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Inheritance Law Reform and Women's Access to Capital: Evidence from India's Hindu Succession Act
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This paper examines whether and to what extent amendments in inheritance legislation impact women's physical and human capital investments, using disaggregated household level data from India. The authors use inheritance patterns over three generations of individuals to assess the impact of changes in the Hindu Succession Act that grant daughters equal coparcenary birth rights in joint family property that were denied to daughters in the past. The causal effect is isolated by exploiting the variation in the timing of father's death to compare within household bequests of land given to sons and daughters in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The analysis shows that the amendment significantly increased daughters'likelihood to inherit land, but that even after the amendment substantial bias persists. The results also indicate a robust increase in educational attainment of daughters, suggesting an alternative channel of wealth transfer.
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... Control variables: This article refers to existing research results and selects variables that may affect the scale of overseas farmland investment in investing countries from the three dimensions of food security, energy security, and capital drive [31]. The country's cultivated land scale, national grain output, total population, labor cost, per capita energy density, renewable energy, per capita GDP, and degree of openness were selected as control variables, as shown in Table 3: ...
... The population coefficient shows a significant positive relationship, indicating that food demand significantly impacts overseas farmland investment. To sum up, food security is still the most critical factor driving overseas farmland investment by investing countries, which also verifies the research results of [31]. This further confirms that countries with developed economies and higher levels of export-oriented economic development tend to invest in foreign farmland. ...
Restricted by economic and social development conditions and the level of domestic regulatory system construction, the traditional host country-centered regulatory approach makes it difficult to ensure “responsible investment” by overseas farmland investment companies. The jury is still out on whether international law can directly impose obligations and responsibilities on companies. Therefore, it is realistically necessary for the investor’s home country to regulate any behavior that infringes on the human rights and environment of residents of the host country during the company’s overseas farmland investment. We used a panel fixed effects model and the dummy variable method to construct regression indicators based on international treaties. This study finds that promulgating responsible investment treaties can significantly promote the scale and number of international farmland investments, which also further led to the problem of differentiation among overseas farmland investors. We further discussed the lack of binding force of current international rules and the difficulty in coordinating the interests of multiple parties. In the regulatory system of the home country, there are still problems, such as insufficient supply of adequate laws, and lack of administrative guidance. Measures such as deepening negotiations on international rules for responsible overseas farmland investment, further leveraging the role of land ownership in responsible overseas farmland investment, improving existing domestic legislation, and strengthening administrative guidance on overseas farmland investment can be used as countermeasures.
... The average age was 50 and 42 for males and females, respectively (Table 1). Males are the most dominant in cattle farming, especially in rural areas where there is less gender equality and the "inheritance right" does not favour females (Kunene & Fossey, 2006;Deininger, 2010;Goni et al., 2018). The mean age of the respondents was comparable with the many other findings of studies done in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo Provinces on communal and small-scale livestock production (Kunene & Fossey, 2006;Goqwana et al., 2009;Uddin et al., 2012;Sikhweni & Hassan, 2013;Mthi et al., 2018;Goni et al., 2018). ...
Herding is the practice of caring for roaming groups of livestock over a large area, and often motivated by factors like theft and avoiding cattle invading neighbour's harvests in communal areas. Most households in the rural areas of Limpopo have livestock that roam freely often causes conflicts with neighbours, and this is mostly where the foreign nationals are hired for the herding jobs. The main objective of this study was to characterise the cattle herding and management practices in semi-arid savanna communal rangelands of Botlokwa area in Limpopo Province. A semi-structured questionnaire targeting herders and livestock owners was used to collect the data. A purposive sample of 90 cattle owners and those with herding experience was considered. Data show that the majority of the cattle owners were males (64,4%). Ninety-four percent of the farmers practised cattle herding, with 67% using the multi-household herding system. Herding was mainly done by non-South Africans, with the highest majority (42.9%) being Zimbabweans, followed by Lesotho nationals at 32.1%, South Africans at 17.9% and the lowest percentage (3.6%) were Botswana and Malawi nationals. A significant number (77%) of herders spent the whole day with the animals grazing the land and had knowledge on the type of grasses available in their areas. Almost all farmers (89%) vaccinated their cattle, with 75% of farmers supplementing their cattle and applying fair breeding practices. Inferences from the data indicate the dominance of males in livestock farming and cattle herding with moderate farming practices applied in Botlokwa.
... Women face indirect disadvantages when they are excluded from land and property ownership. Ownership and control of assets such as land and water can add to the negative effects of water scarcity, low wages and other forms of disadvantages (Deininger et al. 2010). Therefore, efforts to promote gender equality in water-related domains can be a crucial step towards creating a more just and equitable society. ...
Urbanisation is taking place at a rapid pace in India, with an increasing spread of informal settlements in the urban landscape. Delhi city is one such growing urban sprawl with a large proportion (75%) of informal settlements. These informal settlements are characterised by uncertain or illegal land tenure and ownership, minimal or no services (water supply, sanitation, electricity, roads), poor waste management, informal employment and low income. In most societies, women hold the primary responsibility of procuring, storing and usage of water and, hence, bear the highest brunt of lack of access to water and sanitation.
Environmental sustainability can promote women’s empowerment through the provision of water supply and sanitation and has direct and indirect impacts. Ecofeminism elucidates the gendered, cultural constructions of water, which impacts power relations perpetuating environmental sexism, racism and classism and creating a water–power infrastructure. Drawing on ecofeminism, the study aims to examine household access to water supply and its impact on women’s lives. The study revealed that women living in settlements with no access to flowing water inside the household were largely unemployed, while women in households with better access to water and sanitation were involved in paid work and actively involved in self-help groups.
... In general, men own more and higher value assets than women Doss, 2006, Deere et al., 2013;Quisumbing, 2003). In particular, women tend to own less land, whether solely or jointly, than men (Agarwal, 1994;Adoko et al., 2011;Ahikire, 2011;Asiimwe, 2014;Deininger et al., 2010;Doss et al., 2013). A growing body of research demonstrates the importance of women's ownership of and control over assets for a range of development outcomes (Agarwal, 1994;Haddad et al., 1997;Quisumbing, 2003;Tucker & Ludi, 2012;Kemigisha, 2021 ). ...
The gender gap in land rights operates within the broader context of the bigger gender gap in society which is rooted deeply in informal/normative and formal/statutory structures. Security of tenure is a major determinant of the ability of women to improve the productivity of the land they use, to rebalance decision making power within the household, and to raise their status in the household, the community, and as citizens. There is thus the need of succinct strategies to narrow the gender gap in access to and control of the land because unequal access to land is one of the most important forms of economic inequality between men and women and has consequences for women's capabilities as food producers and key contributors to human welfare. This study aimed at exploring the untapped potentials and capabilities of rural women that may be exploited to narrow the gender gap in land rights in Uganda. The study was conducted among the farmer groups and key informants in South Western Uganda. To narrow the gender gap in land rights, the study identified strategies for strengthening women's potentials and capabilities that included formation of women's groups, changing traditions and practices that discriminate against women in terms of land acquisition and land tenure security, increasing awareness and advocacy for women land rights, empowering them to obtain and defend their land rights and also to enhance their potential to utilize the existing legal legislations, legal aid and legal services. BACKGROUND Land is an important productive asset for households that depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Access to and control of land is synonymous with wealth, status and power of individuals at the household and national levels (FAO, 2011). Strengthening women's access to, and control over land is seen as an important means of raising their status and influence within households and communities. It has direct impacts on farm productivity, and can also have far-reaching implications for minimizing land related conflicts that are usually fueled by discontentment brought by unfair ownership, access and control of land between men and women.
... As in much of the rest of the world, private ownership rights in landed property also hold a very privileged position in the MENA region. Land provides social status, opportunities to participate in public life, access to credit and a stable source of income and food security (Agarwal 1994;Baruah, 2010;Doss et al 2008;Deininger et al 2010;Field 2007;Kumar and Quisumbing 2013;Peterman 2011). Because women are known to be disadvantaged in land and property ownership in much of the world, improving their access to such resources has become a major endeavor for many development organizations. ...
Rural Egyptian women play a key role in food security, income generation and agricultural production but their contributions remain invisible and they face difficulties in accumulating assets, accessing work opportunities under decent work conditions and respective training, and have limited bargaining power at the household and community levels. Therefore, it is important that we document rural women’s experiences in agricultural work and their contributions and suggest efficient ways that enable them to overcome these barriers. Very few studies have examined the challenges and opportunities faced by women working in the agricultural sector in rural Egypt. The few studies that exist were conducted in the 1990s. This report analyzes the extent of social, economic and political empowerment for women workers in various types of employment in rural Egypt. It identified the challenges they face and made recommendations for overcoming them. We included as many different types of workers as possible in our study - own account workers (small-scale producers and subsistence farmers), wage workers, contributing family workers, entrepreneurs and employers, and members of producer organizations in both the Old and New Lands in order to ensure that our findings were as representative as possible of women’s and men’s experiences of agricultural work and working conditions in rural Egypt. We employed an extended case study approach to conduct this research. We collected data through interviews and focus groups in two areas in rural Egypt, which have common socio-cultural, historical and economic ties but differ significantly in socio-cultural norms, economic and political context for women’s roles, responsibilities, social status and land ownership rates. The Old Lands were originally mainly irrigated by the inundation of the Nile River while the New Lands became cultivable only after the construction of the High Aswan Dam in the 1950s. These areas also differ in the type of agricultural production (e.g., crops grown and their profitability), gender and social norms (e.g., relative degree of social control), and availability of services (e.g., healthcare and agricultural extension services). This geographically comparative approach highlighted the complexity both of rural women’s experiences of employment as well as their ability to empower themselves economically, socially and politically through the employment available to them in the two regions. In order to draw conclusions about women’s experiences, our study also considered men’s experiences in the same types of work. The comparison between men’s and women’s experiences helped us generate a broader understanding of gender gaps in wages, asset accumulation, employment opportunities and bargaining power for different types of work and workers. By understanding the constraints rural women face in accessing decent work, we identify specific needs for achieving women’s empowerment through their social and economic advancement, enhanced power and agency, as well as dignity and value. Our study generated findings about labour seasonality, remuneration, gender norms, formal regulations, informal processes, agricultural extension services, healthcare, pensions and other social protection available to women in agricultural work in rural Egypt. These, in turn, provide us with key insights about the contributions rural Egyptian women make to the agricultural sector, and to food security for their households and communities.
... For instance, in Kenya, a little below 50 percent of girls in the third grade can complete second-grade classwork in Mathematics, and the English language (Nehar, & Agnes, 2012). Likewise, among 15 girls in Uganda, about 34% of girls in grades three (3) to seven (7) were literate and only 46% were numeracy (Hari, et al, 2010). The vast majority of those who do not send girls and women to school have varied reasons that suggest changing barriers to girls' education (Mhyuddin, Chaudhry, Ambreen, 2012). ...
Formal education plays an important role in developing empowered human capital and therefore requires parental and community collaboration, which can certainly affect learners' educational success regardless of family wealth, education, and social status. Despite the vital role girl-child education play in overall national development, limited literature exists in this respect as many academic kinds of literature on education tended to favor boys over girls. The study adopted a case study approach, a blend of quantitative and qualitative research design. The study investigated community perception towards girls' education and constraints inhibiting the education of girls in the Dungu community, a suburb of Sagnarigu Municipality in Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana. The data collection tools included researchers' observation, in-depth interviews, and group discussions among others, with the means of both an interview guide and a questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions. The data have been analyzed using a thematic approach and descriptive tools including; diagrams and frequency distribution tables to address the study questions to guide the study. The outcome/results show no evidence of organized practices militating girl-child education in the Dungu community. However, findings show parents and community generally have poor attitudes or perceptions towards girl child education, sheer socio-cultural cultural beliefs, and practices such as boys as a tool for family wealth, women as property of men after marriage, tradition, and norms allowing males to inherit family wealth at the expense of women. Additionally, respondents interviewed felt that most parents and guardians are incapable resource-wise and cannot afford to send both sexes to school and thus prefer the boy over the girl child. Also, most of the girls themselves have been unwilling to either go to school or stay in school even if they were sent. Therefore, it is suggested that an intensive public education is necessary to mitigate negative outdated practices cultural, traditional, and social notions and perceptions regarding the social status of women, especially girls, since cultural and traditional practices greatly contribute to the constraints of girls' education in the Sagnarigu-Dungu area. Again, Microfinance services and local self-savings strategies such as the Village Savings and Loan Scheme (VSLA) popularly known as "Adakabili" are a few of the vital services that can boost the financial status of parents and community members to educate the girl-child.
... Different law practices prevent adopting the same solution. About the criteria that an inheritance law should follow, there are also many different opinions [20][21][22][23][24]. We just aim at providing mathematical derivations about the order of death problem, as a reference for social scientists and legislators. ...
If several relatives died with no will, the order of their deaths could affect the inheritance result. When the order of death is unknown, there are three approaches to determine the inheritance result in this simultaneous death situation: apply an inheritance method that is not affected by the order of death; artificially assign the order of death; stipulate that persons with unknown orders do not inherit each other. The last approach is adopted by the current French Civil Code (denoted as the French Approach). We prove that under some basic requirements, the French Approach is the only valid solution to the order of death problem. Therefore, the inheritance law of a country that does not adopt the French Approach either has unsolvable inheritance problems or violates basic requirements. In the appendix, we study the existence and uniqueness of inheritance methods that are invariant for different orders of death and only violate one requirement, such as gender equality.
In India, Hindu family law is often touted as a progressive and gender-just law that ought to be emulated and extended to minority religious communities through a common civil code. Against this backdrop, the present article examines the question of whether Hindu family law in India adequately protects women’s rights and, if law reform is required, what should be the factors guiding it. The article further analyses the status of women within Hindu family law in India from the time of the country’s independence and the law reform measures that have led to advancement in women’s equality rights in recent decades as well as discriminatory provisions that continue to persist through a historical, legal and feminist lens. It argues that further reforms to Hindu family law must be undertaken to realize women’s equality rights, albeit within the larger framework of constitutional norms and international human rights standards, rather than an interpretation/re-interpretation of Hindu religious texts based on dubious claims of a “glorious past.” This includes recognition of trans* and queer relationships within the folds of Hindu law. Moreover, the article argues in favor of applying feminist discourses on formal and substantive equality to the Uniform Civil Code debate to ensure plural family laws are gender-just.
This paper exploits the variation occurring from the different timing of divorce law reforms across the United States to evaluate how unilateral divorce changed family violence and whether the option provided by unilateral divorce reduced suicide and spousal homicide. Unilateral divorce both potentially increases the likelihood that a domestic violence relationship ends and acts to transfer bargaining power toward the abused, thereby potentially stopping the abuse in extant relationships. In states that introduced unilateral divorce we find a 8–16 percent decline in female suicide, roughly a 30 percent decline in domestic violence for both men and women, and a 10 percent decline in females murdered by their partners.
The way jurisdiction over land is distributed among members of a community has a powerful influence over how efficiently land is used, the incidence of poverty, and the level of inequality in the community. Yet much land in less developed countries is underutilized and/or misused from a sustainability standpoint: lack of access to land or unfavorable terms of access remain a fundamental cause of poverty. In addition, unmet demands for land can be a source of political destabilization. At the same time, there presently exist unusual opportunities to reopen the issue of access to land. They include an increasing concern with the efficiency costs of inequality in land distribution, devolution of common property resource management to users, large scale redefinitions of property rights in the context of transition economies in Eastern and central Europe and the end of white rule in South Africa, liberalization of land markets, mounting pressure to deal with environmental issues, the proliferation of civil society organizations voicing the demands of the rural poor, and more democratic forms of governance. Much attention has been given to state-led redistributive land reforms. Other channels include inheritance and inter-vivos transfers, intrahousehold and intracommunity land allocations, community titling of open access resources, the distribution of common property resources and the individualization of rights, decollectivization, land markets and land market-assisted land reforms, and land rental contracts. This book analyzes each of these channels of access to land, and recommends ways of making them more effective.
Many women in the developing world are subject to marriage at an early age. Most such women have little choice in the age at which they marry, or whom they marry. In this article, we examine patterns and trends of early marriage in the developing world. The incidence varies widely, from a high of 70 per cent in south Asia to a low of 30 per cent in South East Asia. Women who marry young tend to have less education and begin childrearing earlier, and have less decision-making power in the household. They are also more likely to experience domestic violence.
The average age at marriage of women has been rising in most developing countries including India. In this paper we report on the use of case studies, surveys and anthropological methods in a rural area of South India to investigate the mechanisms involved in this change. In an area where all marriages are still arranged it was found that there had been a recent shift from bridewealth to dowry and a diminution in the proportion of all marriages occurring between relatives. The rise in the age at marriage of women was explained by a marriage squeeze resulting from changes in the age structure of the population with mortality decline, an increasing concern of parents of daughters to secure sons-in-law with education and urban occupations, and a growing concept of child dependency. There was no evidence of the rise being a conscious effort to control family size. In the immediate future some women will probably remain unmarried, but the squeeze is already being reduced by a reduction in the age gap between spouses and may be modified considerably by the end of the century as the post-1975 fertility decline affects the age structure of those of marriageable age.
The main states of India are broadly grouped into two demographic regimes. In contrast to states in the north, southern states are characterized by lower marital fertility, later age at marriage, lower infant and child mortality and comparatively low ratios of female to male infant and child mortality. The division between the two regimes broadly coincides with the division between areas of northern kinship/low female autonomy and southern kinship/high female autonomy. The analysis suggests that female social status is probably the most important element in comprehending India's demographic situation. Women in the south tend to be more active in the labor force, are more likely to take innovative action in adopting fertility control, and are more apt to utilise health services for themselves and their children.-Authors