Workshop and Public hearing on WOMEN AND LAND RIGHTS
2005-06-10

Allahabad, and Consult for Women and Land Rights. The twin events were held in Allahabad on May 26-27, 2005 to highlight the obstacles that women face in realizing their rights to land, property and productive resources. At the workshop, representatives from ten states discussed strategies to work on women and land rights. These representative had also brought cases from their region for the hearing the next day.

A Jury headed by retired Judge Achal Bihari Srivastav and comprising NCW Deputy Secretary Gurpreet Deol, Advocate K.K. Roy, Director Mahila Samakhya (Uttar Pradesh) Dr. Manju Agarwal, Advocate Sona Khan and social activists Dr. Roop Rekha Verma and Shilpa Vasvavada heard cases of violation of women’s land rights. Twenty-five rural women testified on the hurdles they have had to face in trying to access their land, housing and property rights. Several women said they faced violence when they asserted their rights.

The Public Hearing was a pioneering attempt to record women’s testimonies on denial of land rights including rights to agricultural land, forest land as well as housing plots. The issue is critical for the survival of women and their families as landlessness and alienation from land is increasing under the market economy. The Hearing was attended by 300 women and men, ranging from village women to activists representing about fifty grassroots organizations and networks from various parts of the country. Altogether, 50 cases of violation were compiled in the run-up to the Hearing.

The Jury gave legal advice on the pursuit of individual cases and also made policy, law and programme recommendations to help women overcome social and legal barriers in access to and control over land.

For more information on the public hearing, contact: