KAREN PINEIRO, POONAM KATHURIA
The still unfolding COVID-19 pandemic exacted a heavy toll in rural India during the second wave. It led to more deaths than the first wave, and rural fatalities were disproportionately higher among men compared to women. Rural Gujarat, where we work, saw a 22 percent increase in fatalities at the peak of the second wave, even as a report by The Wire alluded to undercounting of deaths by up to 27 times.
Despite the lack of an official record, it is clear that the pandemic has left thousands of women newly widowed. Many have lost the sole breadwinner of their families and are struggling to manage the double burden of grief and making a living. In the Indian context this is a matter of grave concern as single women are stigmatised, excluded, and marginalised by the community and government policies alike. The social impacts of an increasing number of single women aside, the COVID-19-led crisis is also aggravating the feminisation of agriculture in rural India. This is interpreted as an increase in women being included in the unpaid agriculture labour force (working on their own land) under adverse conditions without decision-making power, owing to disparity in land ownership.
While there is a lack of gender-differentiated data on land ownership, the agricultural census provides information in the form of operational holdings along with some information on its social composition. In India only 12.8 percent of land holdings are under the ownership of women, covering a land area of 10.3 percent. In the state of Gujarat, this is only marginally higherwomen own 14.1 percent of land holdings and have 13.2 percent share in land area.
Despite legal and policy recognition, womens land rights are deeply enmeshed in discriminatory sociocultural norms and patriarchal customary practices. In the absence of a concerted effort by the state to address gender inequality, there is a wide gap between the enabling legal framework and the actual extent to which such rights are exercised. Men and boys are undisputed heirs to land whereas womens claim over right to land is almost always questioned and met with opposition and, often, violence.
The virus may be gender-neutral but its effects are not
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, we at SWATI have undertaken studies to understand the gendered impact of the pandemic on women and girlsthe impact of COVID-19 on womens land rights is a major area of inquiry. Land is an important resource in rural areas and land-based livelihoods contribute to 70 percent of rural livelihoods. With over 85 percent rural women engaged in agriculture, we wanted to understand the impact on access to land or inheritance for women who had lost their husbands, fathers, fathers-in-law, and other male landowning members.
Between March 15 and May 15, 2021, we conducted a dipstick study in five blocks (Dasada, Dhrangadhra, Santrampur, Siddhpur, and Radhanpur) of three districts (Surendranagar, Mahisagar, and Patan) in 40 villages of Gujarat. Four hundred and seventy-three deaths due to COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 were reported during this period, of which 63 percent were men and 27 percent were women.
Interviews and focus group discussions with women revealed the specific challenges that they face in accessing their land rights, which are dependent on the womans relation with the male landholding and decision-taking member of the family, her age, whether she has children, if her children are girls, and various other subjective factors.
Womens land rights continue to be mediated through their relationship with men
Recently widowed Sangeetaben, 26 has a four-year-old son. The family lived in Patdi town where her husband had a government job with the electricity department. After his death, Sangeetaben and her son have moved in with her late husbands family in Mithaghoda village, 16 kilometres from Patdi town.
With the death of male members come many social sanctions and restrictions that disadvantage women.
Sangeetaben admitted she did not have any details of the familys land. I know that the land belongs to my father-in-law, but I dont know if anybody elses names are on the land. I dont even know if my husbands name is on the land. At first, Sangeetaben denied anticipating any challenges in having her name on the land document. It wont be a problem since I have a son, but later added, It wont happen soon, as I am still young. My brother-in-law is still unmarried. My name wont be added to the land document until he gets married. The possibility that Sangeetaben might be married off to her brother-in-law hung unspoken in the air.
With the death of male members come many social sanctions and restrictions that disadvantage women.
Leeliben, 48, of Mithaghoda lost her husband to COVID-19. She worries about her dependency on her brother-in-law to undertake procedures relating to the inclusion of her name in the family land register. Protocol requires that the process to add names of successors be completed within a month. Post this period the case will have to be taken to the district office, which can be complicated and expensive. However, the custom demands that a widow not step out of the house for six months after her husbands death.
