land33. Under Article 300A of the Constitution of India inserted by the 44th Amendment Act in 1978 the provision made is that no person shall be deprived of his property save by the authority of law.
While this article does not directly so address itself to the issue of gender concerns, it can be seen that the article emphasizes no deprivation of property can take place without the sanction of the law, and thus she affords ugly women protection against the unlawful disposal of land34. This has to do with constitutional provisions where the Indian legal system is legally bound to uphold, uphold and advance women’s rights to land. The Constitution sets the stage for another round of legislative and judicial measures to address gender unfairness in access to land.
3.2 Key Legislations and Amendments
The legal regime relating to the rights of property ownership in India has evolved considerably
31 India Const. art. 14.
32 India Const. art. 15, cl. 3.
33 India Const. art. 39(a)-(b).
34 India Const. art. 300A.
over the years with special reference to women. In this regard the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and the amendments made to it have surely played a vital role. The Hindu Succession Act,
1956 was a progressive legislation through which an attempt was made to enact the principles
of Hindu succession. However, the original Act discriminated in favour of the male line, giving women, especially daughters, only limited rights of property ownership. Under the previous Act a daughter could succeed her father in the property in event that he had no son. 35 Clearly acknowledging these loopholes, the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 has been passed with the purpose of removing the gender discrimination. This amendment was a real departure in that it gave daughters the same status as the sons in terms of the inheritance of the ancestral property. The amendment made daughters coparceners by birth in the same manner as sons and made no distinction based on marital status. It positively affected women’s rights by giving them legal right to claim share in ancestral property and thus elevated their position in society and economy.
36 Besides the Hindu Succession Act, some other laws which are very important in the protection of women’s rights with regard to ownership of land include; Hindu Succession Act is not applicable to minority communities of India, instead Christians are governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925 and the Muslims are governed by Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937 in respect of inheritance and property rights. However, what these laws maintain are also have their own special style of complicities as well as issues in relation to gender fairness. For example, governing the muslim married women’s rights, distribution of the property inheritance is equally divided but the women get half share of that of men, the issue which need to be addressed and have been criticized37.
The legislation that is most closely related to this world is The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and it has certain indirect effects on the rights of women to own property. Dowry is also common and this most commonly involves giving property, land or any form of real estate to a woman upon marriage. But this results to conflict and problems in property ownership and management of such property, most especially where such property is registered in the
35 Hindu Succession Act, No. 30 of 1956, INDIA CODE (1956).
36 Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, No. 39 of 2005, INDIA CODE (2005).
37 Indian Succession Act, No. 39 of 1925, INDIA CODE (1925).
husband’s or the in laws’ name38. Also, state legislations, for instance the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1990 has brought progressive amendment with regard to rights of women; They are also declared as joint owners if the land transferred under land reforms. Despite their SLS limitation, these laws have helped women somewhat to gain better access to land in some areas of India39. Therefore, the problem still lies not so much in the drafting of legislation where some provisions for women’s land rights are provided for but in the actual implementation and application in society especially the rural areas where the customs law prevails.
3.3 Judicial Interventions
Different judgments given by the judiciary have gone a long way in fostering women’s rights in land ownership in India. Several common law cases or legal doctrines have provided precedents how this law elevates gender equality. The most pertinent one is Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma 2020, the Supreme court of India by this judgment upheld the right of daughters to inheritance ancestral property irrespective of the father was alive or not on the date of 2005 amendment. This decision settled the confused issue on which lower courts were given divergent rulings and established that daughters are not inferior to sons in Hindu undivided families40 . The supreme court in the civil appeal no. 10150 of 2017 known in law as Danamma @ Suman Surpur v.
Amar (2018) have it that even the daughters who were born before the Coming into force of the amendment has rights to the A – share of the ancestral property. This judgment was pronounced serious mainly because it carried the qualitative amendment into the past thus making more women to be able to claim their fair share of property41. Another important case is of Prakash v. Phulavati (2015) in which at the very first instance, the Supreme Court of India held that the amendment would not have a retrospective effect and its benefit would only be available in case if the father was alive at the time of passing the
38 Dowry Prohibition Act, No. 28 of 1961, INDIA CODE (1961).
39 Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, No. 1 of 1990, INDIA CODE (1990).
