Women’s perceptions of land ownership: a case study from Kutch District, Gujarat, India

Overview

In August 2005, a campaign was initiated in Kutch District, Gujarat, India, to obtain government land for landless families. Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), a grassroots collective of rural women, supported women’s land and property rights in the context of the campaign. In this article, we assess the impact of this campaign on women in Kutch, given that the applications for land were filed either in their own names or along with their menfolk. Land is yet to be handed over to the families, yet the process of claiming it has, in itself, clarified women’s views about the relative importance of property rights for their lives and position in society. The process of discussion that KMVS initiated has also provoked some of the women to take a first step in owning property by speaking up within their families.

This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis. For the full table of contents for this and previous issues of this journal, please visit the Gender and Development website.