Recently Wikigender and the Land Portal had organized an online discussion on ways to secure women’s rights to own land [for more click here].  Women may constitute approximately 50% of the human society (not counting India and China that are trying to push that percentage to zero!), however they own less than 2% of the land worldwide.  Why is this so?

I think that regardless of gender-neutral laws, even modern democracies like India that proudly flaunt their Constitution, have people in decision making capacities, as in government, law etc. who still apply the law within context of their old cultural mindsets.  So for example in a recent High Court ruling in Bombay regarding property dispute, the Court gave its ruling in the most gender-biased language that almost regards women like pieces of furniture that are moved from their fathers’ houses into their husbands’.  It said: (more…)