40 Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma, (2020) 9 SCC 1 (India).
41 Danamma @ Suman Surpur v. Amar, (2018) 3 SCC 343 (India).
amendment. Yet, this decision was overturned in the Vineeta Sharma case, which shows that there is a constant change in the social assessment of the judiciary in relation to the rights of women to own property42. The G. Sekar v. Geetha (2009) has equally made useful input with regards to the daughter, in as much as it affirmed her ability to claim inheritance from her father, whether married, or otherwise, upon her father’s demise. The Court was also keen that the woman’s marital status should not determine in any way her rights to own property. 43 Similarly, in Om Prakash v. Radhacharan 2009 SC, the apex court of India affirmed the legal proposition that the wives have absolutely rights to inherit their husband’s property even Though they never remarry again.
This case also brought out the judiciary’s awareness of Women property rights despite social and cultural practices that have been detrimental to Women ‘s property rights44. The provisions of legislation have been supplemented by an enlightened judiciary to ensure that women’s land rights are not mere formalistic tenets, but actualities. But these interventions are subject to the community setting and the ability of the women to demand their rights, an ability that is still wanting in most parts of India.
4. Current Scenario: Data and Trends
4.1 Statistical Analysis
The position of women concerning the ownership of the land in India as at 2024 has both improvement and drawbacks. The current NFHS-5 holds that 20% of the landholders in India are women; a number that has risen slightly from the previous NFHS-4 survey45. Even this figure conceals some variation across the regions of the world. Kerala and Tamil Nadu have shown relatively higher percentage of female land owners coming to around 35% and 30% respectively46. In this regard, the situation in the states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is significantly worse: the women own not more than fifteen percents of the land. This is
42 Prakash v. Phulavati, (2016) 2 SCC 36 (India).
43 G. Sekar v. Geetha, (2009) 6 SCC 99 (India).
44 Om Prakash v. Radhacharan, (2009) 15 SCC 66 (India)
45 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), India, 2024.
46 Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. "State-wise Data on Land Ownership 2024," Delhi, 2024.
explained by the differences in socio-cultural and economic environment within the different regions on women’s ability to own land.47
4.2 Comparative Analysis
If one compares the ownership of land between male and female, then the gap remains large. Today men are still exercising their power over women and most of them are seen to control the lanc more than women where statistics shows that men owns majority of the agricultural land in India with 80%48. This divergence is even more pronounced in states that have less Soroskyan gender attitudes. For instance, in rural Uttar Pradesh, 87 percent of the land is owned by men and only 3 percent by women49. On the other hand women land owner ship in progressive states like Andhra Pradesh is slightly better, at least 23% in some areas. Only within recent years do we see a significant difference between states and this comparison shows how such progress has been well below par and uneven across the states to warrant regional interventions50.
4.3 Impact of Government Schemes
Some of the efforts that governmental organisations have made in an attempt to enhance the position of women in issues to do with land ownership have been effective while others have had negative effects51. The PM-KISAN was launched in the year 2018-19 which offers Rs. 6000/- per year to the farmers including the women farmers . Evaluations of the scheme as of date suggest that while it has contributed positively to improved financial and economic status of many women farmers, it has done little to solve the problem of women farmers’ ownership of land52. Some established findings have indicated that, whilst the income support has been helpful to the women, the question of tenure remains an important factor that the scheme does not tackle; this as in the case of land53.
For instance the National Land Records Modernisation Programme (NLRMP) whose objectives include the provision of efficient land records and
47 Ibid.
48 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). "Agricultural Land Ownership Patterns in India: A
Comprehensive Study," 2024.
49 Ibid.
50 Andhra Pradesh State Agricultural Department. "Report on Women's Land Ownership in Andhra Pradesh," 2024. 51 Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of India. "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme: 2024 Update," Delhi, 2024
52 Evaluation Report, PM-KISAN Scheme, 2024.
53 Ibid.
progressive land reforms the progress achieved is still wanting, and many women continue to encounter challenges in accessing, amending, and altering their land records54.
5. Social and Cultural Barriers
5.1 Patriarchal Structures
Gender inequality has remained a thorny issue in the patriarchal society of India especially in the provisions of land ownership. By tradition, the physical land is considered as a sign of owning something, a status, and privilege that mostly belong to men. Culture and traditions have supported the concept that property ownership is a preserve of men and boys only. For example, in many cultures, people use their custom-based laws to dismiss women and give only male children inheritance rights. This gender bias is evident in the legal policies and the decentralised programme in the implementation of the land reforms. Even though the act like the Hindu Succession Act enacted in 1956 with an amendment in 2005 have been trying to little for the rights of women inheritance, there are still existing social prejudices and patriarchal structures.
Post-1990 further research carried out shows that even though legal provisions exist to support women’s right to land, they do not enjoy this right because of societal culture. From the NCW report of 2023, Women remain barred from owning or gaining access to land as this remains a male preserve to this date. This leads to such discrimination that even though the law allows women to inherit land, they still cannot exercise it because society and their families do not let them55.
5.2 Role of Community and Family
In determining the women land rights, there exists norms and practices within the families, and culture of the society. As is quite customary in many farming communities, the general culture is that the family land or the community land should be controlled by the male members. Despite having a legal ownership of a particular piece of land or some other type of property,
54 National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) Annual Report, 2024.
55 National Commission for Women, "Status of Women’s Land Rights in India: 2023 Report," Government of India, 2023.
women are usually deprived of the right to manage or dispose it. This is so because property management is known to be a man’s affair while women are held only to household chores56. It is not just a normative cultural expectation, but it is even law and administration as well. For instance, Rural Development Institute published a study in 2022 showing that cultural and social demands force women to surrender their rights to land to the male members of their families in the name of social cohesion and culture57. Also, violation of the rights of women who take time and resources to seek legal redress to their rights in land, relish in stigmatization and such cases deter many women from seeking justice hence no ownership. Preliminary legal awareness among most women due to social and family pressure also furthers the effects of such laws.
Rural women remain ignorant of their legal basis since there are few public awareness campaigns and educational activities. The absence of such knowledge alongside the intensification of patriarchal culture leads basically to the consumerist attitude of women to their oppression58. Finally, it can be asserted that the difficulties women encounter in owning land in India are founded on social and cultural norms and practices that support the subordinate position of women in society. Although there have been improvements on the legal reforms that seek to protect their property rights especially on ownership of land, culture and tradition remain a barrier to women on ownership and control of land. Mitigating these barriers would therefore have to demand a legalised knowledge initiative that entails raising the general public awareness and changing the existing patriarchal mindsets.
6. Recent Developments and Case Studies
6.1 Recent Policy Changes
In the past few years, there have been several large policy interventions proposed that have sought to enhance women’s rights over the land in India. Among these is the new policy on the Swaminathan Commission Report (2023) featuring extensive measures to improving the 56 Sharma, Priya, "Legal Literacy and Women’s Land Rights: A Case Study in Uttar Pradesh," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, vol. 29, no. 1, 2024, pp. 45-59.
57 Rural Development Institute, "Family Dynamics and Land Ownership: A Study from Rural India,"
Development Policy Review, vol. 40, no. 3, 2022, pp. 345-362. 58 Sharma, Priya, "Legal Literacy and Women’s Land Rights: A Case Study in Uttar Pradesh," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, vol. 29, no. 1, 2024, pp. 45-59.
position of women farmers59. Theological formation and legal reformation were huge concerns of the Commission they focused on the need to give women a way to own land. They also recommended on how to more ponder women into agricultural development. Another significant change in policy direction is the National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) which in the new policy provision has been changed to included provisions that seek to address issues of gender60. The program now requires a record of title to show co-ownership where due to help women to document their rights to property that they have jointly developed with men. The latest MGNREGA Amendment was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development in March 2022 where provisions have been made to enhance employment and social security aspects of the programme for women landowner61s.
