Supreme Court upholds equal rights in India

In a landmark decision this August, the Supreme Court of India ruled that daughters shall enjoy equal rights to inherit family land – an overdue and welcome shift toward greater equality for India’s women.

The Court’s decision provides much-needed clarity on the scope of equal inheritance rights and clarifies the path of legal justice for daughters in India.

To fully appreciate the importance of the judgment for women in India, you can:

• read a helpful overview of the ruling and Hindu inheritance by Shipra Deo
• find the answers to your questions in The Wire's FAQ on the ruling
• listen to The Pragati Podcast interview with Shipra Deo
• dive into the details of state and national laws that govern agricultural land in a Times of India blog

Land users' human rights intertwined with biodiversity efforts

By Rachel McMonagle, Landesa Climate Change and Land Tenure Specialist

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES — Land rights and management are increasingly recognized as paramount for biodiversity conservation, as well as climate action and sustainable development more broadly.

Rural land users manage approximately 65 percent of the world’s land and coastal ecosystems. Legal recognition of land rights is a necessary basis for planning and implementing biodiversity conservation and restoration. To be effective, the process must include rural land users, with attention to intersecting vulnerabilities faced by women, youth, and other marginalized groups.

This approach is both rights-based and pragmatic: land users’ human rights are intertwined with biodiversity. Rural land users should be equipped and incentivized economically to co-design and lead these efforts, and secure tenure is an essential component of this engagement.

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Standing up for women's land rights in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM — Farming is a major source of employment for Tanzanian women, yet only 16% of women own agricultural land individually, leaving them vulnerable to a host of risks, including land grabs, climate change, and economic insecurity. By strengthening women's land rights through advocacy and collective action, Stand For Her Land is helping ensure future generations of Tanzanian women are able to avoid these risks, safely exercise their rights, and build a sustainable future for them and their families.

Landesa, the secretariat of the Campaign, is launching a project on GlobalGiving to support the coalition of local and national women's groups in Tanzania helping women protect their legal land rights. Stand for Her Land is creating a synchronized national advocacy campaign to educate women about their land rights using legal guides, radio programs, mobile apps, and targeted outreach.

To help maximize the impact of the Campaign's supporters, all donations up to $50 will be matched at 50% from September 14-18. Make a gift next week and share why women's land rights matter to you on social media with the hashtag #S4HL!

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Intern Spotlight: Itael Kimaro

Itael Kimaro interned with Landesa’s team in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in July and August. He supported virtual data collection for the Responsible Investments in Property and Land Resource Platform training, in addition to working on a youth and climate change study and training. Itael also assisted development of a youth land rights policy brief.

What is your favorite part of interning for Landesa? I enjoy working closely with land rights experts and doing so for an international organization that respects human rights. I also appreciate how Landesa supports rural citizens by increasing knowledge around land rights when investment is about to occur on their land.

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