Inequitable right of land of women in Bangladesh

BANGLADESH being a developing country, there has been severe competition for ownership, control, management and use of the inadequate land resources. There have been many efforts in the recent few years to bring women into mainstream development, but they are declining far behind and there have been discrepancy between male and female in the family and society as well in many respects. The existing systems, laws, administration etc. are not suitable for women to enjoy exclusive rights over immoveable property. Hence, they require a land policy where equal right should clearly mention as per the Constitution and CEDAW convention. Pertinent implementation of existing land laws, women friendly land administration and a women responsive environment and system can ensure women's right of access to land.

The laws and patriarchal values and practices in Bangladesh created prickly prejudice against the women. The recent annual development plan as well as the last Ten Years Plan of the govt. of Bangladesh place accent on women improvement through increasing literacy, better health and nutrition, employment generation and credit for the women.  Nevertheless, there has been no reveal of women's enhanced admittance to land, not even in the form of govt. allocation of land for the underprivileged women. UNFPA reports that women's labor constitutes 60% of the world's effort, but they receive only one-tenth of the world's profits and own less than one percent of world's territory. In rural south Asia principally on Bangladesh, the most significant form of property is arable land, which is critical determination of well-being, social status and empowerment. 

Commonly, in our country perspective women have inferior position in family as well as society, which is determine by their lack of ownership right, control and administration, transfer and admittance to land or other properties. Rights and control over terrain positively manipulate to achieve other vital things like schooling, service, earnings and relation with local institutions. Further, there have been noteworthy evidences that economic resources in the hand of male household member often do not assist the female members in equivalent scale, for this reason self-regulating ownership of such resources; specially immoveable property can consequently be crucial in promoting the well being and empowerment of women folk. Normally, after matrimony females are leave their father's house and subsist with husbands. In most of the cases, brothers conceal the fact about their married sisters and thus women are dropped from their ancestral land and other properties. It is more thorny for the sisters to file a litigation against brother and so face administrative and official hazards. Brothers often transfer the share of land that belongs to the sister without informing them and thus women enduring oblivious about their inherited immoveable property.

Maximum time, women do not know about the parental and husband's property. They do not maintain information and particulars of the property. In addition, most of them are not aware about any land related laws, their right to inheritance and have no documents as a claimant. Usually, women and poor are dropped from the survey record and the succession of the inheritance. Cultural barrier also plays negative role to be a claimant of parental property. Claim to the familial landed property will spawn divergence and rupture relation with relatives. Our civilization does not persuade women to take inherited property and frequently consider that as peccadillo. If they claim that property, relation between them will scratch. They also consider about their underprivileged brothers. If they take that asset, their relatives will more susceptible. Furthermore, the existing structure, culture, tradition, morality, values, rules are against women and that should be altered. The prevalent Muslim and Hindu family laws regarding inheritance are discriminatory to women. The majority of women both Muslims and Hindus face inequalities, worse inheritance of shares of land than male is one of them. The Sharia law is discriminatory among male and female for land rights.

According to Sharia law, a female child is entitled to only of half of what a male child receive from the paternal property. But in practice, the female child hardly gets what she is lawfully entitled to get, due mainly to patriarchal family scheme.

Hindu women cannot imagine their birthright over land because, as per the rule of Hindu religion women are neither entitled to parental property nor own husband's property after his death. In some special circumstances they can merely enjoy immoveable property where they have no absolute ownership; just entitle to lifetime possession. Which very repeatedly make their position in the family and society very tangential and vulnerable. Hence, it can be said the existing Hindu law of Bangladesh is absolutely against women ownership over land whereas India repeal this type of inequitable rule from their law by amending that.  Yet Bangladesh is a state party of CEDAW convention and committed to give the rights of equal ownership over all kinds of property to women as of men. Rule of law means equal rights and protection in each and every sphere of life of the citizens irrespective of their race, sex, religion, caste or place of birth. This is guaranteed in Art. 27 as a fundamental right by the Constitution. Moreover, Art. 10, 19 and 28(4) of the supreme charter of the land direct the state to encourage and ensure equal rights of women in every sort of life. Various socio-economic, religious and cultural factors synergistically results in deprivation of women from effective right and access to land. The loss right of the land of women is also a cultural phenomenon.

Cultural norms utter that female will forfeit her share of parental property. In case where, women do not voluntarily forgo their claims, male relative with stake, file suit, counterfeit wills and use coercion and even physical violence to discourage women from pursuing the claims. However, beside the social norms and unlawful activities of other shareholders, the govt. functionaries often amalgam those troubles and often frustrate the execution of laws in women's favor. Conversely, inter-family inequalities of women are increasing in relation to economic and social activities, which have already received some attentions. The legal rights of women in resources strengthen their position in family and society that is the process of empowerment.  The link between equality and empowerment is very imperative for toughen women's position. Entitling women with land could be way to authorize them economically and strengthen their ability to challenges gender inequalities on social and political both within and outside the home.

Because, women with land have greater bargaining power, which would assist them to negotiate more gender equal allocation of rights in the family. The relationship with rural poverty and access to land has strong linkage. Nonetheless, the women without sovereign resources are extremely vulnerable to paucity and destitution in the case of desertion, divorce and dead of husband. Understanding the dynamics and position of women may help to design affective programs for reducing gender equalities and poverty reduction.

Women's right to land can encourage family welfare; efficiency in resource management as well as it can enhance equity and empowerment of the women. ALRD (2000) reported that women with land have better bargaining power, which could help them negotiate more gender equivalent allocation in the family and advanced wage in the market and status in the society. Women and children's jeopardy of poverty would be abridged and their wellbeing enhanced if women had straight access to land. Evidence from around the planet recommend that feminine can utilize land more resourcefully and they can chose appropriate cropping patterns. They are more conversant concerning traditional and eco-friendly farming practice.

Women are more and more inclined to food crops than cash crop and can ensure food security of the family. Further, entitling women with land would not only empower them economically, but also strengthen their ability to challenge social and political gender related issues.  To ensure women's right to access land equitably govt. should do these: 1. alteration of inheritance laws to ensure greater equity and social security for the women. Universal family laws as well as universal inheritance laws to be incorporated and enacted amending the existing inheritance laws; 2. women of Hindu and other ethnic minorities must be ensured equal rights through reforming customary and inheritance laws of the respective community and groups; 3. social mobilization for changing attitudes towards daughter inheriting and for extending women's land right; 4. assisting women to register their land claims with the land registration office; 5. undertaking effective legal literacy program so that poor and women could have better ability to realize and deal with land related issues; 6. helping to make the law clear and non-contradictory with gender and different types of land ownership; 7. providing the legal aid and advice in case women who wish to contest their claims and helping women with dispute settlement alternatively; 8. advocacy and lobbing for promoting equal rights and access of women to land and other properties at different levels including community, local govt., national institution, policy and legislation. There is an immense necessitate for legislative and secretarial reforms to launch women's rights and effective domination over land. There is also need for alertness intensifying and sinking knowledge gaps in land rights, gender and legal issues to enhance women's capacity to bargain with community and state and within the household.