Land ownership among women reaches 19.7 percent

KATHMANDU, Nov 30: 

A retired government employee Rishi Subedi from Chitwan had made sure that his only son would not struggle for money to study in the college of his choice. 

With a good government job in hand and a fair share of ancestral property he was certain he would fulfill his son´s wish. But when he actually had to arrange money for his son´s higher education two years ago, Subedi changed his mind. 

“My wife had learnt from somewhere that even daughters have equal rights in parental property," said Subedi, who is a retired officer of the Nepal Agricultural Bank. "We discussed the matter and decided to spend for each of the three children only the amount equal to their rightful share in the property. Last year we even equally distributed plots of land we own among the three children," added Subedi. 

As a result his son Nirmal had to drop his plan to study CA in India. 

Subedi´s case is hardly a common phenomenon. However, this has certainly contributed to increasing land ownership among women from 10.3 to 19.17 percent as reported in the new census. 

“Apart from the reason that there is 25 percent tax exemption while registering land in a woman´s name, growing awareness about equal rights of women in parental property has led to an increase in land ownership among women. In the time to come, the figure is likely to go up significantly," said senior advocate Meera Dhungana. The transfer of property Act was amended in 2006 granting equal rights to women in parental property. 

According to Dhungana, women would soon be on an equal footing in terms of property ownership if the government did away with other discriminatory provisions as well. 

"As per the existing laws, only an unmarried daughter can claim share in the parental property. Few daughters would fight for property before marriage and only a few parents would willingly grant legal rights to their daughters," she explained. 

Legal expert at the Women´s Commission Saraj Raj Thapa views that the improved figure in the census regarding the land ownership indicates that women are gradually being empowered. 

“However, it may not exactly be so in all cases. In some families, women face violence even when they own property. Along with bringing the policies in favor of women, there is also a need for doing away with patriarchal values and mindset. A society can thrive only when everyone is equally treated," said Thapa.

Source: Republica