Gender India

Housing and Land Rights of Farm Windows of Vidarbha, Maharashtra

Housing and Land Rights of Farm Windows of Vidarbha, Maharashtra

The study is based on a combination of primary data collection through surveys in four districts of Vidarbha – Akola, Amravati, Wardha, and Yavatmal, and secondary research. The study reveals the acute vulnerability of farm widows and the multiple violations of their human rights. It highlights the physical, mental, and emotional suffering and economic exclusion of the women, including drastic changes in the behaviour of their in-laws after the death of their husbands. It also brings to light the impacts of social and state intervention.Deep-rooted discrimination against widows, especially with regard to house and land ownership, is underscored as an important issue that needs to be addressed at multiple levels – social, political, and legal.

Read More