Women are keen to secure their land rights but lack the social support to obtain them
Neelaben, 43, of village Upariyala, lived in Ahmedabad with her husband and their three children. After her husbands death from COVID-19, she returned to her village with her children. Neelaben is being denied possession of the land by her brother-in-law. With no income, she has to resort to doing wage labour on others farms to feed her family while staying at her in-laws house. Lacking support, she is wary of taking up a fight to claim her share.
Women face othering by their families and their claims are resisted.
Kajalben, 29, reported that her father-in-law passed away during the pandemic and now all the family members names will be added to the land title. On being asked if her name will be added, she said, Oh no. Who will trust a daughter-in-law who has entered the household just yesterday?
Jeetiben, 50, was left behind with three daughters and 25 acres of land owned by her husband. Jeetibens father-in-law is putting pressure on her to add the names of her brother-in-laws sons to her husbands land instead of her and her daughters names. He says, We will look after you, but the land should remain in the family.
Women are compelled to voluntarily waive off their rights
Fifty-year-old Lasuben Rabari of Goriyawad village lost her husband and both in-laws within the span of a few days in the second wave. As per the family custom, Lasuben is not allowed to step outside the house for a year. The 30-bigha land in her father-in-laws name was shared equally by Lasubens husband and brother-in-law. After the deaths, Lasubens brother-in-law initiated the land mutation process (the transfer or change of land title entries in revenue records of the local municipal corporation) and had his name and Lasubens and her childrens (five daughters and one son) names added in the land records.
Soon after, on the advice of a revenue talati (official), Lasubens brother-in-law compelled Lasuben to waive off her and her daughters rights in favour of Lasubens son on the grounds that it would be easier to avail schemes and loans if there are fewer names in the land records. Although Lasuben and her daughters agreed and appeared before the court to register their legal waiver, they feel that having their names in the land records would have given them a sense of security for the future.
Customary practices and a patriarchal state
Customary practices such as keeping the land in the eldest sons or brothers name to avoid fragmentation and keep the joint family together no longer benefit anyone, and particularly harm women.
Sisters-in-law Kantaben (63) and Vijuben (65) used to till their family-owned landholdings of 15 bighas. The land is in the name of their eldest brother-in-law. When their husbands were alive, they tilled the 5 bigha share of land each brother owned informally. Now the eldest brother-in-law refuses to let either of the women cultivate the land. They have had to seek work as labourers on others farms in the village. The widowed women have barely managed to make INR 34,000 this agricultural season, and they wont find more work until the agricultural season next year.
There is a wide gap between the enabling legal framework and the actual extent to which womens land rights are exercised.
There is a wide gap between the enabling legal framework and the actual extent to which womens land rights are exercised. The government, along with civil society organisations, must take the lead in recognising that for inclusive, equitable, and sustainable growth and long-term recovery from the pandemic, rural womens asset strength and fallback positions must be made stronger. This can be done by:
- ensuring implementation of existing gender equitable land and agricultural policies and working to mitigate the contradictions posed by customary practices and the formal legal system
- reviewing and subsidising the input cost for small and marginal holdings and ensuring minimum support price
- affirmative actions and policies to promote womens tenurial security, access to inputs and credit, drudgery reducing tools, and facilitating womens access to markets
- undertaking mass campaigns to increase womens literacy about their land rights and addressing discriminatory practices
- setting up time-bound, gender-sensitive, and single-window clearance mechanisms for women to seek guidance, counsel, and legal administrative services for their land claims
Karen Pineiro works with Society for Womens Action and Training Initiatives (SWATI) as a research and documentation consultant and has five years of experience in gender, education, health, livelihoods, and other social issues.
Poonam Kathuria is the founder-director of the Society for Womens Action and Training Initiatives (SWATI). Poonam has more than 25 years of experience in a leadership role working for the prevention of gender-based violence, womens empowerment, and leadership.
This article was first published on IDR Online