Land - economic asset; its ownership has strong social, cultural and political implications Land is a composite asset - income and livelihood, identity, address and social status Ownership of land is “power” Its the “power” to exercise rights; the “power” to lead a life of dignity

1. 1
Secure Land Rights and Women’s
Empowerment
– Evidences from Odisha (India)
Pranati Das and Padmaja Mishra
Landesa, Odisha (India)
Dept. of A & A Economics, Utkal University, Odisha (India)

2. 2
Background
• Land - economic asset; its ownership has
strong social, cultural and political
implications
• Land is a composite asset - income and
livelihood, identity, address and social
status
• Ownership of land is “power”
• Its the “power” to exercise rights; the
“power” to lead a life of dignity

3. 3
Secure land rights
Land right is not effective if
it is not secured.
Land right is secured -
• land title (patta) in one’s
own name
• Government record of
rights (RoR)
• Physical possession

4. 4
Empowerment is a complex process of
transforming -
• Improved status - increased self-confidence
and self-esteem
• to voice her concern and have more bargaining
power within family and within the community.
• less vulnerable to domestic violence and
lowers the risk of marital violence
• Effective participation in community-level
organizations
- Panda, P. and Agarwal, B. 2005;
- Doss, C. 2006

5. 5
Economic Empowerment
• Ability to make decisions to contribute and
control
– family’s income, expenditure, saving and
investment
• Autonomy to gain control over economic
resources
– at the household, community levels
• Capability to live a life of dignity
Armendáriz de Aghion & Morduch, 2005; Republic of Kenya, 2004;
2005; United Nations, 2000

6. 6
Social Empowerment
• To gain control over own lives
– able to decide own movement, food, work
– Bargaining power
– Voicing opinion
Page and Czuba 1999

7. 7
Political Empowerment
• Capacity to analyse, organise and mobilise
• Participate in collective action for change
– Exercising rights and entitlements
– Take part in community’s development
Piron and Watkins 2004

8. 8
Land Rights & Empowerment Model
Decision
making
power over
expenditure,
saving
Economic
Empowerment
Independent
Income &
Control over
Income
Access and
Control over
land
Secure Land
Rights
Decision
making power
on own
mobility, Food
&work
Participation
in
Community;
SHG group
Social and
Political
empowerment
Participation
in Pallisabha/
GKS

9. 9
Scope of Study
• To examine whether secure land rights is an
enabling factor for rural women’s economic
empowerment.
• To study whether land right leads to social and
political empowerment of women

10. 10
Methodology of Sample Selection
Odisha
292
Ganjam
Khallikote
Kharibandha
11+11=22
Chilipoi
22+22=44
Chakasingh
10+10=20
Koraput
Semiliguda
Gulel
26+26=52
Talanaraga
16+16=32
Sirisaguda
14+14=28
Kalahandi
Lanjigarh
Jabagaon
23+23=46
Jamchuan
14+14=28
Kachanal
10+10=20

11. 11
District Tehsil Village Total No. of
Respondents
No of Women
with Land
Rights
Nature of Land
Rights
Joint Title (J)/
Single title (S)
No of
Women
without
Land Rights
1 Ganjam Khallikote Kharibandha 22 11 10 (J)
1 (S)
11
Khallikote Chilipoi 44 22 19(J)
2 (S)
22
Khallikote Chakasingh 20 10 7 (J)
3 (S)
10
2 Koraput Semiliguda Gulel 52 26 26 (J) 26
Semiliguda Talanaranga 32 16 15 (J)
1 (S)
16
Semiliguda Sirisaguda 28 14 14 (J) 14
3 Kalahandi Lanjigarh Jabagaon 46 23 21 (J)
2 (S)
23
Lanjigarh Jamchuan 28 14 12 (J)
2 (S)
14
Lanjigarh Kachanal 20 10 9 (J)
1 (S)
10
Total 292 146 146

12. 12
Two types of comparative analysis
a) examining women empowerment in pre and
post secure land right
b) further analysis by comparing ‘women with
secure land rights’ with the ‘women without
secure land rights’

13. 13
Data Collection Methodology
• Personal Interviews – women, men
• Key Informants’ Interview – Anganwadi
workers, Community Resource Persons,
Village Level Workers
• Focus Group Discussion- PRI members,
Government Officials, NGO professionals

14. 14
Methodology of Data Analysis
Step I: Selection of Indicators of Empowerment
Indicators of Economic Empowerment (EI)
• Self Independent income
• Control over income
• Economic decision making power - own
engagement in work vs leisure, spending, saving
and investment

15. 15
Indicators
Indicators of Social Empowerment (SI)
Own mobility, Participation in community
programmes, Member of SHG group
Indicators of Political Empowerment (PI)
Exercising electoral rights,
Participation in Pallisabha/ Gaon Kalyan Samiti
(GKS) i.e., village meetings for planning and
development of village,
Contesting for the position of Panchyati Raj
Institution

16. 16
Methodology of Data Analysis
Step-2: Construction of Empowerment Index
Responses score value
• Always independently decide 3
• Often decide independently 2
• Sometimes/ Rarely decide independently 1
• Never decide independently 0
Index value in each category of empowerment =
Sum (Number of Respondents X Score value)
Total number of respondents
Final Index = Sum [EI + SI + PI]

17. 17
Examining Empowerment
Empowerment Indices for ‘Pre land Rights’ or
before secure land rights
• Economic Empowerment Index (EI) =0.85
• Social Empowerment Index (SI) =0.86
• Political Empowerment Index (PI) =0.22
• Final index: [EI+SI+PI] = 1.93

18. 18
Examining Empowerment
Empowerment Indices for ‘without secure land
rights’
• Economic Empowerment Index (EI) = 1.6
• Social Empowerment Index (SI) = 1.26
• Political Empowerment Index (PI) = 0.80
• Final index: [EI+SI+PI] = 3.66

19. 19
Examining Empowerment
Empowerment Indices for ‘post land rights’ or
‘with secure land rights’
• Economic Empowerment Index (EI) =2.21
• Social Empowerment Index (SI) =2.2
• Political Empowerment Index (PI) =1.2
• Final index: [EI+SI+PI] = 5.61

20. 20
Outcome of Empowerment
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Safe housing Dug well kitchen garden and poultry
% of respondent (With Secure Land
Rights )
% of respondent (Without Secure
Land Rights

21. 21
Outcome of Empowerment
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
skill, training access to govt schemes Access to high School
Education
Improved food basket
% of respondent (With Secure
Land Rights )
% of respondent (Without
Secure Land Rights

22. 22
Outcome of Empowerment
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Increased farm income bank account and saving Job card under MGNREGS
% of respondent (With Secure
Land Rights )
% of respondent (Without
Secure Land Rights

23. 23
Outcome of Empowerment
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
women group/SHG participation in village
development/ community
access to farm inputs
% of respondent (With Secure
Land Rights )
% of respondent (Without Secure
Land Rights

24. 24
Case Study I: Raibari Sabara, Ganjam
• Previously landless, Rabibari
Sabar, a 52-year-old widow, got
land title
• Irrigates with the help of a
collectively owned foot pump that
pipes pond water into it - she
cultivates seasonal vegetables -
coconut and papaya trees.
• Feeds her family
• Saved Rs 1,500 by selling tubers
and vegetables

25. 25
Case study II – Moti Pujari of Gulel village, Koraput

26. 26
Economically Empowered women of Gulel
• 22 tribal women from Gulel, Semiliguda block, got
secure title - homestead land and agricultural land
through collaborative initiative of Landesa and OTELP
• The women, after getting secure title to land, have
formed a self-help group (SHG) called Maa Bhairabhi
Swayam Sahayak Sangha.
• All of them covered under a poultry farming scheme of
OTELP with 400 livestock each. “We have an assured
income of 3500-5000 INR per month,” - Moti Pujari
• Previously lived with unsecured wage labour, now
have self income
• Decide about – crop, saving and spending

27. 27
However, it’s not causal;
Secure land rights serve as the first step
towards empowerment conditional to -
• Size of plot
• Accessibility to land
• Accessing inputs, water and other supports –
institutional convergence
• Land use knowledge and capacity – trainings
helpful
• Land legal literacy – for secure land rights

28. 28
Thank you