This amendment seeks to remove the obstacle of capital that affects most women farmers and their businesses regarding land. subsequently, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) scheme was launched with changes whereby the provision of land to women especially those in the rural areas was enhanced and economic support was offered towards the purchase of the land as well as construction of houses for the female headed families62. This policy, therefore, shows that there is growing demand for women’s rights ownership for the sake of empowering the countryside.
6.2 Case Studies
Case Study 1: Aisha Bibi’s Land Acquisition in Uttar Pradesh This was not opposed by some women in Uttar Pradesh, for instance, Aisha Bibi, a farmer from a small village who had stood to benefit for the change in legal reforms. Since the adoption of the 2023 Swaminathan Commission report, she managed to gains ownership of her family’s farmland63. There is nothing that can be as expressive of our reality, as women policy impact as the story of Aisha regarding the physical reality of policy. The reasons ranged from legal battles with the local authorities to cultural and family restraints; nonetheless, Aisha with the
59 Swaminathan Commission Report (2023).
60 National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) (2021).
61 MGNREGA Amendment (2022).
62 Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) (2022).
63 Aisha Bibi’s case study, Uttar Pradesh (2024).
help of NGO working with women’s land rights showed the importance of advocacy and support systems64. Case Study 2: Lakshmi Devi’s Success under the MGNREGA Amendment Rajasthan’s Lakshmi Devi was another beneficiary of the 2022 MGNREGA Amendment because it enabled her to get additional work connected to her land ownership65. Before the amendment, although Lakshmi owned a lot of land she was very poor and thus was limited in expanding it. It was easier for her to find a job due to the new provisions, and this saw her income as well as that of the agricultural sector boosted. Lakshmi’s story shows how schemes created by integrated policies target all the angles of economic and social gender bias experienced by farm owners66.
Case Study 3: The Impact of PM Awaas Yojana on Female Headed Households In her case, and that of thousands of other female-headed households across India, the 2022 alteration to the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana has made a profound difference67. Meera used the money to purchase land and put up a house, which in a big way enhanced the living standards of the family. This case therefore calls for financial interventions to support a woman to acquire and effectively use the essence of land ownership68. Collectively the case studies illustrate that although the recent changes in the policies has given a window for women to acquire the land, there are potential challenges. We are seeing some resistance with traditional norms, bureaucratic procedures, and poor awareness causing constraints.
But the case of Aisha, Lakshmi, Meera and other women should inspire and encourage the proponents of legal and policy changes which call for renewed energy in support of women’s right to own land.
7. Comparative Analysis with Global Practices
7.1 International Perspectives
64 Women’s Land Rights NGO Report (2024).
65 Lakshmi Devi’s case study, Rajasthan (2024).
66 MGNREGA Impact Study (2024).
67 Meera Singh’s case study, Madhya Pradesh (2024).
68 PM Awaas Yojana Impact Report (2024).
If the government of India is to compare its cardinal policy on women’s land rights with other developed and developing countries, then it would come across different approaches towards ownership of land. Such success stories exist in countries such as Rwanda, Sweden and Canada to mention but a few as they have embraced the use of legal frameworks and policy measures towards the improvement of women’s land rights. Rwanda is one of the exceptional countries which have shown maximum concern for gendersensitive land reforms. In Rwanda there is the Rwandan Constitution of 2003 and the Land Law of 2005 that spells out conditions whereby women are given equal rights to the male partners in matters concerning land ownership and use and especially there is a provision that married couples must own land jointly69.
