WORLD RURAL WOMEN’S DAY
OCTOBER 15

WOMEN'S LAND RIGHTS AND GLOBALIZATION IN NEPAL
Sarita Neupane
All Nepalese Women’s Association (ANWA)

1. INTRODUCTION:

Nepal is a least developed country, which lies in South Asia with 148747 sq. km. of land area, which borders the Peoples Republic of China in the North and India in the East, South and West. The country is located between 26°22' to 30°27' latitude north and between 80° 04' and 88°12' longitude east. Topographically the country is divided into three bands running the full breadth and comprising the Mountain, Mid-hills and Terai (southern plains). The Mountain and Mid-Hills together represent 83% and Tarai represents 17 % of the total area. According to the census of 2001 Nepal has a population of 23151423. Women constitute 50.1 percent of the total population. The population growth rate is 2.1 percent per annum and the population density is 160 persons per sq. km. Approximately 90% population live in village and 76% relying on agriculture for their livelihood with 0.61 ha. of average land holding per family in Nepal. Men owned 90% and women owned 10% of the private land in Nepal.

Agriculture is the main occupation (76 %) of the country Although agriculture is the main occupation; it could not meet the food demand of the people due to low productivity. Contribution of agriculture sector in GDP is only 41.6 %. According to the Human Development Index (2002) of UNDP, Nepal ranks on 142 positions among 173 countries with gender related index ranking as 119 th of 146 countries. The Per capita Income of Nepal is estimated at US $ 236 which is least in comparison to other SAARC countries and 38% people are considered below the poverty line. Life expectancy of men is ..years and women is … years. Women and Girl child are the main victims of poverty. More than 14% people are unemployed and 40 % people are under employed. The literacy rate of Nepal is 58 percent. Out of the total population of female, their literacy rate is only 45 percent.

Nepal is facing various problems due to the Maoist movement since nine years. Men and youths are displaced from the village and women are overburdened in the agricultural activities. Rural people are unable to cultivate the land and fallow lands are increasing. Although His Majesty's Government of Nepal called for peace talk and 5 round peace talk in two phases were held, but the problem could not solved yet. It is difficult to walk easily in the rural areas.

2. WOMEN'S SITUATION: LAND RIGHTS AND GLOBALIZATION:

Land is the fundamental resource for the existence of human being. Land is very limited and the population is over growing day by day. Therefore, land to human ratio is decreasing. Balance between land and population is necessary for the social and political stability of the nation. Total area of Nepal is 147181 sq kilometer, among this, mountain covers 51817 sq km, hill covers 61345 sq. km. and Tarai covers 34019 sq km. In Nepal, agricultural cultivated land is 2,598,970 ha, uncultivated agricultural land is 986898 sq. km., forest including shrub is 6306460 sq km, pasture land is 1757345 sq and others 2729622 sq km. Men own most of the land. Women have no access to inheritance property. Irrigation facility is available only in 21446 hectares. Rest of the land depends on rain. There is unequal distribution of cultivated land. Seventy percent farmers have less than one ha land. In rural areas, less than 5% people occupied most of the fertile land. Men owned 90% and women owned 10% of the private land in Nepal.

The status of women has been defined in terms of their marital status, and right to ancestral property is fragile, temporary and imperfect. A daughter is not entitle to her paternal property, simple because once married her status will change. Women must return her paternal property after marriage.

Nepalese economy is based on agriculture. About 76% of population is engaged in agriculture. Ninety-percent rural women are involved in the agricultural sector. Women complete most of the agricultural activities. Women do not have decision making role to choose the crop and cropping pattern. Traditionally women play vital role for the selection and preservation of the seed in Nepal. The high breed seeds of the multi national companies have disturbed this system. Due to lack of land use policies, poor infrastructure development, and haphazard-farming system/practice agriculture production is very low. These issues should be addressed seriously. There is no doubt that one of the key tools to address these issues is land management. Therefore a proper coordination and mutual cooperation is needed among the concerned organizations for land management. Though land rights issue is raised by different organizations/institutions in Nepal, women's land right issue is not properly addressed.

The victims of hunger and malnutrition are small landholders and land less people, who are mostly concentrated in rural areas. Among them women are mainly affected by malnutrition and anemia. Asia with largest share of world population has the highest proportion of small holders and land less people. In most of the Asian countries and particularly in South Asian countries, more than 50 percent of people are holdings less than one hectare. In Nepal the majority land holding is of those with less than 0.2 hectare. Large landholders dominate local power structures and influence government policies and programs at local as well as central.

Labor force, not absorbed by other sectors, remains in agriculture creating heavy pressure on unevenly distributed and ill managed-mismanaged land. Social justice and poverty reduction is possible through proper land management in the developing countries like Nepal. In fact, the greater the concentration of land and powers of land holders, the greater the neglect of food production and the high ignoring of distribution effects on poor. Women do not get equal wages for the equal works in agricultural sectors in Nepal. Intervening in the land ownership and tenure system should change thus the situation, where the inverse relationship between land holding and poverty is dominant. The productive land use system based on long term vision and design is necessary for overall change of rural land based economy. Thus the right based approach on land urges for change in land ownership structure in favor of better livelihood position as well as increased support through easy input availability & technological assistance as a part of productivity movement in rural land base of the economy.

Therefore land is the key factor for societal change in Nepal. More than 38 percent of GDP is contributed as the single largest sector by agriculture where share of employment is as much as 76 percent of the total economically active population. Land-based livelihood strategy cannot be replaced without massive transfer of wage labor and self-employed labor including unpaid family workers of the farm families. Fast growth of non-agricultural employment does not seem possible at the extremely difficult present context. So land based strategy is a long way to go ahead. Thus land is to be considered our focal point in the development strategy of Nepal.

Cropping pattern has been changed day by day. The big farmers or business companies capture most of the agricultural lands. Substance farming system has been changed into specified cropping pattern. Most of the lands are used by the business purpose. We can take an example of sugar cane, tobacco, tea and cotton. Most of the families, who are involved in the non-food cash crop production, have faced food deficit problems. Women and children are deprived and suffered by malnutrition, because they do not have sufficient land to produce vegetables and fruits to fulfill the family needs. In urban areas, most of the fertile lands are changed into cities, population depending agriculture are changed into wage labors and involved in the informal sectors.

Most of the peasants are loosing their seeds due to the use of high breed seeds. For example, high breed corn replaces local corn, the high breed rice varieties, and local fruits replace local rice varieties and vegetables are replaced by the high breed varieties of vegetables. High breed varieties demand more chemical fertilizers as well as pesticides. Fertility of the land is decreasing due to the use of chemical fertilizers. Pesticide resistance is also being increased. There is lack of awareness among farmers on the effect of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. The chemical pesticides replace traditional pest control systems. Chemical fertilizers replace the organic manure or compost manure.

Use of chemical pesticides has affected on human health. For example, reproductive systems and nervous systems are affected. Pesticides are easily found in the remote villages too. Women are victims of pesticides. Their cloths are more open and they do not know about the proper use of the pesticides, because most of the rural women are illiterate and have no or low chance to participate in the training activities.

Agriculture related employment opportunities are decreased and people are migrated to the cities as well as foreign countries for the employment. National industries are being privatized and people are loosing their jobs. Bhrikuti paper Industry and Bansbari Lather Industry are the examples of the privatization.

WTO membership has increased the risks in the agricultural sector in Nepal. It is difficult to compete with multi national companies, therefore, peasants are raising the issue "WTO out of agricultural sector".

3. SHARING OF STRATEGIES IN ASSERTING RIGHTS TO THE LAND AND OTHERS:

Nepalese women are fighting against feudal land management system, especially for the equal right to the paternal property. Land is the main property in rural Nepal. Eleventh amendment of the country code has changed certain laws, but women have not fully achieved property right. They have to return paternal property after marriage, if she get paternal property before marriage. It is difficult to demand or talk about the property within the family in Nepalese context. Land, houses, industries and men capture other means of productions. Women are dominated by the patriarchal society. In Nepal, women are compelled to live a painful life under a feudal, patriarchal system. Parents always favor son and there is discrimination between son and daughters on food, education and health checkup in most of the families.

All Nepal Women Association (ANWA), ALL Nepal Peasant Association (ANPA) and different organizations are fighting for the land rights of the people. ANWA is strongly committed and dedicated to create awareness and to organize women to fight inequality, injustice, all forms of feudal, capitalist and imperial exploitations, superstitious beliefs and social evils. It has played a very important role in the restoration of democracy in the country in 1950 and 1990 respectively. Since the beginning, it has launched an awareness building campaign on literacy, women’s education, and has raised voices against polygamy, child marriage, and equal rights in all sectors of society.

ANWA is always fighting for the equal rights to men and women in all sectors. Economic right especially property right is the root cause of the discriminatory social systems in Nepal. Land is the main property in rural Nepal. Women do not have access and control over the land.

MAJOR ISSUES:

STARTEGIES IN ASSERTING RIGHTS TO THE LAND AND OTHERS: