ABSTRACT
Economic analyses and policies concerning women have long been preoccupied with employment, to the neglect of a crucial determinant of women’s situation, namely the gender gap in command over property. This is especially (but not only) true in analyses relating to South Asia. It is argued here that the gender gap in the ownership and control of property is the single most critical contributor to the gender gap in economic well-being, social status and empowerment. In primarily rural economies such as those of South Asia the most important form of property is arable land. A struggle for gender equality in command over landed property will therefore need to occupy center stage in South Asian women’s struggle for egalitarian gender relations. The discussion below is divided into five sections. Section one examines the conceptual links between gender, property, and land rights. Section two elaborates upon why it is important for rural women to have independent rights in’ land, especially for women’s empowerment. Section three looks at gender relations historically in those South Asian communities in which women traditionally enjoyed rights in land. Section four identifies the obstacles women face in realizing effective land rights in most parts of South Asia today, and illustrates how women’s command over economic resources is crucially mediated by non-economic factors. Finally, section five highlights some aspects of the interventions needed for change.