These progressive laws have improved the proportions of land ownership as well as women’s economics. The Rwandan government’s promulgation of gender sensitive polices is evidenced by a World Bank report of 2021, which revealed that sixty percent of Rwandan landowners are women70. On the issue of gender, Sweden has also recorded a favourable position on rights to land ownership. It should be noted that the Swedish land policies prevents gender discrimination in the distribution of the land. The ‘Registered Land System’ of Sweden is based on the principles of publicity and equality of sexes, and so the rights of women are not suppressed when it comes to the question of property possession and transfer71.
The results of investigations suggest that the gender differences in land rights are not significant in Sweden and sound legislation as well as the relatively high level of gender equality in society contributes to it72. More positive theories can also be studied on the example of Canada. Some of the land reforms include providing for women for property and inheritance rights so as to make it be more equal to men’s rights; and endorsing the rights of Indigenous women to own land73. For example, amendments of the Indian Act in Canada have intended the improvement of the land
69 World Bank. (2021). Rwanda Land Tenure Regularization: Impact Evaluation Report.
70 Kabeer, N. (2021). Gender Equality and Land Rights: Case Studies from Rwanda and Sweden. Gender and Development, 29(2), 245-261.
71 European Commission. (2020). Gender Equality in Land Ownership: Sweden’s Approach.
72 Swedish National Board of Housing, Building, and Planning. (2022). Annual Report on Land Ownership and Gender Equality.
73 Canadian Government. (2021). Indigenous Land Rights and Gender Equality.
rights and the authority to make decisions of Indigenous women. It has thus helped in advancing of women’s tenure rights on land as well as their livelihoods. 74 Whereas for India it remains problematic to achieve gender equality in the context of land tenure. Even after several legislation like Hindu Succeeding Act, 1956 (Amendment 2005) where women have been turned to enjoy equal status as the men but practically it has not been implemented in letter and spirit and social formalities still remain ill-equipped. Despite social, economic, and institutional barriers, Indian women continue to be juridical owners of land in a highly restrained manner75.
7.2 Learning from Global Best Practices
India can learn from these success models and can implement/improvise upon them to suit Indian markets. For example, Rwanda shows other countries the need to have a legal backing that supports women’s rights to own land. Likely such reforms have to be tried in India also; like making joint property ownership compulsory for couples who are legally married so as to get better equity of women in this area. Scandinavian practices of land registration, particularly those of Sweden, may be used to improve the Indian scenario of land registration; they should recognise the rights of women in property ownership as well. It might have reduced barriers for women if additional, more accessible online interfaces for the registration of land rights were developed and if the procedures related to conveyancing were eased76.
Examining Canada’s treatment of Indigenous women can provide useful information about how to approach the needs of other vulnerable categories of the population77. Indian circumstances suggest that, adopting differential policy approaches towards women of diverse socio-economic statuses, such as rural and tribal, might be useful for delivering land rights. Besides, to strengthen women’s rights in other countries it is possible to introduce educational 74 McGregor, D. (2022). Indigenous Women’s Land Rights in Canada: Progress and Challenges. Journal of Indigenous Policy, 23(1), 85-102. 75 Bhaduri, A. (2023). Land Rights for Women in India: A Critical Analysis. Indian Journal of Law and Society, 15(3), 67-82. 76 Peters, P. (2021). Transparent Land Registration Systems and Gender Equity: The Swedish Experience. Land Use Policy, 104, 105-118. 77 Nair, S. (2023).
Addressing Gender Inequality in Land Ownership: Insights from Global Practices. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 30(1), 45-62.
and support programs corresponding to the Canadian ones78. Based on the factors highlighted above that trespass upon a global standard of the reformist land legislation of India there exists an opportunity to foster a favourable condition towards land ownership for women. Strategies that aim to improve legal measures, increase institutional clarity of the activities and develop proper support measures might help increase the share of female land owners and improve the position of women farmers all across the country.
8. Challenges and Opportunities
8.1 Ongoing Challenges
Although women farmer in India have recently enjoyed small improvements in their tenure rights, there are several issues that they still experience over the access of land. These adversely affects their economic status and thus economic enfranchisement. Lack of Awareness: Firstly, and perhaps one of the most significant barriers women face in relation to the realisation of their rights over land is low levels of literacy on this matter. Most rural women do not know that by law they have rights to own property including land or inherit property. This lack of awareness is complemented by the poor access to information as well as legal advice. Researchers also report that in many places, women continue to have poor knowledge of property rights because of custom and lack of information-sharing by government agencies79.
Bureaucratic Hurdles: It will be seen that system of registration and transfer of property in India is laden with most bureaucratic flaws. Some of the barriers that women face include; paperwork, time-consuming processes and corrupt practices. These bureaucratic hurdles do not just deter women from asserting their rights, but also set up a context whereby their claims can be dismissed apace80. These difficulties are further magnified by the absence of optimized mechanisms as well as the necessary framework. 78 Smith, L. (2022). Educational Programs and Land Rights: The Canadian Model and Its Applicability to India. International Journal of Educational Development, 82, 102-116. 79 Miller, C. (2022). Gender and Land Rights in Rural India: The Need for Reform. Rural Studies Journal, 48, 55- 72. 80 Singh, P. (2023). Bureaucratic Challenges in Land Ownership: A Study of Rural India.
Journal of Public Administration, 39(1), 102-118.
Resistance from Male Family Members: Women still face ant factors to own land such as cultural and patriarchal beliefs. Often, male members of the family do not approve in the ownership of land by women as it is against tradition and culture violate male chauvinism and hegemony. This resistance can be in the form of denial of oppression, theorists and demeaning of the rights of the native people on their own land. This is a cultural issue that is well entrenched whereby families, women are bent on the belief that the male chauvinism is the one entitled to own or control the household assets81.
8.2 Opportunities for Reform
However, the following possibilities could be considered as the opportunities for the further reforming which could strengthen women’s ownership rights regarding the land: Legal Reforms: One such step is to strengthen and expand the legal provisions thereof insofar as women are concerned in owning landed property. New laws which include changes to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, for example, have sought to be progressive and have achieved it to an extent but more needs to done. There is today a requirement for legislation to prevent unfair regimes of land distribution and ease the right to inheritance by women. Also, extending and enforcing severe consequences of violating the laws that regulate the ownership of land may reduce Discrimination82. Policy Interventions: There is therefore need to call for policy reforms that would encourage women to either claim or continue to keep land.
This could consist of grant towards the cost of registering their land, educational workshops to enable women to understand legal procedures and Farming assistance for women Farming groups. Therefore it can be understood how mainstreaming gender concerns in the development of a land policy can assist in the attainment of needs which benefit women farmers83. Community-Based Initiatives: There is a strong evidence that grassroots organizations and local governments are largely involved in supporting Women’s right to ownership of land. Educational reforms which are centralised must involve local leaders and other members of the community in overcoming the cultural barriers that contribute to gender inequality as far as 81 Gupta, R. (2021). Cultural Barriers to Women’s Land Ownership in India. Gender Studies Review, 29(2), 143- 158. 82 Kumar, A. (2023).
Legal Reforms for Women Landowners: An Analysis. Indian Law Review, 16(3), 201-220. 83 Desai, N. (2024). Policy Interventions for Women in Agriculture. Agricultural Policy Journal, 12(4), 89-105.
land rights are concerned. Mechanisms that tap men’s advocacy for women can also help unseat the traditional structures84.
9. The Way Forward: Policy Recommendations
9.1 Legal Reforms
To address the ongoing challenges faced by women farmers, several legal reforms are necessary:To address the ongoing challenges faced by women farmers, several legal reforms are necessary: 1. Strengthening Property Laws: The laws should be changed to respect the rights of women to own property especially land and be protected in their Inheritance rights. This involves doing away with oppressive provisions of law and making sure that women’s rights over land are respected and protected in the courts of law85. 2. Simplifying Registration Processes: There is the need to abolish or at least reform the land registration process so as to make it pro-women. This entails letting the policy cut down on paperwork such that women desiring to register for abortion are assisted through the process. 86 3.
Ensuring Implementation: Consequently, there is the need to consistently implement the existing laws in order to enhance the societal welfare. This comprises the checks carried out on the respective practices and how discrimination or lack of enforcement is dealt with appropriately87.
9.2 Educational and Awareness Programs
Educational and awareness programs are essential for empowering women and ensuring they are aware of their rights: Educational and awareness programs are essential for empowering women and ensuring they are aware of their rights: 84 Chopra, S. (2022). Community-Based Solutions for Women’s Land Rights. Development Studies Quarterly, 30(1), 77-92.
85 Sharma, L. (2023). Strengthening Property Laws in India. Law and Society Review, 47(2), 157-174.
86 Bansal, K. (2024). Simplifying Land Registration for Women. Journal of Legal Reform, 24(1), 33-48. 87 Patel, M. (2022). Implementation of Land Rights Laws in India. Indian Journal of Law and Policy, 18(2), 89102.
1. Legal Literacy Campaigns: NON governmental organizations and governmental organizations should carry out awareness creation to the women to make them aware of the land rights. This can be done through conduct of more workshops, seminars and availing information through nelss through translation into local Languages.88 2. Training Programs: Providing Women with awareness sessions where they can learn how to handle the law and bureaucracies, can assist Women’s to gain and manage their rights to the land. Such programs should therefore suit the needs of the rural women.89 3. Community Outreach: There is need to involve the leaders of the people, community opinion makers and sensitization through all media forms, inter alia, to ensure change of attitude regarding women’s rights to land90.
9.3 Purpose and Functions of Civil Society and NGOs
Civil society organizations and NGOs play a vital role in supporting women’s land rights:Civil society organizations and NGOs play a vital role in supporting women’s land rights: 1. Advocacy and Lobbying: CSOs can, therefore, influence change through lobbying of policy makers and the public sensitization on the plight of women farmers91. 2. Support Services: These are the NGOs can port SSMS and actually offer legal assistance and counseling services and to assist the women in the issues of registration of titles of land property. 92 3. Grassroots Mobilization: Use of grassroots approach in popularizing the campaign for women’s rights to ownership of land can assist in changing the existing attitudes towards the dignity of women and ensuring that they gain better and equal opportunities to farm. 93 88 Verma, R. (2023). Legal Literacy for Rural Women: Current Practices and Gaps.
Women’s Rights Journal, 25(1), 60-74. 89 Joshi, A. (2024). Training Programs for Women in Agriculture. Rural Development Journal, 22(3), 112-128.
90 Mehta, S. (2022). Community Outreach for Gender Equality in Land Ownership. Community Development
Review, 19(2), 142-159 91 Sethi, J. (2023). The Role of Civil Society in Advocating for Land Rights. Advocacy Journal, 14(1), 51-67.
92 Agarwal, P. (2024). Support Services for Women Landowners: An NGO Perspective. Non-Profit Review,
27(4), 88-102. 93 Rao, N. (2023). Grassroots Mobilization for Women’s Land Rights. Social Change Journal, 31(2), 134-149.
10. Conclusion
10.1 Summary of Findings
The chapter has analysed various social factors related to women ownership of land in India. That emphasizes the long-standing problems like unawareness, structural barriers, and opposition from male relatives. It also expounded on the possible reforms, ranging from legal to policy and community level innovations. The fight for women’s demesne rights as bespoken by civil community and NGOs has been mooted as a significant plan of action towards change.
10.2 Future Directions
The further work should involve the assessment of the efficacy of these changes to reveal the directions for the further shifts. Research could look at how the formulations of the new policies are likely to affect women’s tenure rights to land or also address questions on how best the cultural hurdles could be surmounted. Commission would also call for continual monitoring of the efforts aimed at enhancing legal and education rights for women farmers in order to assess whether they are relevant for the contemporary rural women